Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy

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Position Details

The Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy serves as a senior communications leader responsible for advancing the University's visibility, reputation, brand, engagement, and philanthropic priorities. Reporting to the Vice President for Marketing & Communications, this role leads institutional marketing, strategic communications, public and media relations, executive communications, brand marketing, issues management, and reputation-building initiatives.

The Director develops and executes integrated marketing and communications strategies, advises senior leadership, oversees high-profile campaigns and communications, and partners across the University to strengthen institutional positioning, audience engagement, and organizational impact.

Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy

• •Lead institutional marketing, reputation, and communications strategies that advance the University's visibility, engagement, and strategic priorities.
• •Develop audience-focused positioning, messaging, and integrated communications plans aligned with University goals.
• •Partner with leadership to drive long-term marketing, brand, and reputation initiatives across all communication channels.
• •Prioritize and coordinate high-impact marketing and communications efforts to maximize institutional impact and resource effectiveness.

Institutional Reputation & Positioning

• •Lead strategies that strengthen and elevate the University's regional and national reputation.
• •Develop and implement institutional positioning, messaging, and brand strategies aligned with University priorities.
• •Identify reputation opportunities and risks, monitor industry trends, and measure the effectiveness of visibility and reputation-building initiatives.

Public Relations & Media Relations

• •Lead the University's public relations, earned media, and media relations strategies to enhance visibility and reputation.
• •Build and maintain relationships with media outlets, identify newsworthy stories, and position University leaders and subject matter experts as thought leaders.
• •Oversee media inquiries, interview preparation, spokesperson coordination, and media relations protocols.
• •Supervise media relations staff and manage external agencies while monitoring and evaluating media coverage and impact.

Presidential and Executive Communications Strategy

Serve as a strategic communications adviser to the Vice President for Marketing and Communications and, as assigned, the President and other senior University leaders.

Develop communications strategies for presidential priorities, executive initiatives, major announcements and high-visibility institutional matters.

Develop executive message architecture, talking points, communications plans and stakeholder strategies.

Identify appropriate opportunities for presidential and executive thought leadership, public visibility and reputation-building.

Craft speeches, remarks, op-eds, letters and other executive communications, providing strategic direction while leveraging editorial writing and editing expertise.

Ensure executive communications align with institutional positioning, messaging and reputation objectives.

Exercise sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential, sensitive or high-profile communications.

Issues Management & Crisis Communications

• •Lead issues management and crisis communications planning, partnering with University leadership to protect and support the institution’s reputation.
• •Monitor and assess emerging risks, providing strategic communications guidance and recommendations for sensitive or high-profile situations.
• •Develop crisis messaging, response strategies, and stakeholder communications across traditional and digital channels.
• •Collaborate with internal stakeholders to maintain crisis preparedness, communication protocols, and escalation procedures.

Institutional Brand Marketing and Paid Programming

Lead strategic planning for institutional brand and reputation marketing campaigns.

Establish campaign objectives, priority audiences, positioning, message frameworks, paid and earned strategy and performance expectations.

Develop integrated campaign briefs that guide execution by creative, content, digital, editorial and external agency partners.

Partner with the Director of Creative & Brand Services to translate institutional strategy into compelling creative concepts and brand expression.

Partner with the Director of Content Strategy on content planning, audience journeys, digital distribution and channel performance.

Evaluate opportunities for paid institutional brand marketing that strengthen awareness, reputation and strategic visibility.

Recommend institutional paid-media investments and manage or provide strategic oversight for external advertising, media-buying and marketing partners as assigned.

Review campaign performance and recommend adjustments to audience, message, investment or strategic approach based on results.

Ensure institutional brand marketing is coordinated with, but distinct from, enrollment-specific marketing activity.

Partnership with Enrollment Marketing

• •Partner with Enrollment Marketing to align institutional brand and reputation strategies with undergraduate and graduate recruitment goals.
• •Support the development of messaging, positioning, and brand assets that enhance prospective student and family engagement.
• •Collaborate on integrated initiatives and marketing efforts that strengthen both institutional reputation and enrollment outcomes.
• •Coordinate brand and enrollment marketing activities to ensure strategic alignment and maximize impact.

Advancement & Philanthropic Marketing Support

• •Partner with Advancement leadership to support strategic fundraising, alumni engagement, and philanthropic initiatives.
• •Develop positioning, messaging, and integrated marketing strategies for key fundraising priorities and campaigns.
• •Leverage institutional reputation, executive visibility, media relations, and brand marketing to enhance donor and alumni engagement.
• •Coordinate Marketing & Communications resources to support high-impact Advancement initiatives.

Integrated Institutional Campaign Leadership

• •Lead strategic planning and execution of major institutional marketing, communications, media relations, and reputation initiatives.
• •Define campaign objectives, audience strategies, messaging, and success measures to support University priorities.
• •Provide strategic direction to cross-functional teams while fostering collaboration across stakeholders.
• •Evaluate campaign performance, address risks and resource challenges, and apply insights to strengthen future initiatives.

Measurement & Performance

• •Develop and track key performance metrics to evaluate institutional marketing, reputation, media relations, and executive communications initiatives.
• •Leverage analytics and audience insights to inform strategic decision-making and optimize messaging, positioning, and marketing investments.
• •Analyze results and provide data-driven recommendations to University leadership.
• •Monitor and report on campaign performance, institutional visibility, and reputation outcomes.

Collaboration & Institutional Partnership

• •Build and maintain strong partnerships across University departments to support institutional priorities and initiatives.
• •Provide strategic marketing, communications, and reputation counsel for high-visibility projects and initiatives.
• •Collaborate with content, creative, editorial, enrollment, and other stakeholders to ensure aligned messaging and brand strategy.
• •Promote cross-functional planning, prioritization, and accountability across Marke