Director, Marketing and Communications

Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism seeks a Director of Marketing and Communications to lead an integrated strategy for enrollment marketing and audience development. The role partners with Admissions, Financial Aid, and other units to expand reach and strengthen market position for degree programs and executive education.

The Director will supervise digital communications and collaborate across departments to craft campaigns, content, and messaging that drive awareness,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, audience development, enrollment marketing, growth marketing, communications, or a related field.
• Experience with identifying and cultivating new audiences beyond traditional markets.
• Experience working in higher education or education-related environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive, School-wide marketing strategy aligned with enrollment and revenue goals.
• Identify new audiences and campaigns to increase awareness and lead generation.
• Lead multichannel campaigns across paid, owned, earned, social, digital, email, and search channels.
• Manage the marketing budget and investments based on performance and ROI.
• Collaborate with Admissions and Financial Aid to drive enrollment pipelines and student recruitment.
• Supervise and align digital communications, content, and storytelling across platforms.
• Establish KPIs and reporting for audience growth, lead generation, and enrollment.

Skills

Marketing

Audience development

Enrollment marketing

Growth marketing

Communications

Tools

CRM

Marketing automation

Digital advertising

Analytics

Audience segmentation

Campaign management platforms

Job description

Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the Director of Marketing and Communications will lead the development and execution of an integrated marketing strategy for Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The position will play a central role in expanding the School’s reach, strengthening its market position, and identifying and engaging new audiences for its degree programs, professional and executive education offerings, and other strategic initiatives.

A primary focus of the role will be enrollment marketing. Working closely with Admissions and Financial Aid, the Director of Marketing and Communications will develop strategies to increase awareness of Columbia Journalism School among prospective students, generate qualified prospects, and grow the pipeline for the School’s academic programs. The successful candidate will bring particular expertise in identifying and reaching audiences who may not already be considering graduate journalism education and translating the School’s distinctive strengths into compelling campaigns that drive interest and enrollment. The position will complement and amplify the School’s existing recruitment efforts by bringing dedicated marketing expertise in audience development, market research, positioning, campaign strategy, and lead generation.

The Director will also provide marketing strategy and support for other School priorities, including professional and executive education programs, alumni and development initiatives, and other emerging programs. The position will work across departments to understand their goals, identify audiences, and develop effective approaches to reaching them.

The Director of Marketing and Communications will supervise the Senior Digital Communications Specialist and help integrate marketing strategy with the School’s digital communications, content, social media, website, and storytelling efforts. Working as part of a small, collaborative team, the Director must be equally comfortable setting strategy and executing it and will contribute directly to campaigns, content, digital platforms, and other marketing and communications work as needs arise. The position will establish goals and metrics for marketing initiatives, assess performance and return on investment, and use data and experimentation to continuously improve the School’s approach.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, School-wide marketing strategy aligned with Columbia Journalism School’s institutional priorities and enrollment and revenue goals.
• Conduct audience research and segmentation to identify new and emerging markets for the School’s degree and non-degree programs. Develop compelling positioning, messaging, and campaigns tailored to distinct audiences and programs.
• Build and execute integrated, multichannel campaigns across paid, owned, earned, social, digital, email, search, and other appropriate channels. Identify opportunities to strengthen the School’s visibility and competitive position and introduce new approaches to reaching audiences beyond traditional higher education and journalism recruitment channels.
• Manage the School’s marketing budget and recommend investments based on strategic priorities, performance, and expected return.
• Serve as the School’s lead marketing strategist for student recruitment, working in close partnership with Admissions and Financial Aid to complement and strengthen existing recruitment efforts. Develop and execute strategies and campaigns that generate awareness, interest, and qualified prospective students for the School’s degree programs.
• Identify new audiences, markets, partnerships, channels, and approaches for reaching prospective students, including career changers and individuals who may not have previously considered journalism education. Develop marketing strategies that communicate the value of a Columbia Journalism School education, including the relevance and transferability of journalism skills across a changing media and professional landscape.
• Partner with Admissions to develop the marketing funnel from initial awareness and lead generation through prospect engagement, while supporting Admissions’ work converting prospects into applicants and enrolled students.
• Use audience, campaign, enrollment, and conversion data to evaluate effectiveness and continually refine recruitment marketing strategy. Partner with Admissions and Communications on email, digital, web, social, paid-media, and other campaigns throughout the recruitment cycle.
• Work with the Chief of Staff to align marketing strategy with the School’s broader communications priorities, institutional voice, and reputation.
• Supervise the Senior Digital Communications Specialist and provide strategic direction for digital communications, social media, multimedia storytelling, website content, and other communications channels.
• Identify opportunities to leverage faculty expertise, student experiences, alumni accomplishments, academic programs, events, research, and School initiatives in support of marketing goals. Develop content strategies that support audience acquisition and engagement while strengthening the School’s overall visibility and reputation.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the School to ensure consistent messaging and effective use of the Columbia Journalism School brand.
• Work hands‑on across marketing and communications functions as needed, including developing and deploying campaigns, drafting and editing content, managing digital channels, updating web content, and supporting time‑sensitive communications.
• Develop marketing strategies for professional, executive, certificate, and other non‑degree educational offerings, with particular attention to audience development and enrollment growth.
• Partner with Development, Alumni Relations, Academic Affairs, and other units on priority initiatives requiring marketing strategy or audience engagement. Provide strategic counsel to internal partners on audience, positioning, messaging, channels, and campaign development.
• Establish processes for prioritizing and managing School‑wide marketing needs based on institutional goals, available resources, and potential impact. Identify opportunities for coordinated campaigns and shared content that amplify the work of multiple areas of the School.
• Establish KPIs and reporting frameworks for marketing initiatives, including audience growth, lead generation, engagement, conversion, enrollment, and return on investment. Analyze campaign and audience performance and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Develop a culture of testing and experimentation, including testing messages, audiences, channels, creative approaches, and calls to action.
• Monitor changes in media consumption, digital marketing, higher education, journalism, and audience behavior and recommend new approaches as appropriate.
• Evaluate marketing platforms, tools, vendors, agencies, and partnerships and manage external resources as needed.
• Perform other related duties and special projects as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of five to seven years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, audience development, enrollment marketing, growth marketing, communications, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education, graduate enrollment marketing, professional or executive education, or another education-related environment.
• Experience marketing programs or services that require a significant investment or considered decision by the consumer.
• Demonstrated success identifying and cultivating new audiences beyond an organization’s traditional customer or participant base.
• Experience with CRM, marketing automation, digital advertising, analytics, audience segmentation, and campaign-management platforms.
• Experience managing marketing budgets and external agencies or vendors.
• Experience working in journalism, media, education, nonprofit, cultural, membership, or other mission-driven organizations.
• Understanding of the changing journalism and media landscape and an interest in the role journalism education can play within it.

Other Requirements

• The successful candidate will be a creative, strategic, collaborative, and data-informed marketer who is equally comfortable developing long-term strategy and rolling up their sleeves to execute the work. As part of a small Marketing & Communications team, the Director must be adaptable and willing to work hands‑on across functions when needed.
• The position requires an ability to work effectively with colleagues across the School, understand the goals and needs of different programs and departments, establish priorities among competing demands, and build consensus while maintaining clear accountability for marketing strategy and results.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing marketing strategies that produce measurable audience acquisition, lead generation, enrollment, membership, customer acquisition, or comparable growth.
• Experience developing and executing integrated campaigns across multiple channels, including digital and paid media.
• Demonstrated ability to use data and analytics to inform strategy, assess campaign performance, and make investment decisions.
• Experience supervising staff and/or leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Strong project-management skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders in a complex organization.

Compensation

Salary Range: $120,000 - $140,000

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.