Job Summary:

Reporting to the AVP for Strategic Communications, the Director of Strategic Projects and Client Support will oversee communication activities related to the university’s strategic projects and manage a team of communication professionals supporting academic colleges and administrative divisions.

The director will help plan, execute, and measure integrated communication plans for strategic projects, including recurring events such as commencement and convocation, as well as one-time projects such as new facility openings and major program announcements. This will entail working closely with Marketing and Communication team members and campus partners, as well as tracking the progress of communication deliverables using an online project management system and measuring the results of those efforts.

The director will also hire and supervise a team of communication professionals focused on supporting the university’s colleges and administrative divisions. This team will help internal clients define audiences and objectives for their communication projects and then determine the best approach to achieve success. This could involve tapping into the services of the Marketing and Communication team or leveraging a variety of communication templates and other tools to meet their own needs. The director will also work with teammates to help train internal clients on using these templates to produce a range of deliverables including digital screen slides, one-page flyers, brochures, and internal e-newsletters.

The customer service-focused director must be well-organized and maintain a high degree of professionalism while supervising teammates, managing client expectations, developing detailed project plans, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget, and measuring the success of those projects. The successful candidate must be able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced work environment.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated proficiency with project management software, such as Lytho, Asana, Hive, Basecamp, Kantata

• Experience developing marketing and/or communication project plans, creating timelines, coordinating team resources, interacting with clients, and trafficking deliverables for review and approval to ensure timely completion of projects.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including collaborating with clients to understand their needs and set appropriate expectations.

• Excellent organizational skills and time management skills

• Experience managing multiple projects and assignments simultaneously while coordinating the efforts of project teams

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a team player and independently while producing high-quality results

• Experience supervising direct reports, including setting goals, evaluating performance, coaching to improve weaknesses, and creating professional development plans

Work Location: Radford

Posting Number: AP00479P

Position Number: FA7310

Department: University Relations-60001