The University of Minnesota (the University or U of M), the state’s land-grant university and one of the most prestigious public research universities in the nation, seeks a collaborative, innovative, and strategic leader to serve as its Vice President for Communications (VPC). This is an exceptional opportunity to join a Big Ten university at a pivotal time in its history and under the direction of a new president.
Reporting to President Cunningham and serving as a key member of her cabinet, the Vice President for Communications is charged with creating the vision for and leading the implementation of a proactive, innovative, and comprehensive communications, marketing, and branding strategy that highlights the University’s academic strengths and research; demonstrates its commitment to an environment in which all students can flourish; reinforces its commitment and contribution to local communities and the wider state; and champions its impact at national and international levels. Ultimately, the VPC will establish a framework for fostering connection between the University and its constituents, both internally (e.g., prospective and current students and families, faculty and staff, employee groups, alumni, donors, University supporters, and affinity groups) and externally (e.g., communities across the state, media, government at all levels, peer institutions, associations, influencers, and thought leaders).
To this end, the VPC will provide leadership and oversight of the Office of University Relations, 60 staff members, and a $8.5 million budget. The VPC will also partner with marketing and communications leads across the university to help create and define holistic communications and marketing strategies that serve the needs of the overarching system and respect the significant and varying needs of specific campuses, colleges, schools, divisions, and units.
The VPC will join the University during the PEAK Initiative. The PEAK Initiative began in April 2021 and currently includes the following work function areas: Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Marketing and Communications. PEAK Phase 2, which includes the Office of University Relations, is scheduled for implementation during Fiscal Year 2024-2025. The VPC will need to be a strategist with a strong vision for the future and the ability to identify and implement University-wide innovations and solutions that can be scaled into the future.
The VPC must be able to engage in the University’s collaborative leadership model, including active engagement with and respect for the University’s unique form of faculty, staff, and student governance, while also moving projects forward through decisive decision-making.
The VPC will interact with a broad swath of University communities, both on campuses and across the state. The VPC must be a clear communicator, able to interact with constituents at all levels of the University’s structure, and able to establish credibility, confidence, and trust to create a culture of proactive service and strategy.
Responsibilities and Duties:
- Conceive and implement an overarching strategic communications and marketing plan that is innovative, progressive, and proactive, resulting in cohesive messaging and a brand identity that extends across all media and vehicles in ways that appropriately support and reflect the goals and objectives of the University.
- Serve as senior counselor to the President, Provost, Campus Chancellors, and other university leaders on all communication matters and messaging, internal and external, as well as governmental issues and actions that impact the University.
- Provide leadership to anticipate and respond to crises that threaten the health, safety, and reputation of the University and its community members, including crisis communications policies and procedures. Provide real-time crisis management, counsel, and support to University leadership.
- Work with staff and key stakeholders to proactively reinforce and protect the university’s reputation; anticipate and mitigate potentially negative and high-profile issues or crises that may impact the U of M.
- Advise deans and other senior university leaders in their efforts to translate and communicate academic, research, and service accomplishments to the university community and external audiences.
- Partner with campuses, academic units, and administrative units including the University of Minnesota Foundation, Alumni Association, Office of Native American Affairs, athletics, undergraduate and graduate enrollment, Office of Student Affairs, Research and Innovation Office, and government affairs to support their strategic initiatives and ensure alignment in outreach efforts.
- Intentionally work with colleagues to develop marketing, communication, and engagement strategies that reach out to and connect with traditionally underrepresented and underserved communities to support and enhance diversity in the University community.
- Build and manage an outstanding strategic communications and marketing program that incorporates all traditional and digital channels and media, and that can be considered best-in-class compared to its peers across higher education.
- Utilize data captured from CRM and other systems to evaluate the effectiveness and success of communications vehicles with different internal and external audiences on an ongoing basis.
- Establish a digital ecosystem that reflects the University’s brand, creates a cohesive strategy across platforms, while also recognizing the breadth and diverging needs of campus units, and emphasizes compliance with accessibility and user experience standards.
- Convene, support, and inspire collaboration and coordination among decentralized communication and marketing professionals across the University. Build strong, collaborative, and collegial relationships with all unit-based communications and marketing teams, understanding their specific priorities and how those integrate with the university’s brand, strategic communications, and goals. Provide appropriate levels of support and service to those individuals and teams.
- Ensure that the Office of University Relations is a collaborative, responsive partner that can address both opportunities and concerns from diverse stakeholders and that staff are sought out as respected thought leaders. Foster excellence with respect to client collaboration and partnership, customer service, and problem-solving.
- Thoroughly evaluate current marketing and branding efforts across the University. Strategically invest time and resources in market research, competitive landscape analysis, brand and marketing refinement, and creative execution. Working with direct reports and other key stakeholders, assess how best to leverage internal resources, external counsel, agencies, and services.
- Maintain and refine an organizational structure that ensures ongoing integration and cohesion across the Office of University Relations. Set clear direction and priorities for professional and administrative staff alike. Continually assess staff strengths; recruit and retain a high-quality, diverse communications and marketing team.
- Maintain and promote a diverse and equitable workplace environment. Similarly, promote a professional workplace culture of mutual respect and collegiality for all members of the institution.
- Inspire and motivate staff through transparency and direction, placing staff members’ work within the context of the University’s strategic priorities and goals. Provide professional development opportunities as appropriate and encourage staff to set and reach personal growth targets.
- Have a leadership style that is open and empowers staff through active communication, delegation, and accountability. Manage expectations and resources to ensure that overall marketing goals and activities are challenging and realistic.
- Foster an environment that rewards new ideas, creativity, and risk-taking; builds confidence; and encourages teamwork and collaboration within the office and across the University. Celebrate achievements and set clear expectations for future success.
The annual salary range for this position is $325,000 to $375,000. The stated hiring range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible compensation at the time of posting.
The University of Minnesota is a large, complex public research university. While direct experience in higher education is not required, the VPC must be familiar with the needs of a large, complex organization with local, state, and national audiences spanning urban and rural areas, and possess the political savvy to navigate the environment, opportunities, and constraints of a public university system.
Professional Qualities and Experiences:
- Baccalaureate degree
- At least 12 years of experience leading, envisioning, and implementing a strategic communications, marketing, and branding program that was successfully leveraged across an enterprise with multiple constituencies and a wide variety of audiences – internal and external, local and national.
- A record of success as an innovative and collaborative leader in a large, complex, mission-driven organization with numerous and distributed stakeholders, shared decision making, and often rapidly shifting priorities.
- Advanced knowledge of the strategies and industry best practices for all aspects of communications, marketing, positioning, and messaging, including sophisticated and creative use of brand content, social media, analytics, and other forms of digital communications (paid, owned, and earned).
- Substantial experience evaluating the strengths of existing communications and marketing programs and identifying opportunities for improvement. An aptitude for using data and metrics in decision making and evaluating the success of programs and campaigns.
- Broad experience in strategic communications, crisis and issues management, communications planning, media relations, public relations, perception management, and internal communications.
- Proven effectiveness in engaging and working directly with local, national, and international media on background and on the record.
- Experience in institutions that are subject to political and public scrutiny, whether legislative or regulatory.
- The ability to intuit the implicit dimensions of messages and messaging. Exceptional diplomacy, discretion, and judgment.
- Engaging and persuasive in written and oral communications, clearly able to serve as a professional and trusted representative of the University.
- Collaborative and collegial orientation, eager and skillful in engaging diverse stakeholders and building strong professional relationships. Demonstrated experience serving as a resource to others and obtaining their input, thereby being able to synthesize many ideas and produce work products that address a variety of goals and objectives.
- Experience managing and inspiring teams in a complex organization, leading by influence and unifying the work of communications and marketing professionals across the enterprise. The ability to encourage change and growth in people and programs. Persuasive, persistent, and determined.
- A strong commitment to personal and professional development and the ability to build, lead, mentor, motivate, and retain high-performing, diverse professional teams to create a robust and collaborative communications and marketing ecosystem.
- Outstanding management, operational, and planning skills, including the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously in a decentralized environment.
- High degree of integrity, character, and emotional maturity, demonstrating respect for individuals at every level of an organization; humility, a sense of humor, and life balance.
- Sharp eye for operational efficiency and optimal use of resources; understanding of budgets and cash flows as well as proven success managing them.
- An understanding of the land grant, research Tier One university environment.
- A deep appreciation and passion for the mission, values, and culture of the University of Minnesota.
- A desire to deeply engage in the local and University communities; a keen understanding of the role diversity and intercultural understanding play in achieving excellence.
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