Executive Director of Brand, Marketing and Creative Strategy
Lead and steward ECU’s institutional brand, marketing, and creative strategy as a senior executive, overseeing integrated brand strategy and high-impact marketing initiatives across the university. The role provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and collaborative partnership with enrollment, advancement, academic leadership, and senior university stakeholders.
Responsibilities
- Serve as ECU’s chief steward of the institutional brand, ensuring clarity, consistency, and credibility across all audiences and channels.
- Lead the development, articulation, and evolution of ECU’s brand positioning, narrative framework, and value proposition.
- Guide the strategic application of the brand across recruitment, reputation building, research visibility, advancement, and public engagement.
- Provide executive oversight and strategic direction for central marketing functions, including brand and creative services, strategic marketing, and campaign initiatives that drive awareness, engagement, and enrollment conversion.
- Establish enterprise‑wide priorities that guide central and distributed marketing activity.
- Apply market research, analytics, and audience insights to optimize messaging, targeting, and channel strategy.
- Ensure coordination across functions to reduce duplication, fragmentation, and inefficiencies.
- Provide strategic direction regarding brand and creative university‑centric vision in producing high‑quality, audience‑centered assets, campaigns, and visual identity systems.
- Oversee development of integrated marketing campaigns that elevate ECU’s brand, support enrollment objectives, and reinforce institutional priorities.
- Ensure brand standards are upheld and evolve in response to emerging trends and strategic needs.
- Serve as a strategic partner to enrollment management, advancement, academic leadership, research, and health sciences.
- Ensure brand alignment across recruitment, retention, reputation, philanthropy, and research materials.
- Advise senior leadership on market positioning and emerging trends affecting ECU’s visibility and competitiveness.
- Support institutional initiatives through integrated messaging and coordinated go‑to‑market strategies.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing brand, marketing, and creative services organization.
- Define clear roles, expectations, and career pathways for staff across central and distributed teams.
- Build institutional capability in modern marketing practices, including audience insight, digital optimization, and performance measurement.
- Foster a collaborative culture that values shared accountability and continuous improvement.
- Establish and monitor metrics that connect brand and marketing efforts to institutional priorities and outcomes.
- Use data and insight to inform prioritization, resource allocation, and strategic decision‑making.
- Promote a culture of learning, experimentation, and accountability across the marketing ecosystem.
- Collaborate with senior university leadership to align marketing strategy with institutional goals.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leaders on brand and marketing matters.
Qualifications
- Advanced degree with 6 years of relevant experience, or Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of relevant experience.
- Minimum 6 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in marketing, brand strategy, or a related field.
- Demonstrated success leading enterprise‑level brand or marketing functions within complex organizations.
- Proven ability to operate effectively in a decentralized or matrixed environment.
- Strong executive presence with the ability to influence, align, and lead across multiple stakeholder groups.
- All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.
- License or certification required by statute or regulation: None.
- Contingent upon availability of funds.
Preferred Experience, Skills & Training
- Experience in higher education, academic health systems, or similarly complex public institutions.
- Familiarity with enrollment marketing, reputation management, and stakeholder communications.
- Experience designing governance models, operating frameworks, or enterprise‑wide standards.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through organizational change.
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