Description

Indiana University is seeking a visionary and strategic communicator to establish and lead our Student Journey Communications team. This role is pivotal in shaping the student experience by delivering clear, timely, and action-oriented messaging across the entire student lifecycle from admissions to graduation. This Leader will champion marketing communications that empower students through their journey with IU from early awareness of IU to navigating administrative processes with confidence, freeing them to focus on academic success and campus engagement.
Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Directs a team of functional strategists (Financial Aid, Admissions, Academic Success, and Career Engagement) and technical teams (CRM Journeys, Digital Development, and Web Strategy) to create an integrated, student-centered communications ecosystem.
• Develops and implements a unified marketing communications framework across all student success touchpoints.
• Escalates operational issues, including human resources, and/or people management situations.
• Determines overall budget for communications teams.
• Works closely with peers within the division as well as develops business relationships across the university and externally to ensure marketing communications programs maximize adoption and effectiveness.
• Directs overall operations and strategy for the marketing and communications function by providing oversight and direction within a large multi-faceted division with multiple departments.
• Aligns messaging strategies with institutional retention, persistence, and completion goals.
• Establishes key performance indicators (KPIs) for lifecycle communications and report outcomes to executive leadership.
• Monitors industry trends and best practices and implements strategic process and policy changes to optimize operations and progress toward objectives.
• Directly hires and supervises technical team leads.
• Fosters collaboration between functional strategists and technical execution teams.
• Implements professional development programs to build communications expertise across teams.
• Oversees the university's central CRM (Slate/Salesforce) strategy for automated student journeys through the full range of student admissions, enrollment, retention and graduation experiences.
• Guides web development priorities for student-facing assets and knowledge bases.
• Approves all major digital communication initiatives and technology investments.
• In partnership with Institutional Research, conducts research and discovery work to inform communications strategies to improve student outcomes data.

General Responsibilities

• Directs overall operations and strategy for the marketing and communications function by providing oversight and direction within a large multi-faceted department or multiple departments.
• Hires, trains, evaluates, coaches, assigns work, sets goals and objectives, determines staffing needs, sets strategic priorities, and directs the work of people leaders within communications.
• Manages relationships with various internal and external stakeholders; determines communications needs, projects, and programs to align with objectives and goals and coaches people leaders on processes such as the development of communications timelines related to such initiatives.
• Directs and manages the budget for communications initiatives, including expenditures, revenue projections, program costs, and cost containment.
• Responds to escalated and highly complex inquiries and requests and explains policies, procedures, and context of communications.
• Monitors industry trends and best practices and implements strategic process and policy changes to optimize operations and progress toward objectives.
• Presents communications outcomes to university leadership.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION
Required

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, English, public relations, or related field

WORK EXPERIENCE
Required

• 5 years in relevant field
• 3 years of management experience in relevant field

SKILLS
Required

• Proficient communication skills
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism
• Demonstrated time management and priority setting skills
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality
• Excellent organizational skills
• Excellent collaboration and team building skills
• Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback
• Instills commitment to organizational goals
• Demonstrates excellent judgment and decision making skills
• Effective conflict management skills
• Builds and manages effective teams
• Effective leadership skills
• Ability to represent the company with external constituents
• Ability to drive multiple projects to successful completion

Preferred

• Ability to operate at the strategic level
• Ability to drive excellence
• Strong attention to detail in execution

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
• Health savings account with generous IU contributions
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Basic group life insurance paid by IU
• Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
• Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
• Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
• 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
• Generous paid time off plans
• Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IU Benefit Programs Brochure .

Job Classification

Career Level: Strategic
FLSA: Exempt
Job Function: Marketing & Communications
Job Family: Communications Generalist
Click here to learn more about Indiana University's Job Framework.

Posting Disclaimer

This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.
If you wish to include a cover letter, you may include it with your resume when uploading attachments.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information .

Campus Safety and Security

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, containing policy statements, crime and fire statistics for all Indiana University campuses, is available online . You may also request a physical copy by emailing IU Public Safety at [email protected] or by visiting IUPD.