Director of Communication Strategies

About the role

The Director of Communication Strategies plays a pivotal role in articulating the vision and accomplishments of the College of Business. This position is focused on elevating college visibility and fostering connections with business professionals, corporate leaders, alumni, and other essential stakeholders to fortify these relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead promotional strategies to boost the organization’s standing with internal and external stakeholders and enhance its visibility.
• Lead a team of Graphic Design staff to develop cutting-edge, college collateral delivering effectively through marketing channels.
• Work collaboratively with Strategic Marketing and Communications (SMC) on brand alignment and serve as a liaison to UIC Business faculty, building awareness of college and external communication strategies.
• Develop presentation materials and talking points for college leadership for use with corporate, alumni and community audiences.
• Manage marketing channels such as the college website, newsletters, social media, video platforms, podcasts, and business or higher education publications.
• Use data and analytics to assess creative innovation, efficiency, distribution, and cost-effectiveness decisions and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Perform other duties as assigned and participate in special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, or a related social sciences field required.
• A minimum of five years of progressive experience in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations or a related field, with preference to such experience in higher education (e.g. in an office of alumni relations, admissions, recruitment, advancement and/or development) or a non-profit organization.

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of web content management, web accessibility and search engine optimization, and comfort with trends and best practices for higher education digital communications strategies.
• Excellent communications, presentation, organization, and computer/pc skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and other related software and database applications.
• Excellent verbal and written communication across multiple platforms including print, digital, video, and other content- and marketing-related platforms.
• Solid understanding of traditional, digital, and social media communications and marketing concepts and principles. Understanding of higher education marketing.
• Experience with both social media and graphic design.

Skills

• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and other relevant software.

Benefits

• This position is intended to be eligible for benefits. This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents.