The DivisionofMarketing & Communications (MarComm) aims to strengthen DU’s strategic position locally, regionally, and nationally through data-driven and authentic storytelling across multiple channels with focused support on the university’s value drivers: academics and research; enrollment and admissions, athletics, and advancement. Whether through public or media relations, digital strategies, social media, print, podcast, issues or crisis management, community relations or thought leadership and training,MarCommdrives results through narratives thatinvolve words, pictures, and design. With true understandingofand connection with our diverse audiences, we aim to foster collaborative problem solving, creativity andinnovation.MarCommstrives to speak with a unified, authentic, and resonant voice to strategically advance the UniversityofDenver’s brand by focusing on the following priorities:
1. Promoting and protecting DUs reputation.
2. Inspiring students to enroll and engage.
3. Increasing equity andinclusion.
4. Strengthening the University.
MarComm’s mission, vision and values make it imperative that everyone in our community feels safe and included. The participation and input of all members should be valued and respected, while every voice should have the opportunity to be heard. The division’s community-created, shared sense of belonging definition is, “a shared senseofbelonginginMarCommmeans building a collaborative, trusting community where we feel and are safe, valued, and appreciated being ourselves as we contribute to something meaningful.” Our collective achievements are enhanced by the open exchange of ideas – particularly when diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences are embraced.
Position Summary
Reporting to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Marketing & Strategic Positioning (AVC), the Director of Brand Marketing serves as a leader, change agent and driving force behind the creative interpretation of the university brand, overseeing a creative team tasked with building a body of work that brings the DU brand to life and scales it for enterprise-wide use. The Director is responsible for overseeing brand marketing and campaign strategy, execution, and reporting, ensuring the effectiveness of day-to-day activities within the teams supervised as well as supporting the overall quality of creative work done on behalf of the institution. Under the guidance of the division’s two AVCs and in collaboration with partners overseeing marketing, media relations, communications, market research and storytelling, the Director is responsible for influencing how people around the nation and globe think and feel about the University of Denver and its ability to positively impact the public good. The Director will provide support for campus partners across the University’s two campuses and in its communities, creating impactful marketing and advertising campaigns, content, and experiences. This role combines supervisory responsibilities with contribution to and presentation of big ideas, responsibility for the care and optimization of DU’s central marketing portfolio, and on-going establishment of the necessary systems and process that lead to efficient and effective outcomes for the University.
Essential Functions
Program Management
- Central Marketing Rollout, Optimization & Evaluation
- Champions and provides oversight of the central marketing campaign (currently For the Difference) to ensure campaign’s effectiveness.
- In collaboration with AVC, creates and implements annual marketing strategies in support of DU’s strategic priorities, with primary focus on reputational advancements, revenue-generation outside of recruitment, thought leader/influencer advocacy and strategic priorities.
- Manages relationships with external agencies as needed.
- Promotes and strengthens DU’s brand by leading effective advertising, content, digital/web, experiences, and communications practices.
- Partners to develop and implement strategic marketing plans by conceptualizing and proposing innovative, audience-specific, integrated marketing solutions.
- Recommends and oversees market research activities, as needed, to support marketing and brand objectives.
- Actively monitors effectiveness of activities with staff and leads campaign and activity optimization efforts to maximize results.
- Evaluates the success of delivered programming and utilizes the data and assessment crafts ways to ensure continual improvement of managed portfolio.
Content Marketing Program
- Provides direction for content marketing (social, video, underwriting) and subsequent amplification of DU’s strategic content to provide credibility to marketing efforts while also extending and expanding the reach of critical messages and differentiators.
- Experiential Marketing & Branding Program (co-lead)
- Aids in the ideation and creation of branded experience programming, ranging from events to sponsorships to AR/interactive digital to marketing activations, to ensure each is leveraged as a strategic touchpoint and brings DU’s brand to life for key audiences.
- Automation & Personalized Marketing Program
- Develops, executes, and expands DU’s personalized marketing program, utilizing localization, translation and personas to maximize efforts and accomplish OKRs.
- Collaborates on the implementation and on-going utilization of DU’s marketing automation platform, CRMs and technology suite.
Digital Marketing Program
- Contributes to the development, oversight and execution of digital marketing/web program and portfolio in collaboration with colleagues.
Marketing Team Lead
- Provides leadership to the central brand marketing team, aligning the teams work with others to create synergy in marketing efforts, improved outcomes, and seamless user experience for target groups. As a working manager, must be able to roll up sleeves and assist on any project team at any time to ensure positive outcomes.
- Selects, hires, and manages pool of freelance marketing writers as well as mail houses and other support vendors to augment internal team’s capabilities.
- Helps staff understand and negotiate change, so each staff member can grow and thrive as an active and contributing member of the team.
- Serves as initial reviewer of team’s work and stands behind all work performed by creative and marketing teams, presenting, and defending team’s work to internal and external constituents as appropriate.
