The Senior Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing reports directly to the Dean of the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies (CECS) and serves as a member of the Dean's Cabinet Leadership Team. This executive leadership position provides strategic direction for all marketing, communications, branding, media relations, public affairs, and visibility initiatives that advance the College's mission, enrollment growth, partnerships, reputation, and institutional impact.
As a senior leader within a rapidly growing and innovative college, the Senior Director is responsible for growing the existing team while leading and continuously evolving a high-performing communications and marketing team, including organizational structure, talent development, strategic planning, operational effectiveness, and performance accountability. The position serves as the Dean's chief communications and marketing strategist, leading integrated initiatives that elevate CECS's visibility, strengthen its market position, and establish the College as a national leader in interdisciplinary, workforce-focused, and future-oriented education.
The Senior Director collaborates extensively with university leadership, academic and administrative units, industry and community partners, media organizations, and external stakeholders to advance institutional priorities, expand strategic partnerships, and ensure consistent, high-impact messaging. Through visionary leadership, organizational development, and strategic execution, the position drives the College's long-term growth, influence, and success.
Strategic Leadership & Organizational Development
Serve as a member of the Dean's Cabinet Leadership Team, providing strategic leadership that advances the College's mission, growth, visibility, and institutional impact.
Design and execute a comprehensive communications and marketing strategy that advances CECS's strategic priorities and long-term growth objectives. Anticipate emerging opportunities and challenges, align initiatives with available resources, and establish clear priorities, timelines, and measurable outcomes that maximize institutional impact.
Grow the existing team by leading and continuously evolving a high-performing communications and marketing team, including organizational structure, workforce planning, operational frameworks, strategic priorities, and performance accountability.
Define long-term communications and marketing objectives, success metrics, and implementation strategies that elevate CECS's reputation, enrollment growth, partnerships, and influence.
Champion innovation and organizational transformation through strategic communications, marketing, branding, and visibility initiatives that strengthen the College's market position, reputation, and external influence. Anticipate emerging trends and opportunities in higher education, workforce development, and industry engagement, and drive innovative strategies that accelerate growth, expand stakeholder engagement, and position CECS as a national leader in interdisciplinary, workforce-focused, and future-oriented education.
Team Leadership & Talent Management
Grow, lead, and inspire a high-performing communications and marketing team capable of supporting the College's rapid growth and evolving strategic priorities.
Design workforce strategies, organizational structures, and staffing models that position the college for long-term success.
Develop communications and marketing professionals while fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, and excellence.
Establish performance expectations, measurable outcomes, and accountability standards that drive results and continuous improvement.
Build, implement, and continuously enhance the operational infrastructure of the CECS communications and marketing team, including governance, policies, workflows, communication standards, performance measures, and resource allocation strategies. Drive operational excellence by optimizing processes, leveraging resources effectively, and creating scalable systems.
Marketing, Communications & Brand Management
Direct all marketing, communications, branding, media relations, public affairs, digital engagement, and visibility initiatives for the College.
Shape, strengthen, and advance the CECS brand by ensuring proactive, consistent messaging, positioning, visual identity, and stakeholder engagement across all communications channels.
Establish and govern the College's messaging strategy and communications standards, ensuring all communications consistently reflect CECS's mission, vision, values, brand, and strategic priorities while being tailored to appropriate internal, university-wide, regional, statewide, national, and external audiences.
Establish and leverage a robust, data-driven understanding of CECS's target audiences, stakeholders, and influencers to guide strategic communications, marketing, enrollment, workforce development, and partnership initiatives. Utilize audience insights, market intelligence, and engagement analytics to identify opportunities, shape strategy, strengthen brand positioning, and drive measurable institutional growth and impact.
Serve as the chief communications and marketing strategist to the Dean, leading executive communications, thought leadership initiatives, public relations, and media engagement.
Spearhead the market positioning, branding, and strategic communications of current and new and emerging CECS degree programs, certificates, and strategic initiatives, including the CECS Online Academy and other workforce-focused programs, driving awareness, enrollment growth, recruitment, industry engagement, and long-term sustainability while establishing a strong foundation for institutional success and impact.
Partner with CECS leadership, academic and administrative units, and external stakeholders to develop and execute strategic communications and marketing initiatives that advance college priorities. Establish goals, implementation strategies, timelines, and success metrics while leading cross-functional collaboration to ensure effective execution and measurable outcomes.
Exercise final approval authority over all communications, marketing materials, branding initiatives, and public-facing content.
Strategic Partnerships & Institutional Engagement
Cultivate and manage strategic relationships with university leadership, academic units, industry partners, government agencies, media organizations, community stakeholders, and external partners.
Serve as the primary communications liaison between CECS and internal and external stakeholders to ensure alignment and execution of strategic priorities.
Lead communications and visibility strategies supporting institutional initiatives, industry partnerships, workforce development efforts, donor engagement, and community collaborations.
Position CECS and its leadership as recognized thought leaders through strategic media engagement, executive visibility, publications, speaking opportunities, and high-profile partnerships.
Foster cross-functional collaboration that advances institutional goals and strengthens organizational effectiveness.
Required Qualifications
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in political science, public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, management, or related field
Experience:
5–7 years of professional experience in public affairs, communications, media relations, or similar high-profile roles
Demonstrated success in managing executive-level communications and media strategies
Demonstrated success in leading and developing an existing team
Experience in executive decision-making
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences
High attention to detail, excellent organization and time management skills
Proven ability to lead and develop a team
Proven ability to prepare leadership for national media interviews, including message development
Strong strategic planning and project management with the ability to meet tight deadlines
Proficiency in digital media platforms, analytics tools, and media monitoring systems
Demonstrated proficiency in delivering consistent, high-impact internal and external communications that ensure accuracy, coherence, and alignment with institutional brand standards
High level of discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information
Ability to work independently and collaboratively while managing multiple projects
Excellent interpersonal skills to liaise effectively with leadership, media, and stakeholders
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
Master’s degree in political science, public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, management, or related field
Experience:
7-10 years of professional experience in higher education in public affairs, communications, media relations, or similar high-profile roles
Track record of national-level media engagement and communication leadership
Previous support of a president, provost, dean, or C-suite executive
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of trends in public affairs, higher education, and technology sectors
Expertise in speech writing, presentation design, and multimedia storytelling
Data-driven strategy expertise, using analytics to optimize visibility campaigns
Political savvy and ability to navigate complex organizational and external dynamics
Experience managing communications under pressure with rapid turnaround
Advanced relationship-building with journalists, thought leaders, and high-profile stakeholders
Work Location
Location: Knoxville, TN
Onsite
Compensation and Benefits
UT market range: MR13
Anticipated hiring range: $120,000-$130,000 depending on experience
Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
Find more information on UT Benefits here
Application Instructions
To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:
Resume
Cover Letter
To be assured of full consideration, completed applications with all requested materials should be submitted on or before June 19, 2026
About the College:
The College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies (CECS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is at the forefront of changing the future of higher education. It is a first-of-its-kind college created to meet the needs of students seeking a customizable degree path in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and data science that leads to rewarding careers upon graduation. CECS offers timely, innovative, student-centric degrees, minors, and stackable certificates at both undergraduate and graduate levels that address the future talent gap and expose students to experts and disciplines from across campus through a cross-cutting curriculum. CECS utilizes strong industry partnerships to ensure students gain relevant skills and real-world experience, offering for-credit internships and multi-disciplinary projects. CECS emphasizes the cohort experience where students learn and interact with fellow students from across campus and disciplines, allowing them to learn from one another and work together to solve real-world problems.
Who We Are:
We are a small team of energetic, adaptable, and hardworking individuals committed to educational initiatives that will lead to meaningful careers for our students and a positive impact on society. Every member of our team is a valuable collaborator, driven entrepreneur, and proficient multi-tasker dedicated to working together to find innovative approaches to achieving our shared goals. We are fast-moving and growing. Our work is constantly evolving to meet changing needs.
