Director, Strategic Enrollment Marketing & Communications - University of Florida

Lead the Way at UF, Join Our Division of Enrollment Management’s Strategic Leadership Team!  

The University of Florida’s Division of Enrollment Management is accepting inquiries, nominations, and applications for the Director, Strategic Enrollment Marketing and Communications position.  Located in Gainesville since 1906, UF has 16 colleges, a major academic health center, a championship-winning athletic program, a top-ranked undergraduate online program, and in keeping with its land-grant mission, one of the nation’s most comprehensive agricultural and natural resources programs. All are based at the University’s 2,000-acre campus, joining its historic red-brick core with advanced facilities and preserved natural areas connecting to adjacent innovation, commercial, and residential districts. 

The University of Florida is a major research institution leading the way by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging the brightest minds, and educating the next generation of leaders to solve some of the world’s most formidable challenges. UF is ranked the #1 public university by the Wall Street Journal and 6th in public national universities by U.S. News and World Report. 

About the Division of Enrollment Management 

The University of Florida Division of Enrollment Management provides campus-wide leadership in executing the strategic recruitment, admission, enrollment, student records management, and student finance functions for the University. The Division, led by the Vice President and Chief Enrollment Strategist, includes the Offices of Admissions, Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, University Registrar, OneStop Enrollment Services, and UF Online Enrollment Services.  

Our five centrally administered units provide a student-centered focus in developing and implementing data-driven strategies and collaborative campus-wide partnerships that optimize university resources and infrastructure to attract, recruit, enroll, support, retain, and graduate a community of diverse and talented students. 

About the Opportunity 

Are you a passionate, creative leader and skilled communicator driven by developing marketing and communications that bolster recruitment, enrollment, and retention of first-time students in Higher Education?   

The Division of Enrollment Management is seeking a dynamic, talented, and creative leader to serve as the inaugural Director of Strategic Enrollment Marketing and Communications for the University of Florida. This role requires an energetic, skilled communicator who can promote the university’s recruitment and enrollment brand to diverse audiences across the student life cycle.  

The ideal candidate will excel in building relationships, understanding campus partners' needs, and demonstrating expertise in enrollment marketing in the current landscape of higher education.  The Director will be an essential leader and manager responsible for creating and implementing a vision and strategy to promote the comprehensive student experience that results in optimum enrollment outcomes.  A creative and dynamic leader with extensive experience designing, creating, leading, and implementing integrated data-driven marketing and communications strategies and campaigns designed to promote UFs premier Academic and Research opportunities to prospective first-time students and their families.   

Why Join Us? 

• The University of Florida is a premier Land Grant University with top-ranked academic and research programs across 16 colleges that together offer more than 300 undergraduate majors and graduate degrees. 

• Lead the data-driven and creative approach to Strategic Enrollment Marketing & Communications at the Nation’s #1 Public University (Rankings by The Wall Street Journal) 

• Lead creatives and collaborate with stakeholders in fostering a culture of data-informed decision-making and implementation of best practices concerning excellent service and consultation to division stakeholders, academic colleges, and the campus community.  

Key Functions and Responsibilities Include but are not limited to:

Reporting to the Associate Vice President, the Director, Strategic Enrollment Marketing and Communications is charged with contributing to the reputation and enrollment growth of the University of Florida’s undergraduate student body. They will work collaboratively with the university's central marketing team to enhance recruitment and enrollment efforts by developing sticky marketing & communications campaigns that attract competitive scholars nationwide. 

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP & PLANNING 

• Works closely with the Associate Vice President and other leaders within the Division of Enrollment Management as part of a core Enrollment Management Leadership team to provide advice to the Vice President and Chief Enrollment Strategist.  

• Supports the Vice President in developing and executing communication strategies and managing media relations. 

• Provides leadership in the planning, development, and execution of strategic marketing communications efforts aimed at prospective students and their families, high school counselors, and community influencers, including its core differentiators, brand pillars, and value propositions to key audiences.   

• Create Strategic Marketing Messaging and Campaigns for Student Enrollment Lifecycle 

• Understand segmentation and differentiate tactics/messaging for various personas.  

• Collaborates with enrollment leadership across the division to create dynamic, engaging campaigns that are timely, accurate & effective. Includes producing, creating, and monitoring communication from name purchases (search). 

• Establishes metrics for success in an integrated strategic communications and marketing action plan, regularly assessing the success of efforts and creating a plan for ongoing evaluation.  

• Develop KPIs and benchmarks to evaluate the performance of enrollment marketing and communications efforts and monitor the success of campaigns using analytics and other assessment methods.   

• Develops a deep understanding of the voice of the student and identifies key opportunities/leverage points for improving their experience and building advocacy and loyalty.  

CREATIVE STRATEGY

• The incumbent works closely with the Associate Vice President to set the direction of enrollment marketing and communications and exhibits demonstrated leadership skills and experience leading staff and serving in a leadership role for complex projects.  

• Directing enrollment marketing and communications requires this position to capture the vision and details of intended messaging, communicate effectively, and develop the creative efforts of a collaborative team. 

ENROLLMENT MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 

• Leads the planning, development, and execution of strategic marketing and communication efforts aimed at prospective students and their families, high school counselors, and community influencers.  

• Collaborates with enrollment management units, other university offices, and external vendors in directing the programs and operations for enrollment management communications and marketing. 

• Stays on the cutting edge of strategic enrollment marketing in higher education, including trends, tools, competitive landscape, and best practices.  

• Serves as the division leader in content strategy and messaging to various audiences to drive action. 

• Creates Key Marketing Messages/Campaigns for the Student Enrollment Lifecycle 

• Borrows from outside industries to strategize new initiatives.  

• Maintains expert-level knowledge of industry CRMs to employ best-in-class operational processes. 

• Evaluates, develops, and coordinates with the Admissions Leadership on the design and production of all communications related to the admissions/recruitment lifecycle.  

• Reviews, manages and approves EM content across traditional and digital channels with content providers and edits/tracks for consistency, accuracy, and timeliness.  

• Assures the integrity, high quality, and consistency of the university’s image, tone, style, narrative, visual identity, and brand.  

• Negotiates contracts, monitors marketing budget spending, and considers new ways of doing business to achieve optimal results. 

• Ensures timely and accurate production and execution of all communication on budget.  

• Proficiency in leveraging Google Analytics or other analytics tools/solutions with experience evaluating traditional and digital marketing campaigns to produce informative reports and provide analytical insights to non-technical audiences. 

• Partners with vendors to maximize and expand market reach opportunities.   

DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP

• Directs a team of 6+ high-performance communications and creative professionals.  

• Maximizes financial, human, and University resources to achieve annual enrollment marketing goals.  

• Determines marketing campaign budgets and ensures that all staff adhere to them. 

• Fosters a creative and productive environment by coaching team members, promoting accountability, and driving continuous improvement through data-informed decision-making and outcomes assessment. 

• Coaches team members to maximize creativity, productivity, and effectiveness. 

• Hire, supervise, and train personnel, freelance and contracted partners, and students to provide services necessary to fulfill responsibilities.  

• Engages in campus, regional, and national professional opportunities to stay abreast of national trends, best practices, and benchmarking regarding enrollment management.   

• Assures the integrity, high quality, and consistency of the university’s image, tone, style, narrative, visual identity, and brand.  

• Ensures timely and accurate production and execution of all communication on budget. 

• Represent the University at local, state, and national meetings, forums, and professional association functions. Supports enrollment goals through special projects and other assigned duties. 

DIGITAL MARKETING & ANALYTICS 

• Promotes and implements modern, effective communication strategies to maximize UF’s EM digital presence using various platforms including social media, web design, CRM portals, online advertising, and demand generation, to engage key stakeholders and meet multi-year goals. 

•  Ensures maximum traffic and conversion rates through consistent monitoring of digital analytics.  

