Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content

Duties And Responsibilities
Partner with the AVP and VP to develop and execute multi-year and annual strategic communications PR and established KPIs and performance dashboards tied directly to enrollment and reputation goals. Integrate brand news and enrollment storytelling across all channels and audiences establishing editorial standards and maintaining brand consistency across all university colleges and departments. Provide strategic communications counsel for faculty for media appearances with tailored briefing materials and media training. Direct local regional and national media relations to secure placements in print broadcast digital and podcast outlets prioritizing key enrollment growth markets. Maintain and support the execution of the university crisis and issues communications plan alongside the AVP and Chief of Staff leading media responses and serving on the Emergency Management and Weather Emergency teams as needed. Build and manage high-profile thought leadership initiatives including a faculty speakers bureau op-ed program and expert source guide to elevate institutional visibility across higher education. Oversee the university newsroom authoring editing and approving news releases media advisories pitches and web stories while leveraging rankings and awards into sustained earned-media campaigns. Supervise coach and evaluate a team of five content editorial multimedia graphic design and social media professionals building clear career growth pathways and setting performance goals. Own end-to-end editorial and content strategy for news social media video and the university magazine while supplying high-quality content for web and enrollment communications. Establish streamlined processes for intake prioritization review and approval to ensure projects across Enrollment Advancement Athletics and academic colleges are delivered on schedule. Oversee social media strategy. Lead the integration of AI tools to scale content creation and workflows within ethical guardrails developing Generative Engine Optimization strategies to maximize visibility in AI-powered search engines. Ensure all published content meets technical accessibility standards best practices and brand requirements across all email and print mediums. Manage campaigns with University Advancement with alumni donor campaign and support the Editor-in-Chief of the Alumni magazine. Manage relationships with content PR and digital vendors and agencies; evaluate their performance and recommend vendor strategy to the AVP . Perform other related work as assigned.

Required Qualifications
Bachelors degree in communications public relations journalism marketing or a related field. Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in public relations communications or marketing including at least five years supervising professional staff. Demonstrated success developing and executing multi-year strategic communications or marketing plans tied to measurable organizational goals. A record of placing stories in national media on behalf of a complex organization and strong relationships with media organizations. Experience leading content teams across writing design video and social media including coaching and developing early-career staff. Experience with crisis communications. Exceptional writing editing and presentation skills; the ability to synthesize ideas quickly and perform under deadline. Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to lead multiple projects at once and build repeatable processes. Comfort using data and analytics to measure results and guide decisions. Commitment to collegiality confidentiality accuracy and honesty and the diplomacy to balance competing campus priorities. Interest in and support of John Carrolls Jesuit Catholic mission to inspire individuals to excel in learning leadership and service in the region and in the world.

Preferred Qualifications
Masters degree in communications marketing or a related field or professional accreditation such as APR . Higher education experience particularly in enrollment marketing or advancement communications or at a Jesuit or Catholic institution. Familiarity with web content management systems social media analytics and media monitoring tools. Experience managing agency or freelance partners and departmental budgets. Knowledge of the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio media market. A creative problem solver who brings structure to fast-moving work.