Senior Communications Strategist

About the role

The Office of Research & Partnership's (ORP) Marketing & Communications team is in search of a Senior Communications Strategist. The Senior Communications Strategist creates and leads comprehensive content strategies that advance the strategic vision, research priorities, and institutional goals of the University of Arizona and the Office of Research, Innovation and Impact (ORP).

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, development, and execution of integrated communications and marketing strategies that advance ORP and university priorities.
• Develop content and campaign strategies that support research visibility, stakeholder engagement, recruitment, event promotion, and organizational objectives.
• Partner with faculty, researchers, administrators, and campus stakeholders to identify communications and marketing needs and recommend strategic solutions.
• Provide guidance on messaging, audience engagement, content strategy, and communications best practices.
• Ensure consistent messaging, brand alignment, and audience-centered communications across all channels.
• Write, evaluate, review, and edit high-quality communications including feature stories, website content, publications, campaign materials, presentations, marketing collateral, and multimedia content.
• Independently research, identify story opportunities, conduct interviews, and develop compelling narratives that support institutional goals.
• Maintain editorial standards and ensure accuracy, consistency, and quality across communications deliverables.
• Lead complex content projects from concept through execution while coordinating with multiple stakeholders.
• Develop and implement marketing initiatives that increase awareness of ORP programs, services, events, and research achievements.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify target audiences and create tailored communication and marketing strategies.
• Support digital marketing efforts through content development, audience segmentation, and channel optimization.
• Influence communications standards and messaging approaches across projects to support organizational objectives.
• Establish and evaluate content and campaign performance metrics to assess effectiveness and inform strategic decision-making.
• Analyze audience engagement data and apply insights to improve communication and marketing outcomes.
• Identify emerging communications and marketing trends, technologies, and best practices and recommend innovative approaches to content development and distribution.
• Use data-driven insights to refine content strategies and improve organizational impact.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and provide strategic communications guidance.
• Ability to develop and execute integrated communications and marketing strategies.
• Ability to independently manage complex projects and exercise sound judgment with minimal supervision.
• Ability to identify emerging trends and apply innovative approaches.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.