Communications Strategist

Ann Arbor, MI (Hybrid)

$54K/yr – $62K/yrMid Level3+ years expFull time

Posted 2 months ago

Top 1% of applicants do these two things.

The other 99% submit and hope. You're about to do something different.

Job Summary

Own campus communications for two units by shaping strategic plans, content calendars, and storytelling that ties alumni, donors, and students to measurable awareness and giving outcomes.

  • Responsibilities: Build and guide unit communications plans; set calendars for stories, newsletters, and social; and lead urgent-response and reporting efforts with CMD and unit leadership.
  • Audience and channels: Create content for donors, students, parents, and the general public across websites, social, and campaigns while coaching unit staff on professional communication best practices.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Develop, coordinate, and evaluate strategic communications plans for each unit.
  • Create and annually review standard operating procedures for unit communications processes and tools.
  • Provide content expertise and professional coaching on issues related to branding, communications, marketing, public relations, and social media.
  • Write for different audiences (donors, general public, parents, students, general audiences, etc.) and provide unit staff with best practices for professional communication.
  • Set content calendars and direction for stories, social media, newsletters, and coordinated campaigns.
  • Coordinate and support communication responses to urgent and emerging issues impacting the campus community with the unit's leadership and Student Life Communications, Marketing, and Design (CMD).
  • Identify, implement, and train units on tools that aid in internal and external communications.
  • Enhance unit work across campus through storytelling and promotion.
  • Work with units to design and distribute annual reports.
  • Coordinate social media strategies, policies, and best practices.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's Degree in business, communications, information science, or related field; Or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Three or more of progressively responsible professional experience in strategic communications, marketing, public relations, or digital content management.
  • Demonstrated experience developing comprehensive communications strategies aligned with organizational goals.
  • Experience working with tools like Canva, Asana, Google Suites, Market Cloud, or related
  • Demonstrated cultural competence. Including experience creating and delivering communications about complex and sensitive topics related to identity, social justice, and community engagement in ways that are authentic, inclusive, and responsive to the experiences of diverse communities.

Benefits

  • Generous time off
  • A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions with immediate vesting
  • Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Long-term disability coverage
  • Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses
University of Michigan logo

University of Michigan

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving, and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.Why Work at Michigan?Being part of something greater, of serving a larger mission of discovery and care — that's the heart of what drives people to work at Michigan. In some way, great or small, every person here helps to advance this world-class institution. It's adding a purpose to your profession. Work at Michigan and become a victor for the greater good.

Founded in 1989
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
38K employees (1,396 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
15.1M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$651.6K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
44.4%
Direct
45.4%
Referral
9.1%
Social
0.5%
Paid
0.4%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~38.1K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
893 (2% of company)
Median Career Experience
9 years
Median Tenure
5.3 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
4

Funding

Total Funding
$359.8M
Last Raise
$1M
Grant, 8 months ago

Funding History

  • Jul 2025
    Grant • $1M
  • Jun 2025
    Grant • $1.2M
  • Apr 2025
    Grant

Recent News