Strategic Initiatives & Communications Lead for Enterprise Ops

Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Washington University in St. Louis seeks an Assistant Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives & Communications for Enterprise Operations. The role shapes strategic narrative and executive communications for the COO, guiding messaging across the division and with university partners.

You will lead internal change communications and provide direct support to senior leadership, acting as a trusted advisor on reputation, stakeholder perception, and strategic priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications or related field.
• Ten years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, executive communications, public affairs, issues management, public relations/media relations, or marketing, within a large, complex, multi-stakeholder organization; higher education experience.

Responsibilities

• Executive Communications Support: provide direct communications support to the COO, including talking points, briefing documents, presentations, and executive-level social media content.
• Internal Change Communications: lead internal change communications planning and execution, including development of response protocols, key messages, and leadership coordination during sensitive moments.
• Partner with central communications and senior leaders to advance COO priorities; provide leadership in cross-functional communications discussions.
• Deputy Chief of Staff: represent the Chief of Staff in select meetings, lead special projects, coordinate cross-functional priorities.
• Narrative & Messaging Strategy: set Enterprise Operations narrative and messaging strategy, ensure consistency across audiences and channels.
• Cross-Division Governance: align divisional communications leaders on messaging; manage information flow from the Executive Leadership Team.

Skills

Change Communications

Crisis Communication

Executive Communications

Executive Presence

Influencing Skills

Organizational Communications

Relationship Building

Sound Judgment

Stakeholder Buy-In

Writing

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

Washington University in St. Louis seeks an Assistant Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives & Communications for Enterprise Operations. The role shapes strategic narrative and executive communications for the COO, guiding messaging across the division and with university partners.

You will lead internal change communications and provide direct support to senior leadership, acting as a trusted advisor on reputation, stakeholder perception, and strategic priorities.