Come Work at the Tara Mandala Buddhist Retreat Center

Communications Director

Tara Mandala invites applications from qualified candidates for the position of Communications Director. This salaried position is for a minimum two-year term effective August 1st, 2010 and includes compensation, vegetarian meals during retreat season (approximately six months per year), a private residence, access to a variety of teachings at Tara Mandala, three weeks paid vacation, an annual two-week paid all resident retreat, and health care benefits. There is some flexibility around the start date.

Tara Mandala is a spiritual practice center devoted to the teachings of meditation and other practices in the Buddhist tradition. We strive to create a work and community environment that reflects the Buddha’s teachings with a special emphasis on study of the Vajrayana path and the teachings of Machig Lapdrön, and on seeing our work as an essential aspect of our spiritual practice. As such, we seek community members who have a sincere interest in and commitment to the exploration of bringing the practice of mindfulness to bear on all activities of daily life, as well as have a genuine connection to the lineage of Machig Lapdrön and Lama Tsultrim Allione.

To apply for this position, please send a letter of intent and resume to: Cady Holtkamp, Director. Cady@taramandala.org, PO Box 3040, Pagosa Springs, CO, 81147. Fax: (970) 731-4441.

Job description for the position follows.

Job duties include: Program Planning, Marketing and Communications

Program Planning & Scheduling:

Create the annual on-site program in collaboration with Lama Tsultrim, the Executive Director, and Program Manager.
Take minutes at Staff meetings.
Maintain Tara Mandala public schedule for events and programs, both on-site and away. Ensure the accuracy of the online calendars within the organization for meetings and vacations.

Communications:

Respond to info@taramandala.org
Provide communications training and orientation to new staff members and Living Dharma Program participants, including Google calendar, Google documents, and email (create email addresses as needed).
Maintain group email lists; ie. locals@taramandala.org , staff@taramandala.org , and volunteers@taramandala.org.
Schedule visitors, assign tour guides.

Marketing & Design:

Create both print and digital marketing, including annual program guide, flyers, Losar card, TaraNets, Words of Wisdom, postcards, brochures, radio ads and other marketing materials as appropriate. Manage the dissemination of all marketing materials.
Send out all TaraNets and Words of Wisdom with approval from Lama Tsultrim and/or Ex. Director.
Oversee large mailings such as program guides, postcards and other promotional mailings.
Collaborate with the Bookstore Manager on marketing opportunities.
Coordinate and communicate with marketing consultants as needed.
Maintain Tara Mandala image library and take photographs on site as needed.
Maintain website:

Web Upkeep:

Update all information on an ongoing basis: programs, photos, newsletters, articles, donor lists, etc.
Update social network platforms weekly.
Develop links with other organizations and sanghas.
Create new pages as needed.
Continue to develop better ways of using website for outreach.

Other:

Supervise one administrative staff person, based on matching skills.
Support Ex. Director with assigned projects and staff communication.

Chairperson for Marketing Committee:

Work closely with Ex. Director to network in the local community.
Lead and schedule committee meetings and take notes.
Track follow up of members.

Committee Duties:

Develop and execute marketing plan to continuously increase TM’s exposure.
Work closely with Executive Director to develop ad/flyer plan
Create timelines for all ads/flyers and place all reservations
Insure payment of all ads
Communicate with designer regarding ad deadlines, copy, revisions
Research new venues for advertisement and publicity
develop publicity write-ups/articles
Develop and maintain distribution network for program guide, flyers, and other publicity materials

Skills Required:
Proficient in Windows XP, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Picassa, Microsoft Office, Social Networking Platforms, and Google Applications. Highly competent in general IT issues. Experience in Mac OS preferred.

This job description is subject to change based on candidate’s skill set and Tara Mandala’s needs.