Associate Director of Marketing and Communication

Position Purpose

The Associate Director plays a key role in shaping and executing the School of Engineering’s marketing and communications strategy. Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications, this position supports the School’s efforts to raise visibility, strengthen its brand, engage internal and external audiences, recruit and retain students and faculty, build alumni and corporate partnerships, and advance fundraising initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Manage, write, and edit internal and external communications including newsletters, reports, speeches, event scripts, and recruitment materials, in alignment with approved communications strategy and branding priorities.
• Develop and produce original content across multiple media platforms to support recruitment, visibility, engagement, and storytelling goals.
• Distribute and publish content across University-owned platforms, including the School’s website, e-newsletters, and social media channels.
• Establish, govern, and maintain a centralized marketing and communications repository that serves as the School’s institutional record for campaigns, messaging frameworks, digital assets, and performance documentation.
• Collaborate with academic units and interdisciplinary program directors to identify and promote distinctive programs, initiatives, and outcomes.
• Support outreach efforts that strengthen engagement with prospective students, faculty, alumni, industry partners, and external stakeholders.
• Support strategies to expand content reach and engagement, including coordination with internal and external partners and performance marketing agencies, as directed by the Assistant Dean.
• Monitor and report on traditional and digital engagement metrics, including media hits, social performance, and campaign outcomes, using established key performance indicators.
• Assign and review content-related work for coordinators and student workers, as appropriate.
• Develop and implement marketing programs and initiatives aligned with priorities and direction set by the Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications.
• Translate approved strategies into actionable plans, including timelines, deliverables, coordination plans, and assessment methods.
• Manage the day-to-day execution of assigned programs, monitoring progress and flagging risks, resource needs, or adjustments for leadership review.
• Coordinate across academic units, admissions, advancement, and central marketing to support effective program delivery.
• Prepare program updates, outcome summaries, and recommendations for review by the Assistant Dean and School leadership.
• Own and maintain the School of Engineering’s marketing operations infrastructure, including systems for tracking campaigns, events, content, and recruitment-related initiatives.
• Design, implement, and manage standardized tracking and reporting processes to assess marketing effectiveness, engagement, and outcomes across channels and programs.
• Establish regular reporting cadences (e.g., monthly and quarterly) to provide leadership with clear, actionable insights on marketing performance and trends.
• Partner with Admissions, Advancement, and central units to align data collection and reporting with recruitment, yield, and engagement goals.
• Implement and deliver activations that attract, engage, and connect the School of Engineering with external audiences.
• Proactively seek internal contacts and nurture relationships to identify potential project collaborators.
• Present marketing and communications plans to external and internal audiences of interest.
• Track performance metrics and contribute to reporting on campaign outcomes and engagement.
• Serve as the primary marketing liaison to Admissions and Advancement for School of Engineering initiatives, coordinating timelines, deliverables, and execution of marketing efforts tied to recruitment, yield, alumni engagement, and fundraising priorities.
• Support undergraduate and graduate enrollment goals by coordinating marketing initiatives aligned with recruitment cycles, yield efforts, and admitted-student engagement.
• Analyze enrollment and campaign performance data and collaborate to provide data-driven, actionable insights to the Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications to inform program growth, positioning, and decisions on use of internal budget.
• Coordinate messaging, campaigns, and events that align with enrollment priorities and timelines.
• Coordinate marketing and communications activities supported by current and anticipated gift funds, ensuring deliverables align with donor intent, funding parameters, and institutional priorities.
• Track timelines, outputs, and outcomes associated with marketing initiatives supported by gift funds and provide documentation or summaries as needed to support Advancement reporting and stewardship.
• Partner with Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications and School leadership to align marketing execution with fundraising priorities, donor communications, and engagement activities.
• Produce high-level event communications strategy, provide support and training for the Event Coordinator for written event communications (emails, flyers, social media captions) to ensure consistent branding and messaging, and coordinate sharing on channels or advise the Event Coordinator on appropriate deployment.
• Develop high-level messaging, narratives, and storytelling frameworks that strengthen the School’s visibility, reputation, and strategic priorities.
• Draft and edit executive-level communications, presentations, speeches, talking points, reports, and leadership messaging materials.
• Translate complex academic, technical, and research topics into accessible and compelling communications for diverse audiences.
• Track and manage marketing-related budgets and expenditures, including monitoring spend against approved allocations and timelines.
• Process and oversee payments, invoices, reimbursements, and purchase requisitions related to marketing programs, events, and campaigns in compliance with University policies.
• Maintain accurate financial and administrative records to support transparency, audit readiness, and effective program management.
• Provide functional oversight of marketing projects executed by professional staff, student employees, interns, and project-based contributors, including setting priorities, timelines, and quality standards.
• Monitor progress across concurrent projects, identify risks or resource gaps, and escalate issues requiring leadership intervention.
• Contribute to planning for future staffing or resource needs aligned with program growth.
• Foster strong working relationships across the School and University to support collaboration and effective execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, or related field required.
• 5-7 years of professional experience in marketing, communications, or related field, preferably in higher education.
• Experience producing high-quality communications and marketing materials without overreliance on outsourcing.
• Experience in ongoing budget management, financial reporting and subsequent decision making.
• Demonstrated experience leading programs or initiatives with measurable outcomes, including event management or multi-stakeholder coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and translate findings into clear insights that inform priorities, decision-making, and actions.