Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications

Position Title:

Position Type:

Hiring Range:

$115200 - $129600; Compensation will be based on education experience skills relevant to the role and internal equity.

Pay Frequency:

This is a unique opportunity for an accomplished marketer to help grow the reputation and contribute to revenue growth for the School of Engineering. Its unique connection to Silicon Valley and its highly engaged alumni base provide great potential for this position to enhance the School of Engineerings standing as a leading global brand in Higher this high-visibility high-impact role the Assistant Dean will serve as a member of the senior leadership team and a strategic partner to the Dean and other key SoE leaders shaping school-wide marketing and communications direction and collaborating with university-level partners to ensure SoEs visibility internally and externally. This role directly contributes to enrollment growth philanthropic revenue and long-term brand equity for the School of Engineering. The Assistant Dean serves as a strategic driver of demand generation market positioning and external visibility that supports undergraduate and graduate enrollment strategy targets donor engagement and the stewardship of current and anticipated gift funds.

Principal Responsibility

Reporting to the Dean and as a key member of the Deans senior leadership team the Assistant Dean provides strategic leadership and oversight to the development of a marketing and communications strategy and drives its implementation in a manner that effectively and successfully supports the overall vision and objectives for the SoE. The Assistant Dean also establishes marketing and communications-related performance metrics and indicators and uses these to ensure effective usage and good stewardship of School resources. The Assistant Dean will lead the team responsible for building and maintaining the Schools brand in the digital space by driving exposure influence and engagement in all forms of social media. S/he will drive the planning and execution of the schools social media strategy including setting guidelines and parameters for social media across the school The Assistant Dean will lead strategic guidance consultation and final review on major marketing initiatives to ensure cohesion with school-wide and university brand standards. Additionally the Assistant Dean serves as a key member of the Schools extended leadership team and advises the Dean on high-level communications market positioning and strategic planning. The Assistant Dean operates as a senior advisor to the Dean and School leadership translating institutional priorities into integrated marketing communications and enrollment strategies. This role exercises delegated authority over school-wide marketing standards messaging consistency and campaign prioritization with accountability for measurable outcomes related to enrollment growth reputation and revenue-supporting initiatives.

Specific Duties

A. Relationship-building & school understanding

Gain an appreciation and understanding of key objectives for all constituencies and the history and culture of the SoE by meeting with faculty staff students and alumni. Develop and maintain effective relationships throughout the School to achieve marketing and communications goals. Build institutional knowledge and strategies to unlock new opportunities for growth and ways to operate more effectively. Ability to identify communicate and market compelling programs and activities as well as characteristics that differentiate SoE programs from competitors. Represents the school at internal leadership meetings and cross-functional planning groups.

B. Strategy Development

Co-develops and leads the implementation of a multi-year marketing and communications strategy in collaboration with the Dean ensuring alignment with school objectives. Identify and champion efforts to clearly and concisely articulate the identity and branding of the engineering school for both internal and external audiences through creative services market research business intelligence and product management. The strategy should address a wide range of stakeholders to include peer institutions industry leaders corporate partners alumni prospective students and donors. It should also address functions for recruiting fundraising reputation management strategic partnering etc.

C. Team Leadership

Provides direction supervision and professional development for the marketing and communications team. Lead and build the marketing and communications team to develop plan and implement the strategic plan and measure report and evaluate the effectiveness of those activities based on measurable metrics. Provide a regular feedback loop of this information to key stakeholders and solicit their input. Partners with the Dean on long-term organizational design workforce planning and role evolution to ensure the marketing and communications function scales with the Schools growth.

D. Social Media & Digital Management

• Oversees interprets and directs digital analytics and performance metrics and recommends strategic pivots. Research top influencers competitors and trends. Track and stay on top of any new emerging platforms or market trends in higher ed. Routinely share this information with appropriate stakeholders. Base all recommendations on data.

• Regularly evaluate and advance existing digital and web initiatives (websites email communications e-newsletters and social media). Ensures the website is SEO-aligned and user-centered. Lead improvements to web email newsletter and digital communications ecosystems. Develop a robust digital marketing and communications strategy while collaborating with all areas of the engineering school. Ensure that the website is engaging and useful to all constituent groups such as peer institutions and corporate entities.

