Assistant Vice Chancellor - Marketing

Vanderbilt University is seeking an experienced and innovative leader to serve as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing . It is an exciting time at Vanderbilt as the university prepares for the 150th anniversary of the institution in 2021 while having recently welcomed its ninth chancellor, Daniel Diermeier, on July 1, 2020. The Assistant Vice Chancellor (AVC) plays a leading role in designing and driving the marketing efforts for Vanderbilt University as a top-tier academic research institution and serves as an in-residence expert and advisor on all brand and marketing strategies. The AVC for Marketing will help shape the brand identity of the university and design and drive strategic marketing initiatives in support of the university's mission.

This position reports directly to the Vice Chancellor for Communications and serves as a member of the Vice Chancellor's core leadership team. Additionally, the Assistant Vice Chancellor works collaboratively with other members of the university leadership team, including the Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations, the Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs, the Vice Chancellor for Administration, the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, as well as the deans of the ten schools and colleges.

The Division of Communications serves as the institution-wide center of excellence for communications and marketing, developing and executing strategies that inform, engage and inspire others to participate in Vanderbilt University's global academic and research mission. The division is a key strategic adviser and partner for the mission-based work of the university, providing comprehensive communications and marketing plans and thoughtful analysis on messaging opportunities and constraints. The Division of Communications delivers impactful marketing and communications results across key audiences in order to serve the larger mission, values and priorities of the university.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Working with leaders and stakeholders across campus, direct the vision for an institutional marketing strategy that can help the university achieve its mission and academic strategic plan while staying true to its values through best-in-class brand, recruiting and revenue strategies.
• Bring industry expertise to the university's marketing strategy and individual campaigns that will allow the institution to connect with and build stronger key constituencies locally, nationally and globally.
• Further refine Vanderbilt's identity as a premier academic and research institution that offers a unique approach to teaching, learning and discovery.
• Serve as an advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Communications and other leaders across the colleges, schools and administrative departments on all matters regarding marketing and the university's brand and reputation.
• Continue to center the university's values of diversity, equity and inclusion in all institutional marketing as part of an ongoing effort to reach out to and engage with diverse audiences throughout the Vanderbilt community and beyond.
• Anticipate and proactively address a wide range of issues of importance to the university while executing against marketing priorities that will enable the institution to achieve its stated reputation, recruiting and revenue goals at both the institutional and project level.
• Design and lead the implementation of marketing plans, strategies and campaigns that will engage the university's internal audiences in the mission and values of the university and empower them to be effective ambassadors for the institution. This includes undergraduate students, graduate and professional students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and others.
• Develop and lead the implementation of marketing plans, strategies and campaigns that will engage key external audiences in the university's mission.
• Steward the Vanderbilt brand identity throughout all media, whether print or digital, by managing the institutional marketing and design teams and maintaining a dynamic approach to brand policies, guidelines and tools.
• Enhance and protect the Vanderbilt brand, including overseeing all trademark licensing functions and leading the cross-institutional efforts to generate trademark-related revenue through licensing activities and use of the brand in a manner that is consistent with the university's mission, values and priorities.
• Identify internal marketing strengths and capacity gaps in order to maximize the talent and efforts of staff, faculty, administration and others to elevate Vanderbilt's brand with key audiences.
• With the Vice Chancellor for Communications and others, closely coordinate with Athletics to amplify Vanderbilt's unique approach to the student-athlete experience (the Vanderbilt Way) and leverage the opportunities presented by Vanderbilt's position as a NCAA Division I school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), including using Athletics as an entrypoint to reaching audiences that may be new to or otherwise unfamiliar with the university.
• With the Vice Chancellor for Communications and others, closely coordinate the marketing strategies of the institution with the fundraising priorities of the development team, particularly in regards to high-profile fundraising intiatives and campaigns.
• Identify and implement new systems and tools to advance the university's mission through effective marketing while promoting cross-institutional collaboration, information-sharing and transparency.
• Empower and train leaders within the Division of Communications and throughout the university to be effective marketers with their key audiences.
• Provide overall support as needed and assigned for institutional priorities.
• Demonstrate understanding of the university's mission, values, goals and priorities and an ability to ensure that all are considered in developing communications priorities, messaging frameworks, strategies and plans.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with a wide range of audiences--including faculty, students, leadership, staff, alumni, community leaders, government officials, business leaders and others.
• Adhere to confidentiality and business ethics and demonstrate outstanding judgment and discretion.
• Work outside regular business hours as needed in order to perform job responsibilities, including being officially on-call.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.
• Qualified candidates should be able to provide examples of proven accomplishments with high level and strategic marketing projects. Ideally projects should involve a large, complex and mission-based organization, whether for-profit or non-profit.
• Along with a demonstrated marketing expertise and ability, creative thinking, innovation, pragmatism and dynamism are important traits for this candidate.

Supervisory Relationships :

This position has supervisory responsibility over multiple teams of people and reports administratively and functionally to the Vice Chancellor for Communications.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree is required .
• A degree in communications, marketing or related field is strongly preferred .
• Master's/Advanced professional degree (MA, JD, or PhD) is preferred .
• At least 10 years of experience in the marketing or communications field is necessary.
• At least 5 years experience leading a team of marketers is necessary .
• At least 5 years experience working in a global marketing setting is preferred .
• Experience working in higher education or other nonprofit is preferred .
• Expertise in SEO, web analytics and Google Adwords is necessary .
• Experience with CRM software and digital marketing tools and techniques is necessary .
• Evidence of ability to achieve results and move projects forward is necessary .
• Evidence of ability to collaborate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders is necessary .
• Evidence of a high level of organizational and project management skills is necessary .
• Evidence of an ability to effectively problem solve is necessary .

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.