- Gathers and manages cross-functional teams for special projects as requested by AVC, ensuring that the members gathered for such projects understand roles and responsibilities.
- Leads brainstorming workshops to generate new creative ideas and gathers relevant references for creative marketing across all media.
- Leads in a highly organized way to help a team plan for and meet deadlines.
- Constantly monitors and oversees workflow, proactively looking for opportunities to resolve process or procedures issues to provide all marketing staff with the most efficient and effective framework to work within.
MarComm Infrastructure, Central Marketing Operations & Campus Support
- Helps DU community understand the brand’s intersection with target audiences, what central marketing resources are available, and how to use the brand correctly in their marketing.
- Identifies areas of operational conflict/redundancy across campus and partners with campus colleagues to identify solutions.
- Meets with MarComm leadership to talk about new projects and monitor ongoing work to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the division.
- Coordinates with members of other DU units and represents marketing staff in the exchange of project information and deliverable needs up and down the communication stream.
- Develops, implements and maintains work unit identity, design standards, policies, and procedures to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative and staffing resources.
- Develops and monitors marketing protocols, workflows, and progress measurements to ensure production adheres to unit objectives.
- Contribute to the implementation of and on-going utilization of DU’s PM system by ensuring team maintains workflows within the system
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrated experience with marketing and advertising principles, including measurement and analytics with a track record of fostering creativity across multiple mediums.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and a passion for equitable strategic practices are critical.
- Experience leading multimedia projects and creative executions in a variety of mediums.
- Ability to quickly digest and synthesize complex information to activate teams swiftly appropriately.
- Ability to condense complex messages into consistent, easy to understand messaging, along with the ability to vary delivery to match audiences.
- Team player, willing to pitch in on tasks that may be outside of usual responsibilities without ego.
- Attention to detail, organizational skills and project management experience a must.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and a passion for equitable strategic practices are critical.
- Deep understanding of marketing/creative best practices with a proactive approach and demonstrated ability to create and improve processes and plans.
- Superior presentation skills with excellent ability to persuade through a variety of mediums and gain respect with a variety of stakeholders.
- High level of integrity, trustworthiness, respect, and ability to think creatively to solve complex problems.
- Demonstrated ability to work on several projects at once in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Experience utilizing emerging technologies and social media to engage constituents and generate results.
- Experience developing and monitoring KPIs and benchmarks.
- Experience creating and improving processes as well as adapting to change.
- Skills in digital campaign development and implementation including experience managing digital and web communications as well as media planning and advertising placement.
- Skills in marketing development, activation, Google Analytics, CRM systems and Web CMS platforms.
- Ability to manage and track spending and budget efficiently.
- Knowledge of brand management and stewardship as well as developing and maintaining identity standards.
- Ability to create and maintain working relationships and collaborations.
- Evidence of effective communication in visual, verbal and written formats.
- Proven experience generating positive results and outcomes through work.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related communications field plus seven (7) years of experience in executing marketing or advertising, which includes three (3) years of supervisory experience; OR equivalent experience; eleven (11) years of experience in marketing or advertising, which includes three (3) years of supervisory experience; OR Any equivalent combination of education and/or experience from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.
- Experience in directing, designing, and delivering complex marketing communications campaigns that use a variety of mediums and cross platforms.
- Portfolio of previous work that demonstrates this ability is expected/required. Include a link to an online source or samples as a part of your resume.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in a higher education setting or other complex organization.
- Experience contributing to brand efforts from conception through implementation.
- Experience in using technical and organizational tools to foster an environment of collaboration.
- Experience in effectively developing and managing contractor deliverables to ensure adherence to established deadlines and quality standards.
- Experience working with and within flexible, non-hierarchical teams and managing non-traditional personnel, such as student employees or contractors.
Working Environment
The successful incumbent must live or be willing to relocate to the Denver metro. The Division of Marketing & Communications has a flexible work arrangement with its employees, allowing for both community and culture building in office and remote work from home.
Activities are performed in an environmentally controlled office setting subject to extended periods of sitting, keyboarding and manipulating a computer mouse; frequently required to move for varying lengths of time and travel moderate distances to perform work
Regular activities require ability to quickly change priorities which may include and/or are subject to resolution of conflicts
Ability to clearly communicate required to perform essential functions
Receives regular managerial review of objectives.
Provides supervision of contracted paid media vendors for completion of project/program related tasks as needed.
Some travel as well as occasional weekend or after-hours work will be required to fulfill duties.
Physical Activities
Some lifting may be required to support experience/activation activities
Work Schedule
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Application Deadline
For best consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) May 2, 2023.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 14.
Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $105,000-$125,000
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver .
Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume including a link to an online source or samples
2. Cover Letter
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age (40 years and over in the employment context), religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, veterans status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the university’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in 2008; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For the university’s complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please see non-discrimination-statement .
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.
Advertised: April 18, 2023
Applications close: