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About the Role

The Director of Marketing and Communications serves as the Kroc School's senior marketing strategist and communications leader. This role is responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing, communications, branding, public relations, and audience engagement strategies to advance the School's strategic priorities, strengthen institutional reputation, increase visibility, and support enrollment growth.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement comprehensive marketing and communications strategies that support the School's strategic plan, enrollment objectives, and institutional priorities.
Lead brand positioning, messaging, storytelling, and value proposition development across all School academic programs, centers, institutes, and strategic initiatives.
Conduct market research, audience analysis, and competitive assessments to identify opportunities for enrollment growth, program visibility, and market expansion.
Advise School leadership on marketing trends, market opportunities, reputation management, and strategic communications.
Establish annual marketing plans, goals, performance measures, and priorities.
Partner closely with the Director of Recruitment and Admissions to develop and execute enrollment marketing strategies.
Develop and manage integrated marketing campaigns designed to generate awareness, inquiries, and qualified prospective student leads.
Utilize enrollment funnel data, market intelligence, and audience insights to inform strategy and improve marketing effectiveness.
Monitor and analyze key performance indicators, including lead generation, inquiry volume, website performance, campaign effectiveness, audience engagement, conversion trends, and return on investment.
Develop dashboards, reports, and recommendations that support enrollment planning, resource allocation, and strategic decision making.
Support enrollment forecasting and long-range planning through data analysis and market intelligence.
Lead the School's digital marketing strategy, including website management, content marketing, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, and digital advertising.
Oversee website strategy, content development, and user experience to strengthen audience engagement and lead generation.
Ensure consistent branding, messaging, and audience engagement across all digital platforms.
Evaluate and optimize digital marketing performance through ongoing assessment of engagement, conversion, and campaign metrics.
Develop and implement internal and external communications strategies that advance the School's mission, visibility, and reputation.
Promote faculty scholarship, student success, research initiatives, institutional achievements, and thought leadership.
Manage media relations, executive communications, presentations, messaging, and public relations activities in collaboration with University Marketing and Communications.
Provide marketing and communications support for major School events, initiatives, and strategic priorities.
Lead the development of marketing skills and capabilities of relevant personnel in the School and individual programs.
Serve as the School's primary liaison to external marketing agencies, consultants, and vendors.
Establish priorities, performance expectations, budgets, timelines, and deliverables for external partners.
Monitor agency performance and hold vendors accountable for achieving agreed-upon goals and measurable results.
Manage marketing budgets, contracts, and vendor relationships.
Supervise marketing staff, student employees, and contracted partners as assigned.
Represent the School on university committees, initiatives, and collaborative projects.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, communications, enrollment marketing, brand management, or a related field.
Demonstrated success developing and implementing strategic marketing initiatives that increase awareness, engagement, and lead generation.
Experience using analytics and performance metrics to inform decision making and evaluate effectiveness.
Experience managing digital marketing campaigns and communication strategies.
Experience managing external vendors, consultants, or agency relationships.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across departments and stakeholder groups.
Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
Six or more years of progressively responsible experience.
Experience in higher education marketing, particularly graduate and professional education.
Experience working with CRM platforms such as Slate, Salesforce, or similar systems.
Experience with marketing automation, lead nurturing campaigns, and audience segmentation.
Experience utilizing enrollment funnel metrics and market research to inform marketing strategy.
Experience supervising professional staff and managing budgets.
Entrepreneurial mindset, demonstrating initiative and creativity with a focus on results.
Ability to work collegially with faculty, staff, students, and members of the community.
Expertise in strategic marketing, branding, communications, and audience development.
Strong understanding of enrollment marketing and prospective student engagement.
Knowledge of digital marketing, SEO, content strategy, social media, email marketing, CRM platforms, and marketing analytics.
Ability to analyze data and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
Strong project management, organizational, and budgeting skills.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to build collaborative relationships across academic and administrative units.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and complex projects in a dynamic environment.
Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and student success.
Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.
Persons offered employment will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.

Skills

Marketing Strategy
Communications Strategy
Brand Management
Market Intelligence
Enrollment Marketing
Analytics
Digital Marketing
Audience Engagement
Public Relations
External Agency Management
Project Management
Budget Management
CRM Platforms
Marketing Automation
SEO
Content Strategy
Social Media Marketing
Email Marketing
Data Analysis
Reporting
Presentation Skills
Interpersonal Communication

Location

San Diego, CA

Work Type

Full-time
Onsite

Experience Level

Director
Minimum 5 years
6+ years preferred

Education Level

Bachelor's degree
Master's degree preferred

Salary/Compensations

$84,996 - $99,996 per year ($7,083 - $8,333 per month)

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Retirement contribution
Access to on-campus Fitness Centers

About the Company

The Kroc School of Peace Studies trains changemakers and peacebuilders, combining theory and practice to address global challenges.
The University of San Diego is an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution committed to a liberal arts education and the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Equal Opportunity

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus.