Vice President for Marketing and Strategic Communication

Vice President for Marketing and Strategic Communication

Loras College is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an educational and work environment that is inclusive, rich in diversity, and supportive of all students, faculty and staff. Individuals from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

POSITION SUMMARY

Develop and implement effective, integrated marketing and communications plans that advance Loras' strategic priorities and support goals for College positioning, recruitment and fundraising. Serve as chief communication strategist and leader of the College Marketing and Strategic Communication team. Create a dynamic, effective and proactive communication infrastructure that includes best practice, analytics and mission-driven messaging.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• College Administration:
  • Serve as a member of the Administrative Cabinet and work with this team to advise the President on College-wide policies and procedures.
  • Provide strategic leadership and counsel on College-wide organizational and external communication and marketing.
  • Serve as the official Loras spokesperson and/or provide guidance to appropriate College faculty and administrators on messaging and uniform delivery; support College leaders with messaging and talking points on both proactive messaging and responses to specific tactical situations.
  • Guide government relations for the institution.
  • Serve as a liaison between Loras and its neighbors and civic organizations.
  • Serve on the Emergency Response Team and manage the College’s public response to emergency or crisis situations, including the active management of the communication portion of the crisis communication plan.
• Marketing & Communication Leadership:
  • Develop an annual integrated marketing and communication plan that measurably advances Loras’ strategic priorities and supports goals for College positioning, recruitment and fundraising.
  • Work with the President and Administrative Cabinet to ensure marketing strategies are effective, including the development of appropriate measurement systems.
  • Counsel and partner with College vice presidents and managers in creating effective marketing plans, including key messages and creative execution of marketing initiatives.
  • Develop a strategic internal communication plan and process, focused on two-way communications channels with faculty, staff and students.
  • Lead and serve on cross-functional teams for College initiatives to represent and advocate for a communication perspective to be factored into decision-making.
  • Empower an ongoing, collaborative relationship between Sports Information.
• Division Administration
  • Serve as leader of the internal College Strategic Communication and Marketing team in order to ensure team members are fully engaged, aligned around the brand platform, and that appropriate capabilities are built within the internal team.
  • Use print, video and internet strategies to create measurable multi-channel marketing communication solutions to achieve goals for brand awareness, recruitment and fundraising.
  • Support strategies that ensure proactive media relations, the promotion of Loras initiatives, events and successes and frequent updating of Loras website(s) content and analytics.
  • Oversee the development and management of photography and video marketing campaigns.
  • Manage the College’s community sponsorships; College image advertising and non-enrollment-related marketing promotional materials.
  • Manage division staff in accordance with the College policies and applicable laws.
  • Establish and maintain the division budget.
  • Determine Marketing staff goals and professional development plans.
  • Play an active role in the campus community and attend official College functions when appropriate.
• Brand Management:
  • Oversee development, adoption, alignment and growth of the Loras brand strategies, architecture and positioning to achieve significant positive marketplace impact in areas of academic reputation, student recruitment, fundraising and alumnae relations.
  • Maintain user-friendly resources and work with campus community to ensure consistency of brand in all its applications.
  • Liaison to campus book store.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Competency Statement(s)

• Demonstrated ability to create, implement and prioritize short-and-long term plans and projects.
• Ability to recruit, motivate and retain a strong, creative team.
• Ability to develop systems and effective processes and procedures to achieve objectives efficiently and effectively.
• Relationship-building skills, organizational savvy and ability to relate to and collaborate with others.
• Results-oriented; maintaining a proactive sense of urgency and persistence despite obstacles and setbacks.
• Exceptional oral, written and analytic skills.
• Knowledge of theory and best practice marketing and communication, including analytics, email and text automation, databases and web strategies in a highly technological and competitive environment.
• Commitment to excellence in his/her own work performance and in that of others within the team; unwavering attention-to-detail when evaluating work output of the team.
• Strong decision-making skills including systematically gathering relevant information; considering a broad range of issues or factors; understanding complex relationships among problems or issues; seeking input from others; using logic in analysis; and generating creative solutions and recommendations.
• Ability to make timely and sound judgments and decisions in difficult and ambiguous circumstances; ability to maintain calmness under pressure.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communication, or related field is required.  Master’s degree strongly preferred.

Experience: A minimum of 7-10 years of successful experience in communication and/or marketing in a management capacity providing direction for others is required.  Experience in higher education and/or student recruitment environment is highly preferred.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Computer Skills:  Skilled in the use of a personal computer and Microsoft Office Suite. Familiarity with Web and print design and management software.

Other Requirements:  Requires excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills including the ability to speak effectively before groups; respond professionally and in a timely manner to questions or requests; write reports, correspondence and marketing materials.  Must have the willingness and ability to work in a highly collaborative, creative team atmosphere. Requires the ability to work with and maintain confidential information.  Requires strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task, prioritize and work with frequent interruptions.  Must have the ability to professionally respond to variations in schedules and plans.  Strong problem-solving and collaborative skills including the ability to develop innovative approaches and ideas and meet challenges with resourcefulness.  Willingness and ability to occasionally travel and work some evenings and weekends.  Ability to be “on-call” including events and weekends as needed to support communications initiatives and media/crisis response.

To apply, please go to: https://loras.applicantpool.com/jobs/. Cover letter and resume/CV are required.