Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

State of Colorado; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Colorado's Colorado Community College System seeks a senior advisor to the Chancellor and executive leadership to drive market opportunity, enterprise positioning, and enrollment growth across marketing, communications, and regional development.

The CMCO will lead an integrated Marketing & Communications function, steward the CCCS brand, coordinate 13 colleges, and supervise a small team while advancing reputational and transformation efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience in higher education marketing and enrollment strategies.
• Ability to lead enterprise-wide marketing communications and reputation initiatives.
• Proven cross-stakeholder collaboration across complex organizations.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead an enterprise marketing strategy aligned with CCCS priorities and enrollment objectives.
• Direct statewide and national media strategy, proactive public relations, and communications.
• Lead enterprise communications architecture and regional market development.
• Supervise a small team and coordinate across 13 colleges.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Strategic planning

Public relations

Brand management

Audience insights

Enrollment marketing

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communications

Job description

In this role you will serve as a senior advisor to the Chancellor and executive leadership on market opportunity, enterprise positioning, reputation, communications, audience engagement, and growth. The CMCO provides enterprise leadership for the Colorado Community College System's market strategy, brand, marketing, communications, reputation, and market-development capabilities. The CMCO is responsible for building and leading an integrated Marketing & Communications function that enables CCCS to understand its markets and audiences, articulate its value, grow enrollment and partnerships, strengthen institutional reputation, communicate enterprise transformation, and measure whether those efforts are producing meaningful results. You will also lead enterprise and transformation communications, public and media relations, executive communications, reputation strategy, and regional market development. This role stewards the CCCS enterprise brand and narrative while respecting and strengthening the distinctive identities, relationships, and local presence of the 13 colleges.

Note:

Three days per week in our Lowry office is required for meetings with other System Office staff.

This position is currently funded for three years through 10/31/2029, although it is being reviewed for ongoing funding.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Establish and lead an enterprise marketing strategy aligned with CCCS strategic priorities, enrollment objectives, economic-mobility goals, and statewide impact.
• Use market and audience intelligence to identify priority populations, geographies, audiences, and opportunities for enterprise investment and growth.
• Lead integrated learner-acquisition and enrollment-marketing strategy across paid, earned, owned, digital, social, and direct channels.
• Equip Board members, presidents, executive leaders, employees, and other appropriate ambassadors with concise and credible tools for communicating CCCS strategy, value, priorities, and impact.
• Direct statewide and national media strategy, proactive public relations, strategic storytelling, earned media, issues monitoring, and major enterprise announcements.
• Serve as a senior communications advisor to the Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor, presidents, and other senior leaders on significant reputational, media, and communications matters.
• Establish and lead the enterprise communications architecture through which employees and leaders remain informed about CCCS strategy, priorities, decisions, progress, and major transformation initiatives.
• Establish and lead a statewide Regional Market Development strategy informed by enterprise market and audience intelligence. Deploy Regional Market Development capacity according to market opportunity and measurable growth potential.
• This position directly supervises two employees and manages a total staff team of five.

Competencies/KSAs:

• Understanding of higher education, workforce development, economic mobility, and/or Colorado's education and talent ecosystem.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and influence outcomes in complex, decentralized, or multi-stakeholder environments.
• Enterprise-minded: Able to see opportunities across institutional and functional boundaries and build shared capability without diminishing legitimate local strength.
• Market-oriented: Begins with audience needs, behavior, opportunity, and evidence.
• Strategic and operational: Capable of establishing enterprise direction while ensuring strategies translate into measurable execution.
• Audience-centered: Understands that effective marketing and communications begin with what audiences need to understand, value, and do.
• Evidence-driven: Uses market intelligence, analytics, outcomes, and feedback to guide decisions and investment.
• Collaborative with clear accountability: Builds strong relationships while maintaining clarity about decision rights, ownership, and outcomes.
• Credible under pressure: Exercises sound judgment, transparency, and calm leadership during high-risk, high-visibility, or rapidly evolving situations.
• An exceptional communicator: Able to make complex strategy understandable, meaningful, and repeatable.
• A builder: Energized by creating new enterprise capability, developing talent, establishing operating disciplines, and turning strategy into sustainable organizational infrastructure.

Work Location/Travel Expectations:

• CCCS offices at 9101 E Lowry Blvd., Denver, CO 80230.
• Occasional travel within the State of Colorado for business purposes is required. Some national travel may also be required.
• Three days a week will be required in the office per week.
• Alternative work arrangements, including flexible schedules and hybrid-remote work may be available. All work must be completed in the state of Colorado.

Note: per the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, an applicant may redact information from their resume, cover letter, and/or transcripts that identifies their age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. If your position requires us to review an official transcript, without redacting, we will request one as part of our conditional offer process. In order to evaluate work experience against established requirements for positions, we are still requesting dates of service (month and year) for positions in the applicant’s work history.