Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications Strategic Operations

Minneapolis, MN (Hybrid)

$106K/yr – $125K/yrSenior Level8+ years expFull time

Posted 3 weeks ago

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Job Summary

Own the operational backbone for a decentralized college marketing network by shaping intake, workflow, governance, and resource allocation to lift service delivery and cross-unit collaboration.

  • Enterprise intake and prioritization drive decisions across units, with accountability for capacity planning and process quality.
  • Lead the CSE communications ecosystem and governance with central and decentralized partners to ensure brand-aligned, scalable operations.
  • Advise college leadership on operational priorities and risks to improve marketing and communications effectiveness across the college.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • 35% Lead Strategic Operations, Intake, and Workflow Management
  • Design, implement, and continuously improve the CSE's marketing and communications operating model, including enterprise intake, workflow, prioritization, and resource allocation systems.
  • Advise the Director and college leadership on operational priorities, resource allocation, organizational risks, capacity planning, and opportunities to improve the effectiveness of marketing and communications across the college.
  • Develop strategic operational solutions for department heads, center directors, and senior administrators to address communications challenges and organizational needs.
  • Evaluate project requests, establish enterprise priorities, allocate resources, and oversee project pipelines to ensure effective service delivery across a highly decentralized organization.
  • Establish and oversee governance, operational standards, service-level expectations, and workflow frameworks that guide marketing and communications activities across the college.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives that address operational bottlenecks, workload imbalances, and process inefficiencies while improving organizational effectiveness and service quality.
  • Develop operational reporting frameworks and performance measures that provide leadership with actionable insights into workload, organizational capacity, and operational effectiveness.
  • 30% Build and Support the CSE Communications Ecosystem
  • Serve as the college's principal strategic liaison for the decentralized marketing and communications network, representing the Director on operational priorities, governance, service delivery, and organizational alignment.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Business Administration, or a related field.
  • Eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in marketing, communications, project management, operations, or a related field. An equivalent combination of advanced education and experience may be considered.
  • Two (2) years of experience managing complex project workflows, intake systems, project management, or operational processes.

Preferred

  • Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
  • Experience leading teams, supervising staff or student employees, or coordinating cross-functional initiatives and project teams.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, stakeholders, and projects within a complex organizational environment.
  • Experience using enterprise systems, project management platforms, and workflow tools such as Salesforce, Drupal, Workday, Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet, Jira, or similar technologies.
  • Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to build collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
  • Experience working within a large, decentralized higher education institution, preferably supporting STEM-related academic, research, or administrative units.
  • Familiarity with University of Minnesota brand standards, communications practices, and enterprise systems.
  • Experience developing workforce programs, internships, student employment initiatives, or other operational programs that support organizational effectiveness.
  • Demonstrated success implementing process improvements, operational efficiencies, and organizational change initiatives.

Benefits

  • - Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
  • - Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
  • - Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
  • - Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
  • - University HSA contributions
  • - Disability and employer-paid life insurance
  • - Employee wellbeing program
  • - Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
  • - Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
  • - Financial counseling services
University of Minnesota logo

University of Minnesota

One of the nation’s largest schools, the University of Minnesota offers baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in virtually every field—from medicine to business, law to liberal arts, and science and engineering to architecture. The University of Minnesota system is made up of five campuses in Minnesota including Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul). University of Minnesota Extension provides outreach and education services to Minnesota's communities through science-based knowledge, expertise and training.The University of Minnesota was recognized by Forbes in 2018 in the Best Employer, Best Employer for Diversity, and Best Employer for New Grads categories.

Founded in 2007
Minnesota, USA
28K employees (535 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
8.9M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$782.6K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
45%
Direct
47.8%
Referral
6.1%
Social
0.7%
Paid
0.3%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~28K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
535 (2% of company)
Median Career Experience
13 years
Median Tenure
6.1 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
7

Funding

Total Funding
$97.1M
Last Raise
$25K
Grant, 2 years ago

Funding History

  • Dec 2023
    Grant • $25K
  • May 2023
    Grant • $20M
  • Apr 2023
    Grant • $10M

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