Responsibilities

• Signature Narrative: Shape and promote the Columbia College brand, leading the development of a cohesive narrative that differentiates the College through its distinctive liberal arts and science education grounded in the Core Curriculum, the resources of a world class research university, and location in the City of New York
• Brand Architecture: Ensure the College’s distinctive identity is clearly articulated across College units, within the University, and for the broader higher education ecosystem.
• Integrated Visual Identity: Cultivate a consistent, energizing, and fresh visual/brand identity for all initiatives and events across diverse audiences, including undergraduates, staff, faculty, alumni, families, and the general public.
• Strategy Evolution: Leverage emerging trends and analytics to continuously evolve the school’s strategy, establishing metrics to evaluate the impact of communications, marketing, and events.
• Advisory Role: Serve as a key member of the Office of the Dean’s leadership team and College senior staff, providing high-level counsel on reputation management, thought leadership, and executive presence.
• Executive Messaging: Develop impactful messages, remarks, and presentations for the Dean that maintain a consistent, authentic voice that incorporates the College and University brand (i.e. Core Curriculum, liberal arts, research, student experience), and content relevant to current events and higher education trends.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Orchestrate an annual communications plan for the Dean and the school that reflects the unique perspectives and needs of students, faculty, staff, families, and alumni.
• Executive Engagement: Guide the Dean’s executive engagement strategy to amplify the Dean’s presence and reinforce school messaging.
• Strategic Partnership: Partner with senior leaders across the College to provide best-in-class communications, marketing and events that support individual units while contributing to the overarching success of the College.
• Brand Alignment: Synchronize unit-specific communications and marketing with unit leaders so that all narratives reinforce the College’s core identity and strategic priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in senior strategy and communications roles or related field
• At least 5-7 years in senior management or leadership roles, including managing professional staff and overseeing multiple functional areas (e.g., digital, media relations, editorial, brand strategy, events)
• Proven experience in crisis communication and reputation management within a high-profile organization
• Exemplary written and oral communication skills, including speechwriting, editing, and public speaking
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships and influence partners
• Self-directed strategic thinker skilled at critical, analytical, and creative thinking
• Strong visual aesthetic with an intuitive understanding of multimedia content and design
• A demonstrated ability to collaborate with senior-level staff of academic and administrative divisions, handle multiple priorities, and lead team efforts
• Capable of handling confidential information with discretion

Preferred

• Advanced degree in a relevant field; especially familiarity with the humanities and the liberal arts
• Experience in a higher education environment or a similarly complex, mission-driven institution
• Familiarity with CRM platforms (Salesforce, Slate, etc.) and related email marketing tools (Marketing Cloud, Mailchimp, etc.) new and emerging web technologies, social media platforms, and analytics tools (Google Analytics, Hootsuite, etc.)
• Technical fluency in emerging digital marketing trends, SEO, and social media analytics