Senior Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Senior Vice Pres Advancement; Blacksburg (VA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Virginia Tech is seeking a Senior Vice President for Advancement to lead the development and execution of a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy. This role will strengthen stakeholder engagement, support fundraising objectives, and elevate the university's visibility among diverse audiences.

The successful candidate will bring a strong marketing orientation, driving brand stewardship, audience engagement, and reputation management while collaborating with university leadership to

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in marketing, communications, journalism, business administration, higher education, public administration, or related field.
• Extensive leadership in marketing, communications, brand strategy, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success in integrated marketing and communications with measurable outcomes.
• Significant experience in brand development, audience engagement, and reputation management.
• Expertise in digital communications, social media, content strategy, AI applications, and emerging technologies.
• Understanding of global marketing trends within complex organizations.
• Proven ability to use data, research, analytics, and audience segmentation to inform decision-making.
• Experience leading, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience advising senior executives and managing budgets.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of an integrated marketing and communications strategy.
• Position Virginia Tech as a destination of choice for faculty, staff, and students.
• Coordinate a complex and distributed communications ecosystem with measurable results.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to leadership and elevate leader visibility.
• Explore how emerging technologies, including AI, can strengthen storytelling.

Skills

Leadership

Brand strategy

Digital communications

AI applications

Data analytics

Audience engagement

Strategic storytelling

Budget management

Executive advisory

Media relations

Education

Master's degree in marketing/communications

Bachelor's degree + substantial experience

Tools

CRM platforms

Job description

Job Description

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President for Advancement, the SAVP enjoys direct and unfettered access to university leadership.

This individual will lead the development and execution of an integrated marketing and communications strategy that advances institutional priorities, strengthens stakeholder engagement, supports fundraising objectives, and elevates Virginia Tech's visibility and influence among key audiences.

Central to this work is the ability to position and promote Virginia Tech as a destination of choice for exceptional faculty, staff, and students, leveraging strategic communications and brand stewardship to strengthen recruitment and enrollment outcomes.

The successful candidate will bring a strong marketing orientation, ensuring the University not only communicates effectively but also differentiates itself in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape through intentional brand stewardship, audience engagement, and reputation management.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the voice, brand, and reputation of a globally recognized public research university at a pivotal moment in its history.

Virginia Tech's next SAVP will lead a talented and evolving organization through a period of institutional transformation, presidential transition, and growing national visibility.

This leader will be a brand visionary who embraces innovation and is prepared to explore how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence can strengthen storytelling.

Working closely with university leadership and partners across the institution, the SAVP will define a bold strategic vision for marketing and communications, coordinate a complex and distributed communications ecosystem, and develop innovative approaches that strengthen audience engagement, institutional reputation, and measurable results.

The successful candidate will serve as a key strategic advisor, helping to position Virginia Tech locally, nationally, and globally, for continued growth, distinction, and impact while building a high-performing, collaborative culture that advances the University's most important priorities.

A detailed leadership profile can be found here.

Required Qualifications

• A master's degree in marketing, communications, journalism, business administration, higher education, public administration, or a related field; or a bachelor's degree combined with significant professional experience that equates to advanced education.
• Extensive and progressively responsible leadership experience in marketing, communications, public affairs, brand strategy, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing integrated marketing and communications strategies that advance institutional priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Significant experience in brand development, audience engagement, reputation management, and strategic storytelling.
• Expertise in digital communications, social media, content strategy, artificial intelligence applications, and emerging communications technologies.
• Demonstrated understanding of global marketing and communications trends, issues, and strategies within complex organizations operating across diverse audiences and markets.
• Proven ability to utilize data, research, analytics, audience segmentation strategies, and marketing technologies to inform decision-making, personalize engagement, and evaluate effectiveness.
• Demonstrated success leading, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience advising senior executives, elevating leader visibility and thought leadership, and navigating complex, high-profile communications challenges.
• Strong understanding of media relations, journalism standards, and the contemporary communications environment.
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience managing significant budgets, resources, and organizational priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing major public research universities.
• Experience supporting fundraising, advancement, alumni engagement, or constituent relations initiatives.
• Experience within higher education or other complex mission-driven organizations.
• Experience overseeing or partnering with media organizations, public broadcasting, journalism, or related enterprises.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale reputation, branding, or institutional visibility initiatives, ideally with a global reach.
• Experience leveraging marketing technologies, CRM platforms, and advanced analytics capabilities.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Regular

Hours per week

40

Review Date

October 19, 2026

Additional Information

WittKieffer is assisting Virginia Tech in this search.

For full consideration, candidate materials should be received by October 19th, 2026.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto,Ut Prosim(That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution