Summary
The Senior Director of Communications & Marketing reports to the Vice President for Advancement and Community Relations serving as the College's strategic advisor for the overall communications and marketing strategies aligned with institutional priorities, including developing and implementing a comprehensive communications, marketing and public affairs plan that supports academic, enrollment, advancement (alumni and development), and other institutional goals and objectives.

Knowledge & Responsibilities:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

•  Serves as the College's chief communications, marketing and public information officer advising College leadership for communications and marketing strategies, plans and their implementation.
• Manages college-wide marketing and communications, including media relations, issues and crisis management, college-level internal communications, digital communications and social media, brand stewardship, marketing, and graphic design services.
• Serves as an integral partner of the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee to plan and manage integrated enrollment management marketing and communications programs for various strategic enrollment initiatives.
• Appropriately uses data to create and implement broad-based marketing campaigns that impacts enrollment and retention goals of the College.
• Develops and manages campaigns that drive digital engagement and conversion, as well as components conducive to the enrollment growth and retention goals of the College.
• Sets communications policy/standards and a high-level messaging framework for campus and college communications teams to work within successfully.
• Works with senior leaders, faculty, and staff to assess the College's communications and marketing needs and identify strong messages, compelling stories, and key audiences.
• Develops and oversees a dynamic, interactive, and comprehensive website that meets the needs of multiple constituencies to include Web site redesign efforts.
• Leads the strategic use of digital media and other current social media tools to disseminate brand messages, expand the supporter base, and to enhance relationships with students, prospective students, alumni, donors and other stakeholders.
• Oversees the human and budgetary resources of the department, ensuring accountability and fostering best practices.

Media Relations/Crisis Communication

• Evaluates the news worthiness of College events and activities and ensures effective promotion of same.
• Serves as liaison and initial point of contact for public information requests and media inquiries.
• Handles media spokesperson duties and conducts media interviews for the college when appropriate.
• Coordinates media interest in the College and ensures regular contact with target media.
• Serves on the College Emergency Response Team and provides leadership for public relations and emergency communications.
• Develops, manages, and executes crisis communication plan in collaboration with the College's Emergency Response Plan.
• Manages the Marketing and Communications Standing Committee.
• Attends Board of Trustees meetings.

Other

• Supports and promotes the values of diversity and inclusiveness.
• Ensures the confidentiality of personal and sensitive information, safeguarding the integrity of such information for the College.
• Maintains relations with organizations and associations for professional growth and the benefit of the College.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Evening and weekend work required.

Supervisory Responsibilities:  This position currently supervises one position and has two open positions which needs to be recruited.

Additional Information:

AVP for Communications and Marketing Profile

• A holistic understanding of all aspects of communications, positioning and messaging, including industry best practices in both traditional and emerging media platforms and experience with state-of-the-art communications technology. Demonstrated experience with digital communications strategies and new media.
• Demonstrated ability to use data to guide communications strategies and improve processes.
• Experience leveraging various social/digital media as well as experience with web-strategies to advance campus priorities.
• Proven ability to lead with direct authority and through influence, including collaborating across peer leadership groups and deploying resources to support individual units as well as a college-wide narrative. Ability to forge effective relationships, influence, and collaborate internally and externally at all levels.
• Demonstrated political savvy in identifying influencers in the broader public context, and in achieving public relations impact among outside stakeholders.
• Demonstrated senior leadership experience designing and executing a strategic communications plan in a large, complex, decentralized organization with varied priorities and stakeholders.
• Experience managing teams and budgets in a highly complex organization. This includes experience hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing professional teams, as well as evaluation and retention of and change management for existing teams.
• Outstanding management and planning skills, including the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent and nuanced writing ability and range. Strong interpersonal skills and persuasive presentation and public speaking skills.

Language Skills

• Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

 
Mathematical Skills

• Knowledge of budgeting and fund management principles.

 
Reasoning Ability

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

 
Computer Skills
To perform this job successfully, an individual should be proficient in Microsoft Office, photo editing and graphic design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, and social media management tools.
 
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands and fingers, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear and is frequently required to stand; walk; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
 
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 
The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.