Assistant Vice President for Strategic Communication and Public Relations

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of integrated communications strategies that promote Stevens' reputation among national, industry, and peer audiences.
• Oversee storytelling initiatives that highlight Stevens' academic strengths, faculty research, student success, alumni impact, and strategic partnerships.
• Serve as a senior advisor to university leadership on messaging, positioning, and reputation management.
• Direct the university's crisis and issues communications, ensuring timely, coordinated, and strategic responses.
• Represent the Division of University Advancement as a member of the senior leadership team and provide counsel on communications planning and resource alignment.
• Oversee reputation monitoring and analytics to assess impact and inform continuous improvement.
• Lead the development and execution of the university's creative content strategy across all owned, earned, and paid channels.
• Direct the creation of core narrative frameworks, campaign concepts, scripts, video storylines, feature content, and multimedia assets that serve as the foundation for Stevens' marketing, enrollment, advancement, and reputation-building efforts.
• Ensure that creative content aligns with Stevens' mission, strategic priorities, and audience insights while driving measurable engagement and visibility.
• Lead development of speeches, op-eds, video scripts, letters, and remarks for the president and senior leadership, maintaining voice consistency and strategic alignment.
• Manage internal and external announcements, presidential messages, and key university statements.
• Provide direct strategic counsel to senior leadership on sensitive communications and institutional messaging.
• Direct social media strategy for the university and the president's office, ensuring cohesive, on-brand engagement across platforms.
• Leverage analytics and digital tools to optimize reach, engagement, and storytelling impact.
• Champion innovation through new platforms, AI-informed content development, and multimedia collaboration.
• Lead communications for major institutional initiatives and events, including undergraduate and graduate enrollment, Innovation Expo, Commencement, the launch of the School of Computing, and strategic partnerships.
• Serve as a division communications liaison to university committees, working groups, and external partners.
• Lead and mentor a team that includes director-level leaders (Public and Media Relations, Strategic Communications, Multimedia) and professional staff across strategic communications, public relations, social media, and multimedia.
• Provide leadership through periods of organizational change, staffing transitions, and increased institutional demand.
• Foster professional development, collaboration, and operational efficiency through clear performance goals and careful team management.
• Manage unit budgets, contracts, and vendor relationships to ensure strategic use of resources.
• Ensure continuity of operations, quality, and morale in a fast-paced environment characterized by high-volume demands, complex institutional priorities, and evolving organizational structures.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, marketing, or a related field; master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, public relations, or integrated marketing within higher education or a comparable complex organization.
• Demonstrated success in developing and executing data-informed communications strategies that strengthen institutional reputation and engagement.
• Prominent ability to lead cross-functional teams and provide strategic counsel to senior leadership.
• Strong writing, editing, and presentation skills, with demonstrated expertise in executive communications.
• Experience managing media relations, social media strategy, and multimedia production in alignment with institutional goals.
• Demonstrated judgment, discretion, and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within an advancement, alumni engagement, or integrated communications environment.
• Familiarity with analytics, SEO, and reputation measurement tools.
• Understanding of higher education reputation drivers and the national media landscape.