Associate Vice President, Presidential Communications

Job Summary

The Associate Vice President for Presidential Communications leads communications strategy for the Office of the President. This position serves as the lead strategist and advisor for presidential communications, executive messaging, institutional positioning, stakeholder engagement, and communications tied to presidential priorities.

Core Responsibilities

• Serves as the lead strategist and advisor for presidential communications, executive messaging, institutional positioning, stakeholder engagement, and communications tied to presidential priorities.
• Works closely with the President, senior leaders, and other university stakeholders to develop and execute communications strategies that advance the President’s vision and institutional priorities.
• Develops communications strategies that strengthen presidential visibility, institutional leadership, stakeholder understanding, and external positioning.
• Maintains a consistent presidential voice across speeches, remarks, presentations, correspondence, op-eds, video messages, statements, and other executive communications.
• Leads communications strategy for Presidential Initiatives, enterprise projects, integration activities, and organizational change efforts.
• Promotes the President’s thought leadership through strategic storytelling, executive visibility opportunities, speeches, articles, presentations, and external engagement.
• Identifies opportunities to elevate the President’s leadership voice nationally, regionally, and within the San Antonio community.
• Collaborates with academic, health, research, advancement, government relations, administrative, digital, creative, media relations, and communications partners to ensure coordinated messaging.
• Anticipates emerging issues, stakeholder concerns, reputational risks, and communications opportunities affecting presidential communications.
• Provides strategic leadership, mentorship, and professional development for the Presidential Communications team that advances the President’s vision and institutional priorities.
• Establishes priorities, standards, workflows, and scalable support structures for executive communications.
• Builds relationships across the institution to strengthen collaboration, responsiveness, trust, and communication effectiveness.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field.
• Ten (10) years of related work experience in Marketing and Communications or related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Higher education communications experience.
• Executive communications experience, including speechwriting, messaging, and communications counsel for senior leaders.
• Experience leading strategic communications for complex organizations and high-profile initiatives.
• Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities:
• Advanced knowledge of executive communications, presidential communications, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and institutional positioning.
• Exceptional writing, editing, speechwriting, storytelling, presentation development, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong executive presence, political acumen, discretion, and judgment.
• Ability to advise senior executives on messaging, positioning, reputation, and stakeholder communications.
• Strong leadership, team development, project management, and planning skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining quality, confidentiality, and responsiveness.
• Knowledge of higher education, academic health, public-sector communications, governance, and executive leadership environments.
• Commitment to excellence, collaboration, innovation, and mission-driven leadership.

Physical Demands

• Sedentary work: sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary; walking and standing are required only occasionally.
• Ability to exert up to 10 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects.

Working Conditions

• Office environment.
• Ability to travel to and from meetings, training sessions, or other business-related events.
• Workdays, areas, and work hours may vary depending on the department's needs.