Marketing & Comms | Director, Communications & Marketing - FT

UVic’s Gustavson School of Business is a non-traditional business school that develops purpose-driven, responsible citizens and leaders making a difference in the world through business. A young school that is intentionally small in numbers but big in impact and heart, the Gustavson School of Business fosters students who see the world differently and are equipped to drive positive change in a complex world. Our focus is on fundamental research questions and developing the responsible, curious leaders who will make tomorrow’s world a better place.

Mandate/Core Purpose of the Role:
Reporting to the dean, the Director, Communications & Marketing (marcom) leads a small, integrated communications and marketing team to build an authentic and recognizable brand with strategic market presence.
An integrator, problem-solver and synthesizer, this role is responsible for tracking diverse plans, priorities and needs in a dynamic environment, and enabling the Gustavson marcom team to plan and achieve its objectives accordingly. This role is responsible for all marcom activities, outcomes and budget at the business school.

Objectives:

• Foster service excellence and develop and lead a high-performing team.
• Design and oversee innovative and results-driven marcom campaigns.
• Grow authentic and recognized brand with strategic market presence across digital and physical channels.
• Develop and administer marketing & communications budgets that effectively balance diverse and often competing internal unit objectives.
• Lead marcom strategy development and plan implementation.
• Understand and integrate needs of internal units serving diverse audiences and objectives, i.e. recruitment, academic programs, development and fundraising, research profile, students, alumni and community.
• Lead brand management, market research, platform purchasing, and management of data analytics and associated vendor relationships.

This position requires a bachelor’s degree in communications, advertising, marketing, public relations, journalism or relevant discipline or an equivalent level of education, training and experience. 

Minimum of 10 years of directly relevant experience, including:

• Monitoring and responding to emergencies and reputational issues. 
• Developing and implementing communications and marketing plans
• Creating and tracking communications & marketing campaigns, including measuring social media KPIs, Google Analytics, etc. 
• Direct supervising of employees to set and achieve goals as determined by department and institutional priorities. 
• Developing strong working relationships and partnerships, and working collaboratively at all levels and areas within an organization, including at the executive level on confidential or public issues 
• Platform management across digital ecosystems including social media, email platforms, media monitoring, websites, e.g. 
• Integration of print and physical marketing including magazines, reports, advertising, into overall strategies
• Creating, and guiding others to create, inspiring and accurate content.
• Managing budgets and external vendors in compliance with provincial and organizational regulations.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Exposure to all branches of communications and marketing – strong general knowledge and ability to integrate skilled specialists.
• Strategic use of digital media platforms and online social media advertising platforms.
• Website best practices including user-experience, API integrations, analytics, accessibility legislation and practices, and SEO (search engine optimization).
• Best practice for editorial planning and content marketing, including strategies for owned, earned and paid.
• Familiarity with post-secondary education structure and culture
• Knowledge of PR and crisis communications best practices, messaging development for leadership and spokespeople.
• Leadership including coaching, training and teambuilding.

Job-Specific Competencies Include:

• Superior presentation and communication skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to think and plan at a strategic level with measurable outcomes. 
• Ability to handle multiple projects and tasks with constantly shifting priorities on strict deadlines.
• Ability to think clearly and operate effectively under stress and in tense situations.
• Good judgement and ability to respond in stressful situations with political sensitivity and diplomacy.
• Proven track record of effective leadership and the ability to inspire others. 
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to establish priorities and to work on a number of different initiatives concurrently. 
• Excellent administrative, project management, teamwork, planning, and organizational skills. 
• Ability to adapt to new technologies and changing priorities. 
• Strong service mindset and solutions-oriented view.