• Implement and manage social media campaigns and strategies which include but are not limited to research campaign and content creation execution evaluation and reporting.

• Build and continually refine SoEs social media profiles. Ensure the maintenance and evolution of the Schools digital presence and presence on Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn YouTube and Snapchat. Plan create and implement shareable content appropriate for specific networks to spread SoEs brand content and links.

• Stay current with social media trends and tools including attending networking and educational events reading blogs and listening to podcasts.

E. Marketing/Advertising

• Oversees vendor relationships evaluates ROI and recommends contract renewals. Must possess skills and talent to create sophisticated professional-level materials in-house without needing to rely heavily on outsourcing everything. Monitor metrics and identify opportunities for campaigns. Integrate marketing among vendors. Review new marketing tools to ensure efficiency and smart usage. Ensures integrated marketing across units and external agencies.

• Set performance metrics and indicators and monitor and utilize these to recommend investment strategies for effectiveness in relation to the Deans and Schools priorities.

• Develop relationships with key media offices to promote the School and its faculty. Partner with SCU Online on graduate programs and marketing needs. Proactively manage information and access to media outlets that specifically determine national rankings.

• Oversee and engage in relevant social discussions about the school and its competitors from current and incoming students.

• Develop and implement a content strategy across all channels to promote the School faculty student recruitment and fundraising campaigns including print and digital assets.

• Set content strategy priorities; coordinates with school leadership on reputation management student recruitment positioning and institutional storytelling.

• Support the Dean in crisis communications. Issues Management Plan and prepares communications strategies and messages for topical issues and crises.

• Collaborate with Corporate Partnerships Development and external partners to elevate executive outreach. Support efforts that target executives nationally and internationally for overall image enhancement development of student internship and job placement opportunities executive speaking events and executive education initiatives.

• Implement social promotions and campaigns and track their success such as webinars/webcasts event live streams and Twitter chats to Google hangouts. Help advance and support University Relations objectives through compelling social media campaigns specifically during the Day of Giving and Grand Reunion.

• Provide strategic oversight and final approval of marketing and communications for high-profile events including the Deans Speaker Series and collaborate to deliver reunion and Commencement communications for SoE graduates.

• Manage publicity opportunities and communications aspects of key events including lectures and speaker series. Work with the Dean to prepare remarks and talking points. Advise the Dean and faculty on media opportunities for the SoE. Counsel the Dean and faculty members on marketing and communications strategies opportunities and techniques.

• Represent the school in university-wide marketing and communications councils and working groups.

• Collaborate with Storytelling Media/Comms and Brand/Marketing teams in UMC to proactively solicit information from faculty and staff on SoEs accomplishments research and trends. Ensure the accuracy and professional look of everything presented publicly. Develop in-depth knowledge of School programs.

F. Staff Supervision:

• Supervises marketing communications and digital media staff; establishes clear role expectations; evaluates performance; and ensures all work produced by the team meets school standards taking responsibility for all items produced by these staff.

• Provides ongoing constructive feedback with real-time guidance and comprehensive annual reviews with a strong emphasis on professional growth and continual improvement of the Marketing and Communications team.

G. Budget Oversight:

Develop and oversee the M&C budget including forecasting financial planning and ROI analysis in alignment with school goals.. Must always view expenses through a return on investment lens and from the point of view of effectiveness and good stewardship of resources. Recommends resource allocation decisions tied to enrollment impact donor engagement and strategic growth initiatives ensuring alignment with School-wide priorities.

H. Enrollment Revenue and Growth Strategy

• Serve as a strategic partner to Enrollment Management Graduate Programs and SCU Online to develop and execute integrated marketing strategies that support undergraduate and graduate enrollment goals.

• Lead the development of enrollment-focused marketing and communications campaigns informed by market research competitive analysis and performance data with responsibility for messaging channel strategy and conversion optimization.

• Align branding content strategy and digital marketing efforts to prospective student pipelines across awareness consideration and yield phases.

• Oversee the analysis of enrollment and campaign performance data and provide data-driven actionable insights to School leadership to inform program growth positioning and investment decisions.