• Creates KPIs and benchmarks to assess enrollment marketing and communications performance and campaign success with analytics tools like Google Analytics, and provides clear, insightful reports on traditional and digital marketing efforts to non-technical audiences. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Supervision 

• Works under limited supervision of the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management. 

• Directly supervises: Marketing and Communications Specialist III, Web Developer II.  

Work Schedule 

• Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, 40 Hours per week 

• Additional hours required, including occasional evenings or weekends, during peak periods or special projects.  

Communications 

• Daily internal and external business contact at all levels of the organization and university. 

• Contact the public as appropriate for the organization's operations.  

Monetary Responsibility 

• Collaborates with the Associate Vice President to make budget recommendations for EM Marketing & Communications.   

• Oversees budgets for print, web, social media, and other communications and marketing channels.  

POLICY MAKING AND/OR INTERPRETATION

• Implements and interprets university-wide policy and regulations and state and federal directives; administers university-wide policies and procedures within legislative statutes and state regulations in the enrollment management areas.  

Confidentiality & Sensitive Data

• Duties require knowledge of confidential information relating to university planning, personnel, academic, and disciplinary records of students, budgets and financial records, correspondence, etc.  

• Responsible for disseminating such information, where needed, while ensuring that confidential information will not be disclosed to unauthorized sources according to institutional, state, and federal guidelines and statutes.  

Preferred Qualifications: 

• An energetic and sophisticated leadership style with high emotional intelligence, embodying honesty, integrity, and diplomacy. Demonstrate a strong work ethic, optimism, and excellent listening skills. 

• A commitment to show up as a collaborative team player who works well with diverse groups both within and outside the University. They bring experience in team-centric environments, remain calm under pressure, and handle stressful situations with a positive, solution-oriented approach. 

• Demonstrated track record of thought leadership on enrollment communications topics by staying up to date on emerging trends, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development engagements, and delivering presentations that inform, educate, and inspire.  

• Outstanding record for partnering with and drawing out the best in other professionals as a leader and manager. 

• Ability to lead, plan, develop, and implement projects/programs that deliver on strategic priorities for both the office and for the broader institution, with the interpersonal intelligence to maintain relationships while also redirecting efforts if a project is not viable or aligned with these priorities. 

• Proven experience with art direction. Excellent layout skills with a strong attention to detail. Experience in prepress and print production. 

• Demonstrated understanding of branding and strategic messaging. Experience presenting design concepts and the ability to articulate a clear vision. 

• Understanding of customer relationship management (CRM) technology within the higher education landscape, preferably with SLATE and/or Salesforce. 

• Demonstrate flexibility and agility through a willingness to adjust to changing demands and shifting priorities.  

• Willingness to work evenings and weekends to support programming, events, and major project deadlines. As well as an ability to be hands-on with the development and production of Marketing and Communications collateral print and digital. 

• Experience working with project management software, social marketing tools, email marketing tools, production software suites, and CRM solutions. 

• Ability to recruit, hire, train, supervise, and evaluate staff. 

Ready to Take the Next Step? 

Candidates must apply online Careers at UF.  Inquiries, nominations, and requests for discovery calls can be sent to AJ Brown with Strategic Talent Group at STG@hr.ufl.edu.   

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until a competitive candidate pool is established.  For full consideration, applications must be submitted by Sunday, October 6, 2024, at 11:55 pm EST with the following required documents:  

• Cover Letter 

• Marketing and Communications Portfolio 

• Resume 

• List of references for at least three (3) professional contacts including email address and phone number 

Applications received after 11:55 pm EST on Sunday, October 6, 2024, will be reviewed at the discretion of the hiring authority. The position posting will remain open and accept applications until a competitive pool of applicants is established.   

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for these positions, please call (352) 392-4621 or the Florida Relay System at (800) 955-8771 (TDD). 

The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to nondiscrimination concerning race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, genetic information, and veteran status in all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotion, transfers, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training.