About Augustana College:
About Augustana College:
Founded by Swedish Lutheran settlers in Chicago in 1860, Augustana College has grown from a small school educating Swedish immigrants into a selective, private liberal arts institution. Beautifully located along the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois, the 115-acre wooded campus is part of the Quad Cities (along with Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa, and Moline and East Moline in Illinois) a metropolitan area of about 470,000 about 165 miles west of Chicago. Augustana College's residential campus is home to 2,500 students choosing from more than 100 majors, minors and other areas of study. The college has a 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio with an average class size of 18. Twenty-eight varsity athletic teams compete as the Division III Augustana Vikings. The Vikings are in the top 15 in the nation, all divisions, and #1 in Illinois for Academic All-Americans, students excelling equally in their academics and their sport. Augustana College provides students with amazing opportunities to explore, and invests in those opportunities: through Augie Choice, the college provides each student a stipend of $2,000 as financial support for a life-defining experience such as an internship, independent research or a creative project, or study abroad/travel for research or an internship. Committed to being a good neighbor and institutional citizen, Augustana College partners with the city of Rock Island and provides students with opportunities for hands-on work that builds their experience and directly benefits the surrounding community.
Augustana's mission and purpose were carefully written to reflect tradition and vision. The college honors its roots and its affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. At the same time, Augustana's rich liberal arts environment is enhanced by diversity.
Augustana College, deeply rooted in the liberal arts and sciences and an inclusive expression of Lutheran higher education, is committed to offering a challenging education that develops the qualities of mind, spirit and body necessary for students to discern their life's calling of leadership and service in a diverse and changing world.
Augustana College affords an opportunity for a liberal arts education and experience that provides for the development of all dimensions of human existence, in a manner consistent with the higher education values of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As a community dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, Augustana prizes interfaith engagement, commitment to justice, spiritual exploration, reasoned examination and vocational discernment. In carrying out this purpose, the college promotes freedom of academic inquiry and expression.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Augustana College 94th of 222 liberal arts colleges nationally in 2022. The publication also recognized the college as among the top 100 in the following categories: Most Innovative Schools; Best Undergraduate Teaching; Best