Assistant Director, Communications & Operations

Columbia University; New York (NY); On-site; USD 68,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Columbia University’s Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE) seeks a dynamic, detail-oriented professional to drive outreach, digital marketing, and data systems across the Columbia community.

Reporting to the Executive Director, this role leads multi-channel campaigns, manages analytics and reporting dashboards, and coordinates key events that showcase UGE’s global opportunities for students, faculty, and partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent related experience required.
• 2–4 years of marketing, communications, or higher education operations experience.
• Experience with Terra Dotta, VIA TRM, Salesforce, or similar CRM/study abroad software.
• Strong data management and Excel skills with ability to build reports and dashboards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-channel marketing strategies to promote global programs and boost student participation.
• Develop editorial calendar and create collateral across digital and print media.
• Coordinate events, including study abroad fairs and info sessions.
• Maintain campaign analytics, generate progress reports, and optimize efforts.
• Manage data systems and reporting for Terra Dotta, Salesforce, and ARC/FDS.

Skills

Marketing

Content development

Data analytics

Excel

CRM systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Terra Dotta

Salesforce Advisor Link

ARC/FDS

Tableau

VIA TRM

Job description

Position Summary

The Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE) seeks a dynamic, detail-oriented professional to drive our outreach, digital marketing, and data systems. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role is responsible for executing multi-channel marketing campaigns, managing data analytics and reporting systems (including Terra Dotta and Salesforce), and supporting the coordination of key events to elevate UGE’s global opportunities across the Columbia community.

Responsibilities

Marketing & Strategic Communications

• Campaign Strategy & Execution: Lead the development and implementation of multi-channel marketing strategies to promote global programs and boost student participation.
• Content Development: Drive the editorial calendar and create high-quality collateral across digital and print mediums, including newsletters, social media, web content, and digital signage.
• Brand Identity & Outreach Liaison: Act as the main point of contact for communications between program teams and the University's central marketing and communications offices. Maintain alignment with established branding protocols, ensuring that all UGE marketing collateral consistently represents the official identity.
• Performance Tracking: Maintain campaign analytics, generate regular progress reports, and continuously optimize marketing efforts based on data-driven insights.

Event Planning & Coordination

• Event Logistics: Develop and maintain annual events calendar. Coordinate logistics for internal and external UGE events (e.g., study abroad fairs, info sessions, orientation workshops) in collaboration with internal teams and vendors.
• Event Promotion: Build and execute targeted promotional campaigns to drive attendance, leveraging email, social media, and university event calendars.
• Central Events Coordination: Ensure UGE events are communicated to internal and external stakeholders. Serve as the central point of contact and coordinator for external events that require staff input, engagement, and/or participation.

Data Management, Analytics & Assessment

• Systems Management: Assist in the administration, customization, and maintenance of key higher education technical applications, specifically Terra Dotta, Salesforce Advisor Link, and ARC/FDS.
• Reporting & Dashboards: Design and maintain routine reports and interactive dashboards to support departmental decision-making, trend analysis, and leadership reporting.
• Program Evaluation: Develop and deploy survey instruments and program evaluations; collate, analyze, and distribute findings to drive continuous program improvement.
• Data Stewardship: Establish and maintain a centralized repository for UGE program data, ensuring data integrity and streamlining ad-hoc reporting requests.

Other responsibilities as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent related experience required.
• 2–4 years of relevant experience in marketing, communications, or higher education operations.
• Demonstrated experience with higher education technology platforms (e.g., Terra Dotta, VIA TRM, Salesforce, or similar CRM/study abroad software).
• Strong data management skills, including proficiency in Excel and experience building reports/dashboards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a keen eye for detail.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience studying, living, or working abroad, or a background in international higher education.
• Familiarity with Columbia University central systems (ARC/FDS) or academic workflows.
• Experience with data visualization applications, business intelligence and analytics Software such as Tableau.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $68,000 - $75,000 Annually