Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Regis College seeks an experienced, creative, and highly collaborative leader to serve as its next Vice President for Marketing and Communications (VPMC). The VPMC serves as the university's chief marketing and communications officer and is a key member of the President's Cabinet. Reporting directly to the newly appointed and dynamic President, the VPMC provides strategic direction for the institution's brand, reputation, and engagement efforts, ensuring that all communications and marketing initiatives advance the university's mission, strategic priorities, enrollment objectives, and advancement goals.
The Vice President for Marketing and Communications provides leadership for the university's integrated marketing and communications enterprise, encompassing institutional marketing, brand strategy, website content, public relations, crisis communications, internal communications, presidential communications, and external relations. In collaboration with Academic, Enrollment, and Advancement leadership, the VPMC develops and executes strategies that strengthen recruitment efforts, enhance philanthropic engagement, and elevate the university's visibility and reputation.
Regis College was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston nearly a century ago and since then has evolved into a leading, private, coeducational university in Massachusetts and the nation. Regis College challenges, inspires, and supports students who are driven by passion, purpose, and a pursuit to positively impact the world within a learning community that embraces inclusivity and innovation and builds strong character, confidence, and careers. The university sits on a beautiful 132-acre campus just 12 miles from Boston. The university enrolls 2,800 students, offering distinctive career-oriented programs grounded in the liberal arts tradition for undergraduate, graduate, and adult students in residential, hybrid, and online modalities. Known for its close-knit, supportive community, Regis is ranked among the top regional universities in the North by U.S. News and World Report, with additional distinction for social mobility and value.
Essential duties and responsibilities for the Vice President for Marketing and Communications are as follows:
Lead the university's integrated marketing and communications function offering support for the university's efforts to communicate Regis' unique mission and characteristics in a compelling manner; enhancing and promoting the university's reputation to prospective students, parents, alumni, donors, the community, and audiences around the globe.
Partner with the President and senior staff on envisioning, championing, and implementing inspirational, distinctive, and bold communications, marketing, public relations, external and government relations strategies for the university.
Provide thought leadership and guidance in developing and amplifying the Regis brand and reputation, strengthening the university's ability to reach its goals.
Serve as the President's lead public relations advisor, working collaboratively to develop and implement a thought leadership platform, and in the development of speeches, op-eds and other forms of significant communication.
Act as a thought partner with fellow Cabinet members, including the vice presidents for enrollment and advancement, in the development of annual goals and strategies.
In partnership with senior staff, support the initiation, oversight, and evaluation of institutional relationships; assure the development of institutional structures within marketing communications to support and maximize partnership agreements.
Provide strategic counsel to the President and Cabinet on institutional reputation, issues management, crisis communications, and constituent engagement.
Partner with Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management to identify market demand for existing programs and new program development and program feasibility; lead the division in successfully targeting and fostering new markets; develop and support enrollment and marketing plans to successfully launch new programs which align with the university's mission.
Regis is seeking an experienced marketing and communications leader with progressive experience and a proven record of success. The successful candidate will be required to have earned a bachelor's degree; an advanced degree from a regionally accredited institution is preferred. In addition, the successful candidate will possess the following:
Experience leading integrated marketing, communications, public relations, brand management, and market analysis initiatives in higher education or related environment and field.
Demonstrated success in higher education or an equivalent setting with significant and progressive responsibility, increasing breadth of leadership, and deep management experience.
Deep and nuanced understanding of today's competitive higher education environment.
Exceptional leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build, inspire, and manage high-performing, cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.
Proven ability to create a collegial and team-oriented work environment for a diverse team of colleagues.
Demonstrated big-picture understanding of how marketing, public relations, and partnerships align with and advance overall institutional strategic objectives.
Ability to lead strategically while also contributing directly to execution in a resource-conscious environment.
A skilled communicator and storyteller with experience crafting compelling messaging across diverse platforms (print, digital, social), including high-level executive and presidential communications.
Able to engage internal and external stakeholders in the development of creative, compelling, and visionary communications and marketing plans reaching a broad range of audiences.
Broad and comprehensive knowledge of communications platforms, theories, concepts, practices, and policies with the ability to execute them.
Demonstrated understanding of best practices in digital communications and social media.
Understanding of multiple audiences including graduate students, adult learners, and undergraduates.
Ability to provide reliable, trusted, and balanced judgment and advice while being diplomatic and direct.
Competence in communicating complex concepts and addressing sensitive situations, resolving conflicts, as well as motivating and persuading others.
Ability to negotiate appropriate communications across diverse, multi-generational audiences, effectively communicating the university's mission and values.
A thoughtful and comprehensive approach to understanding the impact of communications on all constituencies of the university on matters of race, gender, sexuality, and other identities and lived experiences.
Willingness to uphold the university's commitment to inclusive excellence in a diverse educational community.
Data-informed decision maker, adept at data analysis, interpretation, and action; experienced in creating and managing key performance indicators to evaluate effectiveness and return on investment.
Skilled budget manager who can allocate and manage resources effectively to achieve the greatest result possible.
Deeply experienced in the management, evaluation, and oversight of vendor partners with the ability to maximize impact and invest judiciously.
Ability to address problems that are broad, complex, and abstract requiring significant creativity, resourcefulness, staff engagement, negotiation, and diplomacy.
The Vice President for Marketing and Communications will serve as an essential member of President Cautin's Cabinet and will join the university at an exciting time as the university embarks on a new strategic planning process.
In the Fall of 2025, Regis enrolled nearly 2,800 students, including 1,218 full and part-time undergraduates, 1,401 graduate students, and 135 students in credit-bearing certificate programs. The university is proud of its strong student outcomes and is committed to further strengthening them. It has an 80% first year retention rate and a 72% six-year graduation rate for undergraduate students, the latter of which is up from 64% in 2020. Among undergraduate alumni, 95% are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation. 35% of undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant, 26% identify as first-generation, and 86% identify as female. 71% are residents of Massachusetts, and less than 1% come to Regis from outside the United States.
Regis' main 132-acre campus in Weston is home to the student experience. The university has invested heavily in the main campus over the past decade. Between 2014 and 2015, the university constructed a residence hall and quad and redesigned the learning commons and library. More recently, in 2024, the university was awarded a $750,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Science Center to enhance the Watson-Hubbard Science Center through the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment.
In 2019, Regis opened the Dental Center, a high-tech educational facility that serves as the clinical home for the university's dental hygiene program and provides affordable dental care services to Waltham, MA, and the surrounding community.
In 2019, Regis completed a $40-million capital campaign two months ahead of schedule. Recent major gifts include a $5 million gift, the largest in Regis' history, to establish the Fung Scholars Program, and a $2 million gift to endow the Dean of Nursing position and open a healthcare clinic in Woburn, MA. Regis has an annual operating budget of approximately $80 million, with an endowment of $53.9 million as of June 30, 2025.
Compen