Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Wheaton is a leading private, coeducational, liberal arts college of 1800 students located in Norton, MA and within easy commuting distance of Boston and Providence.

Posting Details

Posting Details

Posting Number:

0600959

Position Title:

Vice President for Marketing and Communications

FLSA:

Exempt

Job Type:

Full-Time

Staff Term:

12 Months

Staff Work Schedule (hours/dates):

Monday - Friday 8:30 - 4:30 (35 Hours / Week)

Academic Year Schedule (dates):

Faculty Term:

Position Type:

Staff

Department:

Marketing & Communications

Job Summary/Basic Function:

Wheaton College has partnered with The Ward Group for this search, which is being represented by Jim Ward, Julie Ried, and Vanessa Theoharis. Inquiries and/or applicant materials should be sent to info@wardgroup.com ; please reference ‘Wheaton College’ in the subject line.

Organizational Overview
Wheaton is a private, four-year, residential college in Norton, Massachusetts that consistently ranks among the nation’s best. Offering more than 100 career-connected majors and minors, Wheaton provides guaranteed access to internship funding along with a highly-personalized education in the liberal arts and sciences. The College’s innovative Compass curriculum encourages students to find academic paths that fit their interests and goals, with structured advising and mentorship to help guide that passion to career success.

Located halfway between Boston and Providence, Wheaton draws students and faculty from around the world. The location in southeastern Massachusetts is fortuitous, providing easy access to a myriad of businesses, cultural and educational resources that call the greater Boston and Providence areas home. At the intersection of Route 128 and Route 495, central arteries of the Massachusetts high-technology economy, Southeastern Massachusetts has become the fastest growing residential area in a very prosperous state.

Consistently ranked among the most beautiful in New England, the Wheaton campus mixes traditional Georgian-style brick buildings with modern designs. The original design of the campus is organized around a central quadrangle with a circular declivity, affectionately known as the Dimple. The beautiful, 400-acre campus is welcoming and walkable and contains many innovative spaces for students to enjoy—a sculpture studio, maker and fiber spaces, an idea lab, and much more.
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Opportunity Proposition
You will join Wheaton College’s senior leadership team, under a dynamic new President during a significant time in the history of the College. At this milestone moment, Wheaton stands poised for significant change and growth. Buoyed by a tradition of innovation, the College begins its next phase under the influential leadership of President Whelan, an expanded educational charter, and a renewed commitment to transformation. As the College embarks on this next chapter, which includes developing and launching new programs, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications will have a material impact on the College’s brand, visibility and standing in the marketplace. This new leader will drive the College-wide marketing and communication efforts that support Wheaton’s overall mission and its academic, enrollment and advancement goals.

Principal Responsibility
With expertise in digital marketing, the Vice President will provide strategic leadership and direction for the College’s communications and branding priorities and objectives. Reporting directly to the President, the Vice President serves as the College’s Chief Marketing Officer and is a member of the president’s leadership team, overseeing the team of talented, diverse, creative professionals who drive integrated initiatives and execute activities and campaigns.

Principal Duties
• Planning, developing, and implementing a comprehensive and integrated marketing strategy that supports the College’s strategic priorities and coordinating all major marketing efforts to build the College’s reputation, awareness, and brand in targeted geographic, academic and industry markets.
• Building and providing leadership and direction for a high performing team of marketing and communications professionals including communication writers, designers and developers, digital content creators and program marketers.
• Collaborating with Vice Presidents of enrollment, advancement, and student affairs to develop and implement marketing strategies in support of institutional goals related to the recruitment of prospective students and their families, advocacy and cultivation of alums and donors, and engagement and retention of current students.
• Extending the College’s marketing and branding strategies throughout the College and to ensure consistency of messaging through close collaboration with a variety of campus partners including academic affairs, athletics, career services, institutional equity and belonging, global education, and other key stakeholders.
• Overseeing all aspects of the development, design, writing and production of the College’s promotional, branding and marketing materials, including print and digital, that support and advance the College’s marketing efforts including admission collateral, departmental flyers and brochures, magazines, and web content.
• Overseeing the development and implementation of a proactive media relations strategy and program designed to build and enhance the image, reach and reputation of the College in the regional and national media, among the general public, and with other key constituencies.
• Leading a comprehensive and proactive crisis communication plan that effectively preserves and ensures the integrity of the College’s reputation, history and traditions.
• Staffing and engaging the Board of Trustees’ Reach and Reputation Committee with strategic thinking about marketing and brand positioning of the College.
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Minimum Qualifications:

• Accomplished marketing and communications professional with progressive responsibility and a demonstrated track record developing and executing strategic marketing initiatives that drive results across high-value, complex decision-making journeys.
• Previous experience in higher education is preferred but not required; working in a complex, matrixed environment with multiple internal/external audiences is a must.
• A respect and appreciation for the history and traditions of Wheaton College and a commitment to the value and transformational impact of a liberal arts education.
• A dedication to and engagement with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging ( DEIB ) through actions, interactions, and communications with others as well as intentional integration within marketing and communications initiatives.
• A demonstrated understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in a competitive higher education private-school market.
• Innovative, dynamic individual who can effect change in an active, multifaceted environment.
• A champion for the brand. Experience in evolving a brand is desirable. Strength in brand development, storytelling and adapting messaging to address various constituents.
• Proven expertise as both a strategic thinker and a project manager with a keen ability to effectively balance a broad portfolio of responsibilities and meet deliverables. Demonstrated ability to direct outside business partners and agency providers.
• Superior communications skills – oral, written, editing, and presentation.
• 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, branding and market research techniques and practices. Will have successfully integrated marketing in conjunction with communications to support College goals and objectives.
• Experience developing and implementing measurement frameworks to analyze the effectiveness of all programs and activities, creating a culture of continual testing, learning, and optimization.
• Proven success in managing, motivating, and supporting creative people and building a cohesive marketing and communications unit. Experience with identifying talent, building teams, and developing staff. Ability to plan and meet budget expectations and function as part of a complex managerial team.
• Experience in working with and advising leadership, especially to develop key themes and messages in situations of issues or crisis management. Ability to set direction on specific issues and produce high quality work under pressure.
• Knows how to balance short-term objectives and long-term vision and can work simultaneously to deliver both. Proactively identifies opportunities; motivated by challenges and opportunities.
• Strategic partner and 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.
• Confident decision-maker. Makes decisions that are well-informed with data.
• High energy/drive, a relentlessly positive attitude, and a sense of humor.
• A bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, or related field. Advanced degree preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

Compensation and Benefits

Physical Demands

ADA Statement:

Individuals must possess these knowledges, skills and abilities or be able to explain and demonstrate that the individual can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

Eeo Statement

Wheaton is a private coeducational liberal arts college within easy
commuting distance of Boston and Providence. We have nearly 1,700
undergraduates from 40 U.S. States and more than 70 countries. Nearly 23%
of our undergraduates are U.S. students of color and 11% are international
citizens. Wheaton College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group on the
basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age,
race, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, genetic
information, or disability. In a continuing effort to maintain and enrich
an intellectually diverse learning environment, the Department and the
College actively encourages applications from women and members of
underrepresented groups.

Posting Date:

12/13/2022

Closing Date:

Open Until Filled

Yes

Contact(s):

Office of Human Resources

Contact Phone/Extension:

508-286-8206

Contact Email:

careers@wheatoncollege.edu

Contact Fax

Special Instructions to Candidates:

To prevent the infection and spread of COVID -19 and as an integral part of our public health and safety measures, Wheaton College requires that all successful applicants hired provide proof of full vaccination and one booster for COVID -19 at the time of employment, unless an exemption from this policy is requested and approved. Applicants believing that they need an accommodation of this policy because of a disability, medical condition, or sincerely-held religious belief should inform the Office of Human Resources after an offer of employment is extended.

References
Supplemental Questions

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Optional & Required Documents
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