Chief Marketing & Brand Strategy Architect

University of Illinois Springfield; Springfield (IL); On-site; USD 105,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Illinois Springfield seeks a Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy to serve as the university’s chief marketing strategist and brand steward, guiding integrated marketing, brand positioning, and audience engagement to advance enrollment, strengthen reputation, and elevate visibility.

This role provides strategic leadership for university-wide brand management and enrollment marketing across diverse audiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive marketing leadership.
• Experience in higher education enrollment marketing or multidisciplinary agency environments.
• Proven success leading integrated marketing initiatives with measurable results.
• Experience using CRM, enrollment, web and advertising data to evaluate marketing effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Lead enrollment marketing strategy across first-year, transfer, graduate, online and adult learner audiences.
• Partner with campus leadership and academic programs to align strategies with priorities.
• Oversee brand management, guidelines, and visual identity across channels.
• Manage partnerships with external agencies and vendors.
• Lead a marketing team of five FTE and student workers.
• Monitor ROI and allocate budgets based on analytics and performance.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Strategic marketing

Data-driven decision making

Leadership and people management

Cross-functional collaboration

Audience engagement

Brand stewardship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

CRM systems

Drupal CMS

Slate

Job description

The University of Illinois Springfield seeks a Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy to serve as the university’s chief marketing strategist and brand steward, guiding integrated marketing, brand positioning, and audience engagement to advance enrollment, strengthen reputation, and elevate visibility.

This role provides strategic leadership for university-wide brand management and enrollment marketing across diverse audiences.