Company Description:

The University of California, Irvine is a public research university in Irvine, CA. It is one of ten University of California campuses.

Job Description:

• Expected to bring a business development orientation, strong communications skills and knowledge of the national and regional business community

• Should possess an outstanding ability to build and sustain relationships with the School's many constituents.

• Develop and manage school-wide marketing and communications programs, activities, and budget. Consult with each of the school s areas (e.g. Full-Time MBA Program, Programs for Working Professionals, Career Center, Executive Education, Development and Alumni Relations, Corporate Relations, and others) on unit-level marketing requirements and coordination.

• Provide advice and guidance for the development, implementation, and leveraging of marketing plans in and by each area and for coordination of marketing plans across the School.

• Identify and leverage opportunities for promoting and marketing the school and for effective utilization of resources.

• Provide expert advice to the Dean, Assistant Dean, senior staff and faculty on marketing planning, public relations and promotion strategies and marketing budgets.

• Oversee school-level media relations and communications, including website.

• This position will report directly to the Assistant Dean/Merage School and will be a key individual in the continued growth of a highly successful organization.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY

Marketing and Communications

• Establish priorities and develop comprehensive marketing and communications plans for programs in collaboration with appropriate faculty and staff.

• Generate, collect and analyze data to support short and long range market visibility

• Responsible, in consultation with Dean and Assistant Dean and others, for development and maintenance of the School's key messages. Develop and maintain programs for dissemination of messages.

• Provide consultation to faculty and staff to facilitate the development of targeted opportunities

• Develop communications, marketing plans and implementation strategies, which will include components for cross marketing among programs to assure a common institutional approach

• Establish key objectives for the Merage School's marketing and communications.

• Effectively manage department and personnel, including budgets, performance management, goals and objectives for individuals and departments.

• Develop and implement, as appropriate, targeted marketing and communications programs to establish and enhance the Merage School brand, extend the School's visibility across key constituencies, and support the School's mission and goals.

• In consultation with the Dean and Assistant Dean, develop Marketing & Communications spending priorities, taking into consideration key objectives and school strategies. Conduct market research and analysis as necessary to make effective use of existing marketing and communication resources.

• Assist in development of executive communications, e.g. speeches and articles

Media Relations

• Promote the School to the national and international media, to Fortune 500 and to other multinational businesses who are stakeholders, positioning the School in a leadership role in management education

• Develop and maintain key relationships with the regional, national and international media as part of the School's ongoing efforts to pitch and place stories and experts in these media outlets keeping the School in the news

• Oversee all media relations and develop/implement robust public relations strategy. Develop programs and activities to enhance media visibility of the Merage School, its faculty and research and its programs. Coordinate School, Dean and faculty interaction with regional and national media. Provide training and support for faculty and staff interacting with media.

• Work with outside agencies (as appropriate) to implement media and marketing strategies

Publications:

• Oversee all publications and collateral material along with standardization of graphics and identity program

• Oversee concept, development, writing and publication of School's magazine

• Create, in collaboration with Dean, Assistant Dean and faculty as appropriate, School's web-based communications and e-newsletters. Evaluate need for, and effectiveness of weblogs and various other web- and electronic-based communications with various audiences.

Events:

• Participate in the planning and execution of special events at the School, in collaboration with other school entities, to include annual events, conferences, seminars, student recruitment, commencement, award dinners, etc., that offer the ability to market the School to external audiences.

• Work directly with student groups to assist them to successfully market their programs

Other:

• Manage website. Ensure that design, structure and content effectively represent the school's mission and activities, and are appropriately directed toward the school's various target audiences.

• Work with units to ensure accuracy and relevancy of content. Manage process of redesign and upgrade of current website

• Work directly with units to coordinate and assist in implementation of unit-level marketing efforts and leverage resources among them.

• Coordinate and ensure integrity and consistency of all communications emanating from the Merage School to any of our stakeholders.

• Collaborate with MBA Program Directors to develop marketing strategies and identify the most effective use of MBA marketing resources.

• Establish guidelines and standards for use of the Merage School logo and for the look, style, and design of all Merage School communications vehicles.

• Identify and establish relationships with key marketing services vendors.

• Work with units to coordinate marketing research requirements and programs in such areas as stakeholder satisfaction and perception of the Merage School and other areas as appropriate and timely.

RELATIONSHIPS

The Senior Director must work closely and collaboratively both within the Merage School and across UCI. Specifically, the Senior Director will work closely with:

• Merage Assistant Deans and Directors to provide consultation and expert advice, to coordinate programs and activities, and to ensure that the Merage School marketing strategies, plans, and budgets meet the needs of the school and the operating units.

• Unit-level staff directly involved in the implementation of marketing and sales efforts. Merage School Dean.

• Internal committees and task forces.

• Faculty who serve as experts for media.

• UCI Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications as a key ally in developing UCI s central communications strategies in ways that also benefit the Merage School and to tailor the School s messages and identity to integrate with UCI's communications program.

SCOPE OF OPERATIONS

• Budget

• Directly responsible for Marketing & Communications budgets of $1.3 million -- $1. 75 million.

• Staff

• Supervise 4.0, 6.0 FTE

The Senior Director of Marketing & Communications plays a key role in establishing the perception and visibility of the School. The position is responsible for the consistency of Merage School materials and messages, and is critical for developing and implementing marketing and communications strategies to improve the School's reputation/ brand.

Qualifications:
(Required)

• MBA preferred, minimum of five-ten years experience in progressively responsible positions in marketing, business development, public relations, communications, and management, working with the business community and/or professional organizations.

• Proven expertise in effectively managing personnel and budgets.

• Experience and understanding of marketing research, media planning, and strategies.

• Ability to function effectively in a large and complex organization.

• Ability to establish, manage, and evaluate collaborative projects and to develop support among diverse constituencies.

• Demonstrated success in developing public relations and marketing strategies.

• Demonstrated success in managing and implementing website design/redesign/upgrades.

• Ability to work independently, prioritize projects, and complete tasks on time.

• Assertiveness with grace in pursuing strategies with the media.

• The ability and disposition to stay current with activities and achievements of faculty, alumni, and other of the school s constituencies on an ongoing basis.

• Ability to articulate goals, strategies, tactics, and benchmarks to the media.

• Ability to collaborate with high-level academic and administrative leadership and senior departmental staff to identify communications needs and to conceive and execute programs and services to meet such needs.

• Skill in identifying, analyzing and proposing effective programs, projects, systems, and procedures to assure efficient and effective outcomes.

• Exceptional interpersonal, writing, and oral communication skills.

• Ability to understand and embrace the mission of a major research and teaching business school and its ancillary public service mission.

• Comprehensive knowledge of desktop publishing, computer systems, software, e-mail and the Internet.

• Familiarity with the design and implementation of brochures, magazines, and the printed media

Further job details

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