Associate Director for Faculty and Research Communications

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond (VA)

Hybrid

USD 88,000 - 124,000

Full time

9 days ago

Application generator

Don’t send a generic resume — generate a resume and cover letter tailored to this exact role.

Get past ATS filters

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid time off

Tuition benefits

Retirement options

Tax-deferred annuity

Employee discounts

Well-being resources

Career development

Job summary

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine seeks an experienced strategic communicator to lead communications for Faculty Affairs and Research. Reporting to the internal communications director, this role partners with leadership to craft messaging that informs and engages faculty, staff and students across departments.

The position oversees messaging for policy, faculty development, and the T&R compensation plan, elevating research achievements and coordinating with the wider

Qualifications

Five or more years of communications experience, preferably in higher education or academic medical/research settings.
Bachelor’s degree in communications, English, journalism, or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Exceptional writing and editing skills for diverse audiences and channels.
Proven ability to handle confidential topics and mitigate risk.
Attention to detail and thoroughness in deliverables.
Ability to translate complex academic material into clear messaging.

Responsibilities

Advise on messaging, timing and channel selection for internal initiatives.
Create clear messaging for faculty, research staff and students across audiences.
Manage multiple communications priorities and projects, including faculty compensation plans.
Translate complex academic material into clear, actionable content.
Identify and promote faculty/research achievements for stakeholders.
Build relationships with faculty and research staff to understand priorities.
Collaborate with the communications team to produce assets for faculty and research communications.
Stay informed on trends impacting faculty and academic research to guide strategy.
Develop and execute detailed tactical communications plans for faculty and research initiatives.
Maintain a communications calendar for topics, events, deadlines and milestones.
Evaluate audience engagement to continuously improve messaging.

Skills

Strategic communications

Written communications

Relationship management

Crisis communications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications

Equivalent education/experience

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Web CMS

Email platforms

Job description

Advertising Summary

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)School of Medicine is a premier academic medical center located inthe heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’ssponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationallyrecognized for patient care and education. Virginia CommonwealthUniversity is an equal opportunity employer.

https://vcujobs.com/why-richmond

Unit

School Of Medicine MBU

Department

Dean's Office - Web & Communications

Duties & Responsibilities

The VCU School of Medicine communications team is seeking anexperienced strategic communicator to lead communications for twomission critical areas of the school: The Office of Faculty Affairsand the Office of Research. Reporting to the director for internalcommunications as part of our award-winning communications team,this new position will serve as a trusted partner to facultyandresearch leadership to develop and execute communicationsstrategies that inform, engage and connect key audiences across theSchool of Medicine.

With the Office of Faculty Affairs, this role will provide anessential link between the school and our T&R and clinicalfaculty, creating clear, timely and accessible messaging to ensureour more than 1,110 faculty members are informed about academicpolicies and processes, school and university initiatives, keydeadlines, faculty development opportunities, and otherfaculty-related priorities, including the T&R facultycompensation plan.

Additionally, this position will work with the rest of the SOMcommunications team to elevate faculty achievements across theschool by proactively seeking, curating and sharing stories offaculty excellence and honors.

This position will also serve as the primary communicator for theschool’s Office of Research. A complex and extensive researchenterprise that partners across departments, schools and the VCUHealth System, SOM researchers received more than $316iverM insponsored programs d-awards in FY25 — more than half of theuniversity’s overall total. This position will collaborate closelywith the school’s Office of Research to support and elevate theschool’s reputation as a premier destination for innovativeresearch and interdisciplinary collaboration.

This role will serve as the day-to-day lead for strategiccommunications serving internal research teams and sponsoredprograms across departments. This position will amplify schoolresearch accomplishments while also creating and executing clear,timely and actionable messaging regarding research support, fundingdeadlines and other relevant updates for investigators and researchstaff.

Responsibilities

Partner with faculty and research leadership to advise onmessaging, timing and channel selection for internalinitiatives
Create clear, concise and timely messaging to T&R andclinical faculty, research staff and students, tailoring deliverystrategies across communications channels and audiences to ensureeffectiveness
Manage multiple communications priorities and projectssimultaneously (including the school’s T&R faculty compensationplan), balancing short-term requests with longer-termcommunications goals.
Translate complex academic material (e.g., related to faculty,research, school/university policies and procedures) into clear andeffective content for its respective audiences
Identify and promote faculty/research achievements and honorsfor both internal and external stakeholders
Build relationships with the school’s faculty and researchstaff to better understand their work and communicationpriorities
Collaborate with the school’s communication team to producecompelling, effective deliverables and creative assets related tofaculty and research communications
Stay informed on local and national trends impacting facultyand academic/scientific research (emerging policy changes,community priorities and concerns, etc.) to guide communicationsstrategy
Develop and execute detailed tactical communications plans forfaculty and research initiatives as identified with schoolleadership
Create and maintain a communications calendar for faculty andresearch related topics, initiatives, events, key deadlines andrecurring milestones
Evaluate audience engagement across internal channels tocontinuously improve message delivery
Communications and marketing professionals will collaborateclosely with VCU Enterprise Marketing and Communications to aligncontent, storytelling and brand positioning with institutionalpriorities and standards.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Strong understanding of faculty culture, and academic orscientific research environments
At least five (5) years of communications experience,preferably within higher education, an academic medical center or aresearch organization
Bachelor’s degree in communications, English, journalism, or aclosely related field, or an equivalent combination of education,professional training and experience
Exceptional communications and writing skills, with the abilityto write clearly and concisely for a variety of audiences andchannels
Proven ability to handle confidential or sensitive topics,anticipating and mitigating potential risk
Outstanding attention to detail and commitment tothoroughness
Demonstrated ability to translate complex academic andscientific material into clear and actionable messaging
Strong interpersonal skills and effective verbal communicationskills
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, with experiencemanaging multiple collaborative projects while adhering todeadlines
Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment ofrespect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty,staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or acommitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in communications, journalism, publicrelations, higher education administration or a related field.
More than five years of communications experience (withprogressive responsibilities) directly supporting academicmedicine, scientific research or complex health systemenvironments
Experience writing, editing or managing internalcommunications specifically for faculty or research audiences andleadership
Experience in science writing
Familiarity with digital communication tools, including emailplatforms, Adobe Creative Suite and web content managementsystems
Experience navigating organizational change, crisiscommunications or sensitive institutional policy updates

Salary Range

$88,300 - $123,500 (Commensurate withexperience)

Benefits

All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annualand holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planningand savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.