Strategic Partnerships Manager

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Strategic Partnerships Manager will play a key role in raising awareness of the benefits of tourism and the value provided by MBACC to the Myrtle Beach area. This position will be responsible for developing and executing strategies to engage local stakeholders, residents, business owners, and government officials in understanding the critical role tourism plays in the region's economy & resident satisfaction. The position will involve strategic communication, public relations, and community outreach to ensure a comprehensive approach to tourism advocacy and impact messaging.

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS

• Tourism Advocacy: Advocate for the value of tourism to the Myrtle Beach area's economy by creating messaging, content, and initiatives that highlight the positive financial impact, job creation, and community enrichment tourism brings to the region.
• Resident Engagement: Represent the MBACC at various community events: neighborhood watch meetings, rotary meetings, volunteer organizations, advocacy groups, non-profits, HOA meetings and any place the community gathers.
• Newsletter Deployment: Build a list and establish a newsletter to inform residents of the benefits of tourism and various community events taking place.
• Strategic Partnerships: Develop and maintain strong relationships with local businesses, organizations, government agencies, and tourism partners to promote tourism initiatives and collaborate on advocacy campaigns.
• Public Relations & Media Outreach: Coordinate with MBACC Communications Director to pitch stories, write press releases, and organize interviews, focusing on tourism’s economic importance and its direct benefits to the local economy.
• Community Engagement: Attend events, town halls, and meetings to engage with residents and business owners to help them understand and support tourism’s role in the community. This includes presenting data and success stories about tourism’s economic impact.
• Community Research: Conduct surveys, focus groups and town halls with residents and other stakeholder groups to better determine community needs. Compile and communicate findings from these activities to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Data Analysis & Reporting: Work closely with economic researchers to collect and interpret data on tourism’s economic contributions. Create reports and presentations that demonstrate tourism's value to policymakers, local business owners, and the public.
• Content Development: Create compelling digital content, such as blogs, social media posts, newsletters, and videos, which communicate the economic and social value of tourism in Myrtle Beach. This content will be shared across platforms to engage the broader community.
• Advocacy Campaigns: Lead and implement campaigns to educate the public and key stakeholders about the economic benefits of tourism, ensuring consistent and factual information is presented through various channels.
• Empower Voices: Participates in active listening and able to respond effectively to address resident concerns, feedback and inquiries while providing validation, building trust, managing expectations, and maintaining positive relationships.
• Maintain Transparency: Work with internal teams to promote transparency between the organization, its stakeholders and the public by facilitating open communication to uphold the organization’s integrity and trust.
• Internal Advising: Identify internal practices and strategies that could ensure that a resident’s perspective is always at the table and advise staff on how to effectively implement community-based strategies into the organization’s programming.

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Bachelor’s degree with an accredited college/university in Communications, Public Relations, Public Policy, Business, Marketing, Tourism, or a related field.
• In lieu of degree, a minimum of two (2) years’ experience in public relations, community engagement, or tourism advocacy.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to tailor messages to different audiences.
• Understanding of social media platforms for communicating with different audiences, fluent in content creation techniques and digital communication strategies.
• Knowledge of economic data analysis and tourism-related metrics.
• Ability to work effectively with local governments, tourism organizations, and business communities.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience managing multiple campaigns at one time and efficiency in time-management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including but not limited to Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Attendance and Dependability: The employee can be depended on to report to work at the scheduled time and is seldom absent from work. Employee can be depended upon to complete work in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner and is conscientious, about assignments.
• Relationships with Others: The employee works effectively and relates well with others, including superiors, colleagues, and individuals inside and outside the Chamber. The employee exhibits a professional manner in dealing with others and works, to maintain constructive working relationships.

PREFFERED SKILLS

• Familiarity with Myrtle Beach or the coastal tourism industry
• Experience in organizing public events or campaigns
• Experience in networking, public speaking, and presenting data in an engaging manner
• Strong understanding of the intersection of tourism and economic development

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This job operates in a professional office environment. The role routinely uses standard office equipment and associated software including computers, phones and copiers/scanners/
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Frequently required to sit; climb or balance, and stop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Frequent travel in a motor vehicle for community-based meetings and events in changing climate conditions.