Responsibilities

• Serve as the university’s chief communications leader and brand strategist with responsibility for overall communications, marketing and branding activity for Cal Poly Pomona across all media platforms.
• Ensure a clear, consistent and coordinated brand narrative that advances Cal Poly Pomona’s mission of student success and polytechnic excellence to the campus community and external audiences.
• Lead the development and implementation of Cal Poly Pomona’s brand vision, marketing strategy and public relations campaigns to attract students, engage alumni and donors, recruit high quality faculty and staff, and demonstrate Cal Poly Pomona’s impact in the region, state and nationally.
• Serve as the university spokesperson.
• Coordinate marketing and communications produced by other academic and administrative units across the university as well as by three auxiliary organizations: Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises, Associated Students, Incorporated, and the Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation.
• Coordinate periodically with counterparts in the CSU Office of the Chancellor and align with CSU system priorities and frameworks.
• Define and evolve the university’s brand identity and messaging architecture; develop and execute comprehensive marketing campaigns; oversee brand consistency across all platforms.
• Partner with communicators across colleges, Enrollment Management, Outreach, Recruitment and Educational Partnerships, University Advancement and Student Affairs to align brand strategy with recruitment goals and fundraising initiatives.
• Lead institutional reputation strategy for industry and higher-ed leaders, prospective students and external stakeholders through integrated marketing campaigns.
• Serve as the official university spokesperson and primary advisor to senior leadership on public affairs; oversee media relations and crisis communications protocols.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in marketing, communications public relations or related field or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible related experience in complex marketing and communications environments.
• Demonstrated experience in crisis management and service as institutional spokesperson.
• Strong record of effectively leading diverse, creative and professional teams.
• Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Advanced proficiency in strategic storytelling across print, digital and social platforms.
• The ability to lead through influence as well as through positional authority in a complex, multi-constituent environment.

Preferred

• Master's Degree or MBA with a concentration in marketing or related discipline.
• Management level experience in higher education.
• Familiarity with higher education CRM systems, web content management systems and data analytics tools for measuring campaign effectiveness.
• Contextual understanding of legislative affairs and public policy and the significance of communicating the university’s value to the state and government officials.
• Commitment to student success, equity and inclusive excellence.
• Proven success in partnering with university advancement or development teams to support major capital campaigns.