I. Advancement Marketing and Communications Impact Strategy and Gift Stewardship Alignment

• Partner with University Relations and Development to strategically communicate the impact of philanthropic support of the School translating gifts into clear compelling narratives that demonstrate outcomes value and alignment with the Schools mission and strategic priorities.

• Lead the development of donor-facing impact storytelling including program highlights outcome summaries and visibility assets that celebrate philanthropy while reinforcing the Schools academic research and community impact.

• Provide strategic guidance on how the Schools gift-funded initiatives are positioned and publicized ensuring consistent messaging that elevates program visibility strengthens institutional reputation and supports long-term donor engagement without duplicating fundraising functions.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure communications accurately reflect donor intent gift restrictions and stewardship best practices while maximizing the visibility and narrative value of philanthropic investments.

• Support the Dean and Development partners by amplifying the outcomes of funded initiatives using communications as a lever to demonstrate return on philanthropic investment and build confidence among current and prospective donors.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will possess the following qualifications:

Knowledge

• A successful track record of strategic marketing leadership by applying global business acumen. Experience in developing marketing programs for domestic and international audiences is important. Experience developing strategies for digital and direct marketing market research social media content marketing web presence mobile creative direction and PR.

• Robust knowledge and experience with developing objectives strategy and sophisticated tactical marketing and communications plans.

• Understanding of the demands of protecting and promoting a world-class global brand.

• Familiarity with data analytics their interpretation and presentation of that information to a wide range of stakeholders.

• Experience working in higher education is preferred.

Skills

• Demonstrated outstanding leadership organizational and management skills.

• A perceptive energetic individual who can affect change in a dynamic environment and steward the Schools brand. Excellent skills in managing holding accountable motivating and supporting creative people in the marketing and communications unit.

• Ability to build consensus manage relationships across a diverse group of internal and external constituents and decisively problem-solve in a fast-moving decentralized organization.

• Demonstrated ability to lead motivate and develop a large diverse group of employees.

Abilities

• Charismatic leader: The primary spokesperson after the Dean: collaborative confident low on ego and high on EQ sense of humor a true team player who intuitively knows when to lead and when to support.A leader who is just as effective as an individual contributor.

• Visionary Partner: the ability to make a vision come alive assign appropriate responsibilities and directly contribute to seeing it through.

• Superior ability to build strong client relationships and well-honed communication skills including giving persuasive presentations writing superbly and speaking cogently and compellingly.

• An effective leader adept at managing change building relationships with people from diverse areas of the School and the University and inspiring those outside their direct sphere of control. Clear ability to lead by example.

• The ability to evaluate the quality and ROI of all external vendors selected to work with the marketing and communications team.

• Change agent: proven ability to drive change is necessary to continue to advance the quality of the teams contributions.

• Cross-functional catalyst: leads the optimization of overall team performance.

• Culture champion: demonstrates character and action that embodies brand values actively supports department culture growth and drives innovation for best results.

• Takes personal responsibility for all aspects of material produced by the staff led by this position.

Education

Bachelors degree required; Masters preferred Marketing public relations or liberal arts preferred. Advanced degree preferred

Years of Experience

8-10 years of progressive leadership experience in marketing communications enrollment marketing or related strategic functions preferably within higher education or complex mission-driven organizations.

Work Interactions

The Assistant Dean reports directly to the Dean of the School of Engineering. The Assistant Dean will oversee the marketing and communications team and collaborate with the University Office of Marketing and Communications and vendors for videos media relations advertising publications and printing.

Supervision

• Supervise Digital Media Specialist (1 FTE)

• Supervise the Marketing Coordinator

• May supervise additional staff (1 FTE)

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California Nevada Oregon Washington Arizona and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.

EEO Statement

Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination

Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color ethnicity national origin citizenship ancestry religion age sex sexual orientation gender gender expression gender identity marital status parental status veteran or military status physical or mental disability medical conditions pregnancy or related conditions reproductive health decision making or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws. For a complete copy of Santa Clara Universitys equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies please visit the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX website at Notice of Availability

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Americans with Disabilities Act

Consistent with its obligations under the law Santa Clara University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants who wish to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact the Department of Human Resources ADA Team ator by phone at .