Executive Director of Web and Digital Communications

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Bread Loaf (VT); On-site; USD 109,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Retirement matching

Generous time-away program

Job summary

Middlebury College seeks an Executive Director of Web and Digital Communications to lead the institution-wide web strategy, content governance, and user experience. The role partners with Communications, Marketing, design, and ITS to translate goals into a measurable roadmap and ensure strong brand alignment across the public web presence.

The position requires a strong background in digital communications, web strategy, and editorial leadership, with a track record of improving engagement,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in digital communications, web strategy, or related field.
• 10+ years leading or influencing web/digital strategy and large-scale institutional websites.
• Ability to translate audience needs and goals into clear requirements and priorities.
• Strong editorial and information architecture understanding.
• Experience applying user-centered practices to improve digital content and experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead institutional web strategy and content governance across the college.
• Set content and UX vision for Middlebury.edu in collaboration with editors, designers, and project management.
• Co-own the roadmap for institutional web presence with ITS partners and implement prioritized features.
• Guide IA evolution, navigation, taxonomy, and content organization for clarity and findability.
• Establish accessibility standards, training, and remediation pathways with ITS.

Skills

Web governance

Editorial standards

Audience analysis

Accessibility

Analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications/marketing/computer science

Tools

CMS

Job description

Executive Director of Web and Digital Communications

Description

The Director of Web and Digital Communications will leadMiddlebury's institution-wide approach to web content, userexperience, and governance to ensure our digital presence advancesstrategic priorities and reflects the strength of our brand.Reporting to the Vice President for Communications and Marketing,they will partner closely with colleagues to set a clear roadmapgrounded in audience needs, accessibility, usability, andmeasurable outcomes and collaborate with Middlebury InformationTechnology Services to translate communications goals intofunctional web development requirements.

This is a full-time, benefits eligible,salaried position with a hiring range of $108,971 - $126,963 peryear.

Core Responsibilities:

Leadinstitutional web strategy and content governance by establishing aclear, institution-wide framework for decision-making, editorialstandards, prioritization, and continuous improvement across theinstitution's public web presence.Set thecontent and user-experience vision for Middlebury.edu by partneringwith editorial, design, and project management to define audiences,journeys, voice/tone, and content patterns that support brand,recruitment, and engagement goals for Middlebury.Co-own thefunctional roadmap for the institutional web presence bytranslating communications goals into prioritized feature needs,success metrics, and phased releases in close partnership with ITSdevelopment resources responsible for technicalimplementation.Guideinformation architecture and site structure evolution by leadingplanning for navigation, taxonomy, and content organization,coordinating stakeholder input, and ensuring changes improveclarity, findability, and institutional storytelling.Establish andsteward accessibility standards and accountability by definingexpectations, building sustainable review practices, trainingeditors, and partnering with internal/external experts and ITS toensure ongoing compliance and remediation pathways.Enable andsupport a distributed community of web editors through training,documentation, and governance-friendly workflows that improvequality, usability, consistency, and brand alignment acrossschools, departments, and programs.Use data todrive continuous optimization by setting KPIs, overseeing analyticsand reporting practices, monitoring content performance, andrecommending iterative improvements to content strategy, UX, andcampaign landing experiences.Serves as across-functional leader and connector by aligning priorities acrossCommunications and marketing teams and campus stakeholders,escalating risks and decisions appropriately, and maintaining astrong, structured partnership model with ITS for platformevolution and service delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor'sdegree in communications, marketing, computer science, or a relatedfield, or an equivalent combination of education and progressivelyresponsible experience in digital communications, web strategy, orcontent operations.10 years ofprogressive experience leading or significantly influencingweb/digital strategy, content platforms, or large-scaleinstitutional websites, with a track record of measurableimprovements (engagement, usability, conversion, accessibility, orcontent quality).Demonstratedability to set a content-led digital roadmap by translatingaudience needs, institutional goals, and brand strategy into clearrequirements, priorities, and success measures, and partnering withtechnical teams (e.g., ITS) for functionality implementation.Strong command and understanding of editorial content developmentand best practices.Strongexpertise in web governance and distributed publishing models,including editorial standards, information architecture, contentlifecycle management, and training/coaching content contributorsacross a complex organization. Experience in applying user-centeredpractices (research, testing, analytics, content audits, journeymapping) to drive continuous improvement in content effectivenessand digital experience.Provenleadership and people management skills, including building healthyteam culture, developing staff, managing workload and priorities,and collaborating effectively with editorial, design, and projectmanagement peers. This position will supervise 1-2 staff membersand regularly collaborate with others in ITS.Excellentcommunication and influence skills, with the ability to consult,negotiate, and build alignment across senior leaders, stakeholders,and cross-functional teams, including explaining tradeoffs anddecisions clearly.Comfort andcredibility working alongside technical partners (designers,developers, platform administrators, security/accessibilityspecialists), with the ability to communicate functional needsclearly and ensure shared accountability without directly leadingtechnical delivery.Use andunderstanding of web-based CMS solutions for building large-scalewebsites with diverse sets of content editors and multiplesites.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

Work isperformed in an office environment and requires the ability tooperate standard office equipment and keyboards.

Other:

An offer forthis position is contingent upon successful completion of acriminal background check and references.

Benefits

As anemployee of Middlebury College in Vermont, you will enjoy beingpart of a vibrant supportive community.Middleburyoffers its employees excellent compensation and competitive health,dental, life, disability, generous retirement matching, and visionbenefits, and a generous time-away program - up to 34 days peryear, increasing as the term of service lengthens. Employees areeligible for robust educational assistance programs. The result isa very high quality-of-life in a gorgeous setting. MiddleburyCollege offers its employees excellent compensation and other perksof employment including:MiddCardPrivileges: access to athletic facilities, discounts at the collegestore, library privileges, and cultural and sporting events.Spouses or domestic partners are eligible to receive a card withthe same privileges.Discounts onseason passes at Middlebury College's Snow Bowl, the Ralph MyhreGolf Course and the Rikert Outdoor Center.Access toourPartner Inclusion Programthat provides comprehensivesupport services to the spouses and partners of Middleburyemployees.A fulllisting of our benefit offerings can be found onourwebsiteor click to see some of the other fun perksof working at Middlebury, whether inMiddlebury,VTorMonterey, CA!

Middlebury College is an equal-opportunityemployer where diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. Tothis end, the College recruits talented and diverse faculty, staff,and students from across the United States and around the world.Middlebury College encourages applications from women, people ofcolor, people with disabilities, and members of other protectedclasses and historically underrepresented communities. The Collegealso invites applications from individuals who demonstrate anongoing commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion inthe workplace.