Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content

John Carroll University; University Heights (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 92,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental insurance

Paid vacation

Personal time off

Holidays

Life insurance

Tuition remission

403(b) retirement plan

Job summary

John Carroll University seeks an Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content to lead the Integrated Marketing and Communications team. This role directs PR, content strategy, and the earned media program while aligning with enrollment growth goals.

You will manage a five-person content and design group, develop annual plans, and shape editorial standards across university channels while leveraging AI in content workflows within ethical guardrails.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications or related field is required.
• Ten or more years in PR/communications or marketing, with staff supervision.
• Proven success in multi-year strategic plans tied to enrollment/goals.
• Strong media relationships and national story placements.
• Experience leading content teams across writing, video, design, and social.

Responsibilities

• Develop multi-year strategic communications and KPIs tied to enrollment goals.
• Oversee brand, news, and storytelling across channels with editorial standards.
• Provide media training and counsel for faculty for appearances.
• Direct local, regional, and national media relations and placements.
• Lead editorial for news, web stories, and university magazine; manage a team.

Skills

Strategic communications

Crisis communications

Leadership of content teams

Editorial writing/editing

Media relations

Project management

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications/public relations/journalism/marketing or related field

Tools

Web content management systems

Social media analytics

Media monitoring tools

Job description

Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content

Job Title Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content

Summary

The Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content is a leader within John Carroll University’s Integrated Marketing and Communications team and its lead for public relations and content strategy. The role partners with the Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications in long-range marketing and communications planning and directs the University’s public relations and earned media program, and manages the content, design, social media, and multimedia team.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications ( AVP ), who leads creative direction, web, events, and enrollment communications, and partnering closely with the Vice President for Enrollment & Marketing (VP), the Executive Director turns University and enrollment growth goals into a documented, measurable annual communications plan, then manages the people and processes that deliver it. The Executive Director also leads EMLT Plus, the Enrollment & Marketing division’s group of managers. The Executive Director builds JCU’s national visibility as the #1 Regional University in the Midwest (U.S. News & World Report), positions faculty and leaders as expert voices, and works with the AVP to ensure that brand, news, and enrollment storytelling work as one integrated program.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Partner with the AVP and VP to develop and execute multi-year and annual strategic communications, PR, and established KPIs and performance dashboards tied directly to enrollment and reputation goals.
• Integrate brand, news, and enrollment storytelling across all channels and audiences, establishing editorial standards and maintaining brand consistency across all university colleges and departments.
• Provide strategic communications counsel for faculty for media appearances with tailored briefing materials and media training.
• Direct local, regional, and national media relations to secure placements in print, broadcast, digital, and podcast outlets, prioritizing key enrollment growth markets.
• Maintain and support the execution of the university crisis and issues communications plan alongside the AVP and Chief of Staff, leading media responses and serving on the Emergency Management and Weather Emergency teams as needed.
• Build and manage high-profile thought leadership initiatives, including a faculty speakers bureau, op-ed program, and expert source guide to elevate institutional visibility across higher education.
• Oversee the university newsroom, authoring, editing, and approving news releases, media advisories, pitches, and web stories, while leveraging rankings and awards into sustained earned-media campaigns.
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate a team of five content, editorial, multimedia, graphic design, and social media professionals, building clear career growth pathways and setting performance goals.
• Own end-to-end editorial and content strategy for news, social media, video, and the university magazine, while supplying high-quality content for web and enrollment communications.
• Establish streamlined processes for intake, prioritization, review, and approval to ensure projects across Enrollment, Advancement, Athletics, and academic colleges are delivered on schedule.
• Oversee social media strategy.
• Lead the integration of AI tools to scale content creation and workflows within ethical guardrails, developing Generative Engine Optimization strategies to maximize visibility in AI-powered search engines.
• Ensure all published content meets technical accessibility standards, best practices, and brand requirements across all email and print mediums.
• Manage campaigns with University Advancement with alumni, donor, campaign, and support the Editor-in-Chief of the Alumni magazine.
• Manage relationships with content, PR, and digital vendors and agencies; evaluate their performance and recommend vendor strategy to the AVP .
• Perform other related work as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, or a related field.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in public relations, communications, or marketing, including at least five years supervising professional staff.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing multi-year strategic communications or marketing plans tied to measurable organizational goals.
• A record of placing stories in national media on behalf of a complex organization, and strong relationships with media organizations.
• Experience leading content teams across writing, design, video, and social media, including coaching and developing early-career staff.
• Experience with crisis communications.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and presentation skills; the ability to synthesize ideas quickly and perform under deadline.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to lead multiple projects at once and build repeatable processes.
• Comfort using data and analytics to measure results and guide decisions.
• Commitment to collegiality, confidentiality, accuracy, and honesty, and the diplomacy to balance competing campus priorities.
• Interest in and support of John Carroll’s Jesuit Catholic mission to inspire individuals to excel in learning, leadership, and service in the region and in the world.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in communications, marketing, or a related field, or professional accreditation such as APR .
• Higher education experience, particularly in enrollment marketing or advancement communications, or at a Jesuit or Catholic institution.
• Familiarity with web content management systems, social media analytics, and media monitoring tools.
• Experience managing agency or freelance partners and departmental budgets.
• Knowledge of the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio media market.
• A creative problem solver who brings structure to fast-moving work.

Normal Work Location, Hours and Conditions

This position works in-person from our campus in University Heights, Ohio. University core business hours are generally 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. However this position will require work to be performed outside of normal business hours based on department operations.

Physical Requirements

Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; to travel to other office locations and to verbally communicate to exchange information.

Hours

Hours Full Time

FLSA

Starting salary will be $80,000 – $92,000, commensurate with qualifications. This position offers a generous Total Rewards package that includes health and dental insurance options, paid vacation, personal, sick, and mission time, holidays, 403 (b) retirement plan, life insurance, and tuition remission benefits for you, your spouse, and children.

About John Carroll University

John Carroll University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit Catholic university, founded in 1886, dedicated to developing people with the knowledge and character to lead and to serve. The University is located in University Heights, Ohio, an attractive residential suburb 10 miles east of downtown Cleveland. Academically, the University consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Health and the Boler College of Business, which include graduate programs. The University offers more than 70 Academic Programs in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and business at the undergraduate level, and in select areas at the master’s level. The University enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1. John Carroll University is one of 27 Jesuit universities in the United States and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report magazine’s top 10 rankings of Midwest regional universities for more than 30 consecutive years.

EEO Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome and value all individuals and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.