Senior Director, University Communication

Marquette University Clg-Nurse; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Marquette University seeks a Senior Director of University Communication to lead a team shaping university-wide messaging across topics and audiences. The role involves proactive media relations, crisis communication, and executive counsel, guiding internal and external communications aligned with the university’s mission.

You will partner with senior leaders to advance reputation, oversee Marquette Today, and coordinate college/unit messaging with a centralized team for consistency and impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, public relations, political science, English or writing
• 10+ years of related experience
• Ability to lead working groups with success
• Ability to work autonomously
• Effective written and verbal communicator
• Experience developing communication plans involving multiple stakeholders and multiple channels
• Crisis communication and issues management experience
• Strong situational awareness and emotional intelligence
• Strong knowledge of AP Style guidelines
• Media relations skills and interview preparation
• Experience working with outside vendors and agencies for specific projects

Responsibilities

• Supervise team members who drive proactive, strategic media relations and internal communication, including daily oversight of Marquette Today
• Direct a communication team that develops and implements external and internal communication strategies
• Supervision of centralized marketing and communication employees and crisis support
• Direct the university’s communication response to critical situations as primary spokesperson and lead for issues management
• Develop long-term communication strategy with senior leadership and stakeholders
• Direct the university’s media relations efforts and provide social media counsel
• Guide presidential communication strategy and coordinate crisis response
• Oversee internal communication including Marquette Today and brand voice
• Lead and mentor team members, manage budgets and vendor contracts
• Provide metrics to assess progress and opportunities for improvement

Skills

Leadership

Crisis communication

Media relations

AP Style knowledge

Strategic communications

Internal communications

Stakeholder engagement

Verbal communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Communications/Public relations/Political science/English or writing

Tools

Microsoft Office 365

Job description

Senior Director, University Communication

Below you will find the details for the position including any supplementary documentation and questions you should review before applying for the opening.

Position Title Senior Director, University Communication

State

Employment Status

Employment Status Full Time

Position Status

Position Status Regular

If Limited Term (End Date of Assignment, Project, or Grant)

Position Type

Position Type Staff

Job Family

Job Family External Relations, Communications, and Marketing

Position Overview

Be The Difference Begins with Great People.

Are you looking for a new opportunity where you can make the difference in the lives of students and faculty? We’re always looking for highly talented individuals to join our team – people who think big, care deeply, and believe in being the difference in their work and community.

We prioritize student success, access to education, and service in our work to educate well-rounded servant leaders who transform their fields, our society and the world. Our Catholic, Jesuit approach emphasizes student engagement with the world around them and formation of the heart and mind.

We believe in our mission: The search for truth, the discovery and sharing of knowledge, the fostering of personal and professional excellence, the promotion of a life of faith, and the development of leadership expressed in service to others. These core values guide our relationships with our students, each other, and our community.

Marquette University offers a rich and competitive Total Rewards package including medical, dental, vision, 403(b) with up to 8% university match, generous time off package, and tuition benefits for employees, spouses, and dependents with no payback requirement! For more information, please view our Total Rewards guide .

This is your next opportunity to join an organization that invests in their employees’ career journey by diversifying their skills, deepening their expert knowledge, encouraging a healthy work-life balance, focusing on personal wellbeing, providing leadership training, and sustaining a culture of respect and inclusion.

The Senior Director, University Communication leads a team of communication professionals responsible for developing university-wide and college/school-specific communications strategies and implementation plans to facilitate cohesive messaging across strategic topics, channels, and audiences; proactively managing and protecting the university’s reputation from known and anticipated national and local issues; and elevating leadership communications to advance the mission and strategic goals of Marquette University and its academic units. On both a daily and long-term basis, this includes leadership of internal communication, media relations, , constituent communication, college and unit marketing and communication, and crisis-related communication at the local, state, regional and national levels and across higher education media outlets and stakeholders. This position regularly provides counsel to senior leaders on issues/crises, both in the anticipation of public reaction and the preparation of responses. In addition to managing direct reports with university storytelling roles, also manages a direct report who leads a centralized college communication team of liaisons, providing direction, insight and education for strategic messaging, multi-channel content creation and marketing/communication best practices to ensure cohesive, proactive, unified strategy and messaging.

Duties and Responsibilities

• | 1. Supervisory Responsibilities · Supervise team members who drive proactive, strategic media relations and internal communication, including daily oversight of the university’s primary internal communication vehicle, Marquette Today. Supervision of staff includes but is not limited to hiring, terming, disciplinary actions, performance management, staff development, etc. · Drive process improvement and provide oversight, ideation and counsel on complex topics related to internal and external communication and issues management. · Direct a communication team that develops and implements external and internal communication strategies and plans in support of achieving the university’s strategy. · Supervision of centralized marketing and communication employees, involvement with the digital storytelling evolution and with critical communication support during times of crisis or when facing a topical issue.
• | 2. Direct the university’s communication response to critical situations, including serving as a primary university spokesperson, and provide leadership communication for issues management, including being the lead communication role for the stakeholder and bias incident response teams, crisis management team and severe weather disruption processes. Provide strategic leadership and prepare key messages on important topics and issues that impact the university. Serve as a member of the university’s communications on-call team, including evenings and weekends, for issues/emergencies. Serve as one of two final approvers of all campus safety alerts.
• | 3. Develop long-term communication strategy with the university’s senior leadership and key stakeholders throughout the university. Working collaboratively with the Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, identify opportunities to advance the university’s reputation and successfully manage high-profile communications.
• | 4. Direct the university’s media relations efforts, including knowledge of local, regional, and national media;provide social media counsel, as needed.
• | 5. As a member of the presidential communication team, guide presidential communication strategy, develop event- and interview-specific talking points, staff media interviews, review messages to campus and coordinate crisis response. Serve on task forces and other collaborative groups to guide communication strategy and tactical execution for initiatives that are top priorities for the university.
• | 6. Provide daily oversight of internal communication, including executive and change management communications, as well as Marquette Today, the university’s primary communication vehicle. Lead maintenance of university-level communications with a consistent brand voice based on deep understanding of the Marquette brand platform, stakeholder expectations and key messages, particularly as representative of the university’s mission and strategic priorities and to advance and enhance the university’s reputation.
• | 7. Serve as one of the leaders of the department. Provide vision and team leadership and supervise and mentor team members to foster success and professional development. Plan resources and budgets allocated for communication and oversee communication vendor contracts and performance. Utilize timely metrics to assess progress and identify opportunities for improvement or new ideas. Fiscal responsibility for communication budget, including management of consultants/vendors, and sign-off responsibility on team members’ P-cards.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, public relations, political science, English or writing
• A minimum of 10 years of related experience.
• Ability to lead working groups with success.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Effective written and verbal communicator
• Experience developing communication plans involving multiple stakeholders and multiple channels.
• Crisis communication and issues management experience
• Strong situational awareness and emotional intelligence
• Strong knowledge of AP Style guidelines
• Media relations skills and interview preparation
• Use of Microsoft Office 360
• Experience working with outside vendors and agencies for specific projects

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong familiarity with modern tools in use in marketing and communication
• Experience providing media training and serving as a spokesperson.
• Experience running workshops with clear deliverables.
• Experience with web content management systems
• Experience with project management tools
• Experience with financial and budgeting programs
• Experience with emergency response planning and execution.

Department Marketing & Communication

Posting Date

Posting Date 09/30/2026

Closing Date

Special Instructions to Applicants

EOE Statement

It is the policy of Marquette University to provide equal employment opportunities ( EEO ) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable federal or state-protected classification.

Required Documents

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Optional Documents

Posting Specific Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).