Sr. Director, Executive Communications

Sr. Director, Executive Communications


About College of the Holy Cross:

Founded in 1843 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the College of the Holy Cross is among the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. A highly selective, four-year, exclusively undergraduate college of 3,100 students, Holy Cross is renowned for offering a rigorous, personalized education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition.

Holy Cross highly values the unique skills, perspective, talents and passion that each employee contributes to its learning community. To work at The College is to accept an invitation to participate in the growth and development of all campus members, students, faculty and staff. The College's commitment to diversity is an important feature of the Holy Cross education. Informed by the presence of diverse interpretations of the human experience, Holy Cross is building a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility. We seek others who support our values of diversity and inclusiveness. Job candidates of all diverse backgrounds who embrace the open and inclusive culture of Holy Cross are welcome and encouraged to apply.


Job Description:

As a member of the Marketing and Communications team and reporting to the Vice President for Communications and Marketing, the Sr. Director, Executive Communications ("Sr. Director") serves as an integral, embedded member of the staff of the President of the College of the Holy Cross. The Sr. Director writes a high volume of executive-level speeches, remarks, and other communications that showcase the vision and the guiding principles of College leadership for diverse audiences. The Sr. Director will be responsible for preparing professional, effective, and compelling high-profile communications that are relevant on local, regional, and national platforms and capture the vision and message of the College. The Sr. Director must be an exceptional writer and skilled professional communicator who can translate the President's strategic priorities, key initiatives and complex concepts into clear and consistent language for delivery by the President across various platforms. The Sr. Director will serve as the President's office liaison on collaborative writing projects with other College offices and ensure the accurate, appropriate, and prompt flow of information to and from the President's Office in support of recurring and special projects.

Major Areas of Responsibility

• Prepares compelling speeches, remarks, lectures, essays, columns, articles, presentations, correspondence, and other written communications of the highest quality for the College President
• Tailors each communication for maximum audience appeal and impact, conducting research on audience expectations, event agendas, topics or remarks of other speakers, and physical space and audio/visual set-up
• Provides counsel and feedback to the President on style and delivery of remarks
• Performs content research and develops detailed speech outlines for executive approval
• Ensures all executive communications projects are delivered on time
• Debriefs with the President, VP for Communications and Marketing, VP and Chief of Staff, and/or other senior staff and communications leadership following each presentation in order to achieve continuous improvement.
• Coordinates efforts to enhance the overall quality of all presidential communications
• Works with other senior College and Communications leadership as requested in crafting messages to address complex communication issues
• Synergizes written communications with an overall messaging strategy for the President, utilizing internal and external communication platforms to articulate goals and initiatives in a clear manner
• Maintains current knowledge of peer institutions, current events, industry issues and trends, policy proposals, and changes in legislation in order to incorporate relevant information into presidential communications
• Performs other duties as requested or required, whether or not specifically mentioned in this job description
  

The College Marketing and Communications Office is embracing a hybrid approach to the workplace and leadership will support the successful candidate in blending on-site time with flexibility to work off- site.

To prevent the infection and spread of COVID-19, and as an integral part of its public health and safety measures, College of the Holy Cross requires that all successful applicants show proof of full vaccination by an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine before beginning employment, unless an exemption from this policy has been granted. Applicants believing they need an accommodation of this policy because of a disability, sincerely-held religious belief, or otherwise should inform Human Resources after an offer of employment is extended; please do not include any medical, genetic, or religious information on your application materials.


Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• 7-10 years' professional experience in the fields of communications, journalism, or publishing
• Experience as high-level speechwriter
• Industry knowledge of higher education
  

Core Competencies

• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills
• Proven project management skills, including the ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment
• Mastery of speech and opinion writing and presentations
• Highly collaborative, seeks and values input from others
• Thinks & Acts Strategically
• Exemplifies Holy Cross Values & Mission
• Dependability & Flexibility
• Service Oriented
• Strong Teamwork
• Strong Interpersonal Skills
• Understands, values and respects diversity as an individual, in a team and within groups while fostering an inclusive and supportive environment.

Additional Information:

This is a full-time, exempt level position

College Description

The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit Catholic, undergraduate institution serving approximately 3,100 students. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and has a tradition of academic excellence. It is located atop Mount Saint James in Worcester, Massachusetts. The picturesque, 174-acre campus is an award-winning and registered arboretum.

Region Description

Worcester is a city of approximately 200,000 people centrally located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is approximately one hour from Boston, Hartford, and Providence, and three hours from New York City. Worcester is known as the Heart of the Commonwealth. Worcester offers many cultural and recreational opportunities.

The College is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and complies with all Federal and Massachusetts laws concerning Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in the workplace.

A member of the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA).

To review our Employee Benefit Options, please go to: https://www.holycross.edu/human-resources/benefits


Application Instructions:

Please attach a cover letter addressing the position requirements along with your resume. Also, please provide 2 samples of professional, written communication/correspondence; redacted examples are acceptable.

In your cover letter please address how your work supports the College's mission as a Jesuit, undergraduate liberal arts college (see http://www.holycross.edu/mission) and its core commitment to diversity and inclusion. For more information, please visit http://holycross.edu/diversity.







To apply, visit https://holycross.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=135936

The College of the Holy Cross is a highly selective Catholic liberal arts college in the Jesuit tradition. It enrolls about 3,000 students and is located in a medium-sized city 45 miles west of Boston. The College seeks faculty members whose scholarship, teaching, advising, and on- and off-campus service demonstrate commitment to the educational benefits of a richly diverse community. Holy Cross aspires to meet the needs of dual-career couples, in part through its membership in Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (http://www.heccma.org) and the New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (https://new-england.hercjobs.org/)

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