Job Summary

The Senior Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications serves as the senior architect and integrator of a unified, lifecycle-based marketing and communications system across Strategic Enrollment and Student Success (SESS). Reporting to the Senior Vice Provost, this role aligns brand, messaging, channel strategy, and communication governance to institutional priorities including enrollment growth, student success, online expansion, and global engagement. The position operates as a portfolio-level integrator across Enrollment Management, Undergraduate Studies, University Connected Learning, and the Office of Global Engagement—eliminating fragmentation, establishing governance, and driving measurable return on marketing investment.

Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu

Responsibilities

• Enterprise Integration and Leadership
• Lead development and execution of a unified marketing and communications strategy across SESS
• Integrate recruitment, onboarding, and student success communications into a single operating model
• Advise executive leadership on market positioning, reputational risk, and communication strategy tied to enrollment and student outcomes
• Lifecycle Communication System
• Design and implement an end-to-end communication architecture spanning prospect → enrollment → persistence → completion
• Establish and enforce a master communication calendar with defined prioritization and sequencing rules
• Eliminate redundant, conflicting, or low-value communications across units
• Governance and Decision Framework
• Operationalize the Student Communications Council (SCC) as the institutional decision body for lifecycle communications
• Define and enforce decision rights for campaign approval, timing, segmentation, and channel use
• Align with University Marketing & Communications (UMC) on brand standards while retaining SESS authority over lifecycle execution
• Market Positioning and Message Discipline
• Define and enforce institutional positioning across domestic, online, and international markets
• Ensure consistency in value proposition, voice, and differentiation across SESS-related communications
• Align messaging with pricing, financial aid strategy, and program design realities
• Performance, Attribution, and ROI
• Link marketing and communications activity directly to enrollment, yield, retention, and completion outcomes
• Implement multi-touch attribution models across Slate, CRM, web, and student success platforms
• Establish cost-per-enrollment, yield impact, and retention lift metrics to guide resource allocation
• Growth Strategy Execution
• Partner with Enrollment Management, UCL, US, and OGE to execute targeted growth strategies:
• Transfer pathways
• Online program expansion
• International recruitment pipelines
• Ensure communication strategies support scalable growth without proportional increases in staffing or cost
• Channel and Technology Strategy
• Define and rationalize roles across:
• Slate (admissions funnel)
• CRM capabilities (relationship and case management)
• Navigate (student success interventions)
• SIS and Utah 360/Pathify (student experience layer)
• Eliminate duplicative or conflicting communication pathways across systems
• Guide adoption of scalable, technology-enabled communication infrastructure
• Organizational Design and Operating Model
• Design and implement a coordinated or shared services model for SESS marketing and communications
• Identify functions for centralization (campaign execution, lifecycle messaging, analytics)
• Establish clear roles, standards, and accountability mechanisms across distributed units
• Lead phased transition from decentralized execution to governed, performance-driven operations
  

Minimum Qualifications

• EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
  
  

Senior Director, Marketing Communications Management: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 14 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 12 years of directly related work experience.

Preferences

• Senior leadership experience in complex, matrixed organizations with distributed authority and competing priorities
• Demonstrated success linking marketing and communications strategy to measurable revenue, enrollment, or retention outcomes
• Experience building and governing integrated, multi-channel communication ecosystems at scale
• Strong analytical capability, including development of attribution models, dashboards, and performance metrics
• Experience aligning marketing strategy with enterprise systems (CRM, SIS, advising platforms) and data infrastructure
• Familiarity with lifecycle communication models spanning recruitment through student success
• Higher education experience strongly preferred, particularly in enrollment management, student success, or academic program growth contexts
• Experience leading organizational change, including implementation of shared services or centralized governance models
• Ability to operate as an institutional integrator rather than a unit-level executor, with demonstrated influence across academic and administrative domains
  
  

Special Instructions

Requisition Number: PRN44853B

Full Time or Part Time? Full Time

Work Schedule Summary: Full-time, standard business hours; occasional evening/weekend work as needed

Department: 02404 - SVP Strategic Enrollment

Location: Campus

Pay Rate Range: $175,000

Close Date: 5/4/2026

Open Until Filled

To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/200802

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