A key member of the College Communications team, the Senior Marketing Strategist will focus on raising the profile and brand of the college by developing and executing many of the marketing functions of College Communications. This individual will develop and implement a comprehensive brand awareness plan to raise Davidson’s visibility in targeted markets and will lead the division’s support of the Admission Office in reaching their enrollment goals. The senior marketing strategist protects and strengthens the college brand by providing guidance to college departments on the use of marketing assets, brand guidelines and college style.

Summary of Senior Marketing Strategist Responsibilities:

• Leads Davidson’s efforts to raise the brand and profile of the college in targeted markets, working closely with partner marketing firms, collaborating with divisions across the college, researching and capturing relevant market data, offering analysis and proposing strategies and tactics.
  
  
• Strengthens the communications network and culture across campus around visual identity and brand. Build relationships across campus and serves as a counselor to all divisions on how to address program and divisional needs while reflecting the college brand and identity. Strengthens and protects the Davidson College brand by educating departments on messaging and the use of brand assets, including the college logo. Updates the College Communications Marketing Toolbox, an online resource for the college community. 

• Expands on a strong partnership with the Admission Office and Financial Aid Office, working closely with the division  to develop and execute a strategic marketing plan for recruitment, enrollment and retention through all stages of the prospective student journey. Monitors enrollment activity and related metrics, proposing new tactics as needed. Collaborates with Admission and Financial Aid to capture and share existing market data with College Communications, conducts market research and acquires/analyzes additional sources of market data for both teams; recommends, develops and implements marketing strategies based on data.

• Conducts competitive analyses, and develops strategies to capture stakeholder insights, including the use of tools such as surveys and focus groups.
  
  
• Reviews and edits content of marketing materials for adherence to college style and quality.
  
  
• Serves as liaison with external agency partners.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree.
• Three years of marketing experience.

Desired Qualifications:

• Proven track record building and executing marketing programs within a college/university admission department, enrollment marketing, or similar.
• Ability to understand business goals and objectives and develop a supporting marketing and communications strategy.
• Knowledge and experience with current technologies and platforms for recruitment.
• Highly collaborative work style, which includes working effectively and respectfully across organizational levels.
• Commitment to a diverse, inclusive and welcoming workplace, and the capacity to lead strategies that reach audiences with messages that convey the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• Willingness to listen, learn, and consult with key stakeholders, including senior leaders.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills with an ability to convey complex ideas in a clear, direct, and engaging style. Persuasiveness. Strong editing and proofreading skills. 
• An understanding of communications tools and technology, and the ability to effectively teach others to use communication tools. Experience with communications systems, content management systems and other technologies designed to support communications strategies. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word and PowerPoint. Video production and editing skills a plus.
• Experience with email campaigns and platforms.
• Demonstrated discretion regarding highly confidential matters.
• Strong project management skills.
• Ability to work both in a collaborative team environment and independently with little supervision.
• Composure under pressure.
• Creative problem solving. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The leadership team at Davidson College strives to advance the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. In practice, that means doing our part to hire, grow, retain, and reward great employees from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, national origins, socio-economic backgrounds, and abilities. This is really important to our team, and we hope it’s important to you as well. 

Compensation and Benefits

College Communications is committed to salary transparency in the hiring process as a characteristic of an inclusive organization. Our salaries are benchmarked to national liberal arts colleges and regional colleges and universities. The position hiring manager is happy to discuss our salary benchmarks at any stage of the interview process. Davidson College also offers numerous other benefits as an employer, including: 

• 4 weeks of vacation in your first year, plus College holidays
• Health insurance
• A 403(b) retirement plan to which the college contributes at least 8.5% of your salary
• Tuition assistance for employees and their dependents, after 7 years of continuous full-time employment. 

See https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/human-resources for details

Flexible Work Location

Davidson College Communications has a flexible work location program in line with the College’s telecommuting policy. This position is eligible for partial flexibility in work location, during non-event days, as determined with the position’s manager and reviewed regularly through our performance management processes. Candidates should expect to maintain a residence within commuting distance of the Charlotte metro area. An initial campus orientation period (of several weeks to months) worked from the office may be required. This policy is reviewed periodically. 

Information about how to submit an application can be found at https://employment.davidson.edu.

At Davidson College, we believe the college grows stronger by recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and staff committed to building an inclusive community.  In order to achieve and sustain educational excellence, we seek to hire talented faculty and staff across the intersections of diverse races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, political perspectives, abilities, cultures, and national origins.