Director of Strategic Communications

Volt Edu; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 103,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

American University’s Kogod School of Business seeks a Senior Communications Leader to shape strategy, identity, and outreach. You will oversee content, media relations, and digital channels, aligning with university standards and campus partners. Direct reports include designers and social media staff.

You will manage budgets, vendor relationships, and multi-channel campaigns, ensuring high-impact messaging and brand integrity across all programs and publications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 8–10 years of relevant communications experience.
• Experience managing a communications team and budgets.
• Strong writing, editing, and brand-management skills.
• Ability to collaborate with multiple campus partners and external vendors.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of comprehensive campus communications plans.
• Oversee branding and visual identity across materials.
• Direct content strategy for the school and coordinate publications.
• Manage kogod.american.edu and social media, emails, and websites.
• Coordinate media relations and provide media training.
• Oversee budgets, contracts, RFPs, and vendor management.
• Supervise communications staff and student workers.
• Liaise with AU Communications and other offices.

Skills

Acting Strategically

Evaluating and Implementing Ideas

Displaying Creativity

Developing Plans

Leading and Inspiring People

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

HubSpot

Salesforce

Adobe Suite

Video editing

Web graphics

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Description:

Leads the School’s communications efforts, which include developing communication plans; design and production of integrated communication campaigns; administration of communication budgets; management of external vendor relationships; and collaboration with university offices including University Communications and Marketing. The position guides the brand and reputation of the school with an eye on positioning, message impact, alignment with other university communications, and adherence to brand standards. The position works collaboratively with internal and external partners, vendors and agencies and directs the communications of KSB including presentations and reports on behalf of the Dean. The position will hold primary responsibility for Kogod website content. This position is responsible for managing direct reports as well as student workers.

Essential Functions

• Communication
• Branding: Establish, advance, and execute messaging and identity for the Kogod School of Business, in coordination with university identity standards. Develops the School’s visual identity and designs and produces integrated marketing collateral materials that promote academic programs, services, and faculty.
• Content: Direct a refined content strategy for business school. Ensure competitive positioning, search optimization, efficient use of resources, and communication workflow among program offices, faculty departments, and other key stakeholders. Works closely with the assistant dean and senior staff to identify communication priorities. Collaborates in the production of all publications; including video, print publications (collateral materials), email newsletters, and others.
• Web: Includes oversight for kogod.american.edu, social media channels, email campaigns/communications, multimedia, externally hosted websites, and apps. Monitoring of Kogod’s reputation online, including inclusion or exclusion from other digital portals and forums.
• Communication: Manage KSB communications to internal and external constituencies including reports, presentations and messages by the Dean. Review and vet KSB messaging for signature/special events (Orientation, Commencement, Lecture Series) in conjunction with KSB Senior Leadership and Events team.
• Media Relations
• Work with AU Communications, PR partner, and media outlets to coordinate opportunities for KSB faculty and staff in the media and in any public space.
• Develop media relations strategy for KSB faculty and staff. Provide media training in conjunction with the University Communications.
• Assist Kogod faculty in creating a strategy to communicate the public impact of their scholarship.
• Administration/Management
• Direct workflow of communications staff.
• Manage contracts, including bidding, negotiating, invoicing, and vendor evaluation. Issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and evaluate responses.
• Liaison across campus and within School, working with University’s marketing, media relations, publications and information technology offices to coordinate resources and ensure compliance with campus wide efforts. Involved and counsel on school activities related to image, visuals, and rankings.
• Other Duties as Assigned

Supervisory Responsibility

• Supervises the following position(s): Senior Designer, Communications Manager, Social Media Coordinator, Senior Digital Designer, and Senior Videographer.

Competencies

• Acting Strategically.
• Evaluating and Implementing Ideas.
• Displaying Creativity.
• Developing Plans.
• Leading and Inspiring People.

Position Type/Expected Hours Of Work

• Full-time.
• 35 hours per week.

Salary Range

• $103,000.00 – $115,000.00 annually.

Required Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 8 – 10 years of relevant experience.

Preferred Education And Experience

• Master’s degree.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Deep understanding of online marketing and communications, specifically writing for the web, social media and project management experience.
• Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate and build long term relationships with on campus and off campus partners, vendors and agencies and coordinate with on campus resources.
• Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines while paying close attention to detail.
• Proficient computer skills including the Microsoft office suite, Adobe Suite, web graphics, video editing, database development, and the tools required to fulfill the position’s responsibilities as technology evolves.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks with particular attention to detail.
• Knowledge of guerrilla marketing tactics and social media strategies.
• Experience managing direct reports.
• Expertise in strategic planning, professional marketing and brand leadership, and audience insight.
• A strategic thinker with a natural curiosity to continually improve results and experiment with new methods and ideas.
• Demonstrated ability to use and interpret data to inform marketing decisions.
• Familiarity with marketing tools, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn about American University’s unique benefit options.

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.
• Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.
• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
• American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

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Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email [e-mail].

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively “Protected Bases”) in its programs and activities.