Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy

Director Of Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy The Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications Strategy serves as a senior communications leader responsible for advancing the University's visibility, reputation, brand, engagement, and philanthropic priorities. Reporting to the Vice President for Marketing & Communications, this role leads institutional marketing, strategic communications, public and media relations, executive communications, brand marketing, issues management, and reputation-building initiatives.
The Director develops and executes integrated marketing and communications strategies, advises senior leadership, oversees high-profile campaigns and communications, and partners across the University to strengthen institutional positioning, audience engagement, and organizational impact.
Responsibilities include:
Leading institutional marketing, reputation, and communications strategies that advance the University's visibility, engagement, and strategic priorities.
Developing audience-focused positioning, messaging, and integrated communications plans aligned with University goals.
Partnering with leadership to drive long-term marketing, brand, and reputation initiatives across all communication channels.
Prioritizing and coordinating high-impact marketing and communications efforts to maximize institutional impact and resource effectiveness.
Leading strategies that strengthen and elevate the University's regional and national reputation.
Developing and implementing institutional positioning, messaging, and brand strategies aligned with University priorities.
Identifying reputation opportunities and risks, monitoring industry trends, and measuring the effectiveness of visibility and reputation-building initiatives.
Leading the University's public relations, earned media, and media relations strategies to enhance visibility and reputation.
Building and maintaining relationships with media outlets, identifying newsworthy stories, and positioning University leaders and subject matter experts as thought leaders.
Overseeing media inquiries, interview preparation, spokesperson coordination, and media relations protocols.
Supervising media relations staff and managing external agencies while monitoring and evaluating media coverage and impact.
Serving as a strategic communications adviser to the Vice President for Marketing and Communications and, as assigned, the President and other senior University leaders.
Developing communications strategies for presidential priorities, executive initiatives, major announcements and high-visibility institutional matters.
Developing executive message architecture, talking points, communications plans and stakeholder strategies.
Identifying appropriate opportunities for presidential and executive thought leadership, public visibility and reputation-building.
Crafting speeches, remarks, op-eds, letters and other executive communications, providing strategic direction while leveraging editorial writing and editing expertise.
Ensuring executive communications align with institutional positioning, messaging and reputation objectives.
Exercising sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential, sensitive or high-profile communications.
Leading issues management and crisis communications planning, partnering with University leadership to protect and support the institution's reputation.
Monitoring and assessing emerging risks, providing strategic communications guidance and recommendations for sensitive or high-profile situations.
Developing crisis messaging, response strategies, and stakeholder communications across traditional and digital channels.
Collaborating with internal stakeholders to maintain crisis preparedness, communication protocols, and escalation procedures.
Leading strategic planning for institutional brand and reputation marketing campaigns.
Establishing campaign objectives, priority audiences, positioning, message frameworks, paid and earned strategy and performance expectations.
Developing integrated campaign briefs that guide execution by creative, content, digital, editorial and external agency partners.
Partnering with the Director of Creative & Brand Services to translate institutional strategy into compelling creative concepts and brand expression.
Partnering with the Director of Content Strategy on content planning, audience journeys, digital distribution and channel performance.
Evaluating opportunities for paid institutional brand marketing that strengthen awareness, reputation and strategic visibility.
Recommending institutional paid-media investments and managing or providing strategic oversight for external advertising, media-buying and marketing partners as assigned.
Reviewing campaign performance and recommending adjustments to audience, message, investment or strategic approach based on results.
Ensuring institutional brand marketing is coordinated with, but distinct from, enrollment-specific marketing activity.
Partnering with Enrollment Marketing to align institutional brand and reputation strategies with undergraduate and graduate recruitment goals.
Supporting the development of messaging, positioning, and brand assets that enhance prospective student and family engagement.
Collaborating on integrated initiatives and marketing efforts that strengthen both institutional reputation and enrollment outcomes.
Coordinating brand and enrollment marketing activities to ensure strategic alignment and maximize impact.
Partnering with Advancement leadership to support strategic fundraising, alumni engagement, and philanthropic initiatives.
Developing positioning, messaging, and integrated marketing strategies for key fundraising priorities and campaigns.
Leveraging institutional reputation, executive visibility, media relations, and brand marketing to enhance donor and alumni engagement.
Coordinating Marketing & Communications resources to support high-impact Advancement initiatives.
Leading strategic planning and execution of major institutional marketing, communications, media relations, and reputation initiatives.
Defining campaign objectives, audience strategies, messaging, and success measures to support University priorities.
Providing strategic direction to cross-functional teams while fostering collaboration across stakeholders.
Evaluating campaign performance, addressing risks and resource challenges, and applying insights to strengthen future initiatives.
Developing and tracking key performance metrics to evaluate institutional marketing, reputation, media relations, and executive communications initiatives.
Leveraging analytics and audience insights to inform strategic decision-making and optimize messaging, positioning, and marketing investments.
Analyzing results and providing data-driven recommendations to University leadership.
Monitoring and reporting on campaign performance, institutional visibility, and reputation outcomes.
Building and maintaining strong partnerships across University departments to support institutional priorities and initiatives.
Providing strategic marketing, communications, and reputation counsel for high-visibility projects and initiatives.
Collaborating with content, creative, editorial, enrollment, and other stakeholders to ensure aligned messaging and brand strategy.
Promoting cross-functional planning, prioritization, and accountability across Marketing & Communications.
Required Qualifications:
Education:
Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, business or a related field required.
Advanced degree preferred.
Experience:
Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, institutional marketing, public relations, media relations, brand strategy, executive communications or a related field.
Demonstrated experience developing and executing institutional or corporate marketing and communications strategies in a complex organization.
Significant experience in public relations, media relations, reputation management and issues communications.
Demonstrated experience advising senior executives on communications strategy, positioning and sensitive issues.
Experience developing institutional, corporate or brand campaigns across paid, earned and owned channels.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives through influence and collaboration.
Experience supervising communications professionals and developing staff.
Experience managing agencies, consultants, vendors or external communications partners.
Experience using communications and marketing performance data to inform strategy and evaluate results.
Higher education, nonprofit or other complex mission-driven organizational experience preferred.
Work Schedule:
Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Summer: Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The University of Tampa offers great benefits, including:
Free Tuition
Generous paid leave
Wellness initiatives
100% Employer-Funded Health Reimbursement Account
100% Employer-Paid Short & Long Term Disability Insurance
100% Employer-Funded Employee Assistance Program
Discounted On-Campus Dining Meal Plans
Free On-Campus Parking
Access to Campus Amenities (pool, library, campus events, and more)
Fitness Center
Pet Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
And more