Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Job Description

PRIMARY PURPOSE: Ave Maria University seeks a motivated and results-driven Vice President of Marketing and Communications to lead its branding, messaging, and strategic communications efforts. This leader will play a pivotal role in enhancing the University's reputation, increasing enrollment, and fostering donor engagement. The VP will oversee all aspects of marketing, communications, and public relations, ensuring alignment with the University's Catholic mission and strategic priorities. This leader must be proactive and passionate about continuous improvement-driving the team to excel in every aspect of their work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

Develop and implement comprehensive marketing and communications plans to advance the University's mission and goals.
Provide direction on brand positioning, storytelling, and institutional messaging.
Collaborate with University leadership, faculty, and staff to ensure consistency in branding and messaging across all platforms.
Lead efforts to enhance Ave Maria University's visibility and thought leadership in higher education.
Lead the content team (writing, design, video, and photo), the channel team (web, email, analytics/reporting, and social media), and internal communications to support Enrollment, Advancement, Student Affairs, and top-of-funnel efforts.
Marketing, Enrollment, and Advancement Growth

Develop and execute top-of-funnel marketing strategies to generate leads for both Enrollment, Advancement, and The Institute. This includes initiatives like The Wisdom Papers monthly mailers, "Pursuit of Wisdom" online courses, lead generation forms, banners, and other engagement-driven programs.
In collaboration with the Enrollment Department, oversee and execute strategic enrollment marketing initiatives to drive prospective student engagement and application growth. This includes developing integrated campaigns, optimizing digital and traditional marketing efforts, and ensuring alignment with enrollment goals to maximize student recruitment and retention
Utilize data-driven insights to optimize digital marketing strategies, advertising, and outreach efforts.
Oversee the development of compelling marketing materials, website content, email campaigns, and social media campaigns.
Ensure that content creation and distribution strategies are synchronized with the Digital Strategy team, leveraging analytics and performance tracking to continuously optimize the University's web and digital platforms.
Public Relations and Internal Communications

Develop and maintain strong relationships with media outlets, community partners, and Catholic organizations and external stakeholders.
Oversee internal communications, emergency communications, and internal stakeholder requests, ensuring timely and effective distribution of information across all audiences.
Manage requests from internal stakeholders for internal communications needs while ensuring messaging remains consistent and design meets branding standards.
Oversee public relations efforts, including managing the press release schedule and strategic communications to enhance the university's visibility and reputation.
Advancement Communications

Partner with the Advancement team to develop communication strategies that enhance fundraising efforts, donor engagement, and alumni relations.
Oversee content creation and distribution for projects such as newsletters, appeals, print materials, and donor-focused communications that strengthen the University's advancement efforts.
Team Leadership and Budget Oversight

Lead, inspire, and mentor a high-performing marketing and communications team to achieve excellence.
Manage budgets effectively to ensure resources are allocated strategically for maximum impact.
Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement (excellence) within the department.
Ensure that the team excels in both content creation and content distribution, optimizing the effectiveness of all marketing channels.
Utilize the principles from Patrick Lencioni's The Advantage for team culture and meeting structure.
Foster a healthy work culture with Lencioni's elements of trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field (Master's degree preferred).

EXPERIENCE: 7+ years of progressive leadership experience in marketing, communications, or related roles, preferably in higher education or a mission-driven organization.

Proven success in developing and executing strategic marketing campaigns that drive enrollment, engagement, and brand awareness.

Strong understanding of digital and print marketing, communications, analytics, content strategy, and emerging trends.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling messages for diverse audiences.

Commitment to the Catholic identity and mission of Ave Maria University.

Demonstrated leadership and team-building skills, with the ability to inspire, challenge, and elevate team performance.

CERTIFICATION: N/A

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

PHYSICAL SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Requires ordinary ambulatory skills sufficient to visit other locations; the ability to stand, walk and manipulate (lift, carry, move) light to medium weights of 10 - 20 pounds. Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp, type and perform data entry, visual acuity to use a keyboard, operate equipment and read technical information, ability to hear in order to answer telephones and to communicate verbally, and the ability to sit for extended periods of time.

WORKING CONDITIONS: Work is performed indoors with minimal safety hazards, and requires seated, standing, and movement work.

Ave Maria University provides a Catholic liberal arts education dedicated to the education of the whole person-academically, spiritually, and professionally-so as to renew society with excellence. This is an exciting opportunity for a visionary marketing professional to make a lasting impact on a growing institution with a vibrant mission. If you are a driven, strategic, and innovative marketing leader who strives for excellence in all things, this is the role for you.

Application Process:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter and include a statement on how their experience aligns with the Catholic mission of Ave Maria University.

Link to Apply: https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=70cb71c1-96f8-4956-8cce-ce625b0b2943&ccId=19000101_000001&jobId=541397&source=CC2&lang=en_US

About the Employer

Founded in fidelity to Christ and His Church in response to the call of Vatican II for greater lay witness in contemporary society, Ave Maria University exists to further teaching, research, and learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the abiding tradition of Catholic thought in both national and international settings. The University takes as its mission the sponsorship of a liberal arts education curriculum dedicated, as articulated in the apostolic constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae, to the advancement of human culture, the promotion of dialogue between faith and reason, the formation of men and women in the intellectual and moral virtues of the Catholic faith, and to the development of professional and pre-professional programs in response to local and societal needs.