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Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Job Details



Salve Regina University seeks a strategic, collaborative, and dynamic marketing and communications leader to expand the institution's national visibility, with a deep understanding of the fast-changing and competitive market in higher education.

The next Chief Marketing and Communications Officer will oversee a comprehensive, integrated, and strategic marketing and communications plan that amplifies the Salve Regina brand and rallies advocates around a consistent message. This leader will supervise a team responsible for managing the university's storytelling, marketing campaigns, digital engagement, website development, media relations, social, crisis communications, design services, video production, external communications, and internal communications.

As a member of the university's senior staff and reporting to the President, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer will inspire the Salve Regina community in collaboration with the university's leadership, spearheading initiatives that both align with the mission, enhance affinity, and increase engagement. Using strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer will coordinate marketing and communication efforts across the university, ensuring a consistent message and supporting leaders to achieve institutional goals.

The Chief Marketing and Communications Officer will lead, mentor, and develop a team of marketing and communications professionals who are creative, skilled, and dedicated to Salve's mission. This cohesive, well-functioning unit looks for a leader to inspire and support the team in delivering high-quality strategies and tactics across all marketing and communications to advance the institution.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
  • Lead a collaborative effort to advance an integrated, university-wide strategic marketing and communications program that promotes Salve Regina's identity, priorities, and accomplishments to internal and external audiences. Ensure that strategies integrate multiple communication channels and tactics, including digital, print, social, editorial, and media relations.
  • Supervise marketing and communications activities that engage Salve Regina's external constituents, including prospective students and families, alumni, donors, and influencers. Collaborate with university leaders, most significantly in Enrollment Management, Advancement, Graduate and Professional Studies and the Pell Center, to ensure quality and creativity of institutional presentation and optimization across digital, media, and print channels.
  • Serve as advisor to the President, Senior Staff, Board of Trustees, and other university leaders regarding communications issues, management of reputational risks, major decisions and events, and crisis planning and response. Oversee the articulation of the university's positions on complex and sensitive issues, ensuring that the institution's mission and accomplishments are advanced effectively.
  • Manage the relevant market and brand research necessary to inform the amplification of Salve Regina's brand identity and messaging architecture, ensuring alignment to institutional mission and strategy. Create an effective partnership network across all Salve Regina's stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
  • Maintain effective working relationships with key local, state, and national media outlets and ensure that the university is well-represented in news media by spokespeople and other individuals. Monitor statewide and national educational trends, especially those with implications for Salve Regina.
  • In consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders, design and implement strategy for the ongoing development and maintenance of the university website, which is a primary marketing and communications tool for the community, ensuring that it supports larger university strategy and effectively serves the multiple necessary audiences
  • Engage with university leaders in advancement, athletics, enrollment management, academic affairs, and other program areas to develop strong working relationships and participate in the development and integration of program elements, events, and marketing tactics across the program areas to support program and institutional goals.
  • Develop and implement measurement frameworks to analyze the effectiveness of all programs and activities, creating a culture of continual testing, learning, and optimization. Make data-informed proposals and decisions, and link budgets and expenditures to measurable outcomes with the goal of ongoing improvement of performance.
  • Take an engaged approach to coaching, mentoring, and guiding the Strategic Communications and Public Affairs team to maintain the capabilities and effectiveness of this group, including setting clear performance management objectives, and evaluating the structure, resources, and capabilities to provide a proactive, agile, client-focused resource for the university.

Requirements:
  • Accomplished and data-driven communications and marketing professional with a successful track record in developing initiatives across an integrated mix of channels for a broad range of intended audiences/markets.
  • Experience working in a complex, matrixed environment with multiple and diverse internal/external stakeholders and audiences.
  • Demonstrated engagement with and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural awareness through actions, interactions, and communications with others.
  • Previous experience in higher education is preferred but not a requirement. Must have knowledge of and embrace the mission of the university and ability to appreciate its culture and history.
  • Ability to set the marketing and communications vision and bring creativity that explores new ways to accomplish traditional objectives, including promotional instincts and a keen sense of how to manage external messages.
  • Expert oral and written communications skills, including ability to set direction on specific issues, and produce high quality work under pressure. Understanding of public media and issues management.
  • Strong working knowledge of the latest digital and print trends, digital engagement, social media, content marketing, lead generation and acquisition strategies and tactics, search engine optimization (SEO), paid media, and branding and market research techniques and practices.
  • Creative, innovative individual who can effect change in a dynamic environment and be a champion for the brand. Experience in evolving a brand is desirable.
  • Team player with extraordinary people and relationship-building skills across all areas of an organization who can build consensus and be collaborative in decision-making. A strong service-minded approach is essential.
  • Inspiring leader with a visible and accessible management style who is adept at setting and achieving goals, has proven success in managing, motivating, and supporting creative people, and who has built integrated communications and marketing units.
  • Proven experience in working with and advising people in leadership positions.
  • Proven expertise as both a strategic thinker and a project manager with a keen ability to multitask and meet deliverables. Demonstrated ability to direct outside business partners and agency providers.
  • Key competencies include integrity, strategic agility, an entrepreneurial spirit, political acuity, positive attitude, compassion, energy, excellent judgment, and exceptional skills in diplomacy and collaboration.
  • Bachelor's degree required; Masters' degree in Marketing, Communications or related field preferred.

Additional Information:

Salve Regina University offers generous benefits to eligible employees including:
  • health and dental coverage
  • life insurance
  • long-term disability
  • 403B plan
  • tuition benefits and more
Salve Regina University strives to provide equal opportunity in employment and education to all employees, students and applicants. No employee, student or applicant shall be discriminated against or harassed on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, age, marital or parental status, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable federal or state law, in the administration of Salve Regina's employment policies, education policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other University administered programs. In accordance with Title IX, it does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any of its educational programs or activities. Salve Regina is also committed to making its programs and campus accessible to its visitors and compliant with all applicable non-discrimination laws.


Application Instructions:

Applicants must apply online for any open staff and faculty positions by providing a cover-letter and resume. Pre-employment background checks and reference checks are required of successful candidates. Salve Regina University participates in E-verify.

URL: www.salve.edu

Company

From our cornerstone mercy mission to the classic ideals of our liberal arts approach, tradition matters at Salve Regina. It’s woven throughout our 80-acre campus, embedded in our historic buildings and infused in the culture of Newport, Rhode Island.

Tradition at Salve Regina means we remember where we began. Since our founding by the Sisters of Mercy in 1934, we have grown to a community of more than 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students who proudly carry forward our mission in their personal and professional lives. Fully accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, we are committed to fueling the imagination and encouraging the academic ambitions of our bright and curious students.

At Salve Regina, tradition blends seamlessly with progress. We empower students to explore their talents through diverse academic offerings, student organizations, service initiatives and athletic teams. Our collaborative learning environment and vibrant campus community inspire the pursuit of excellence and breach the limits of personal potential.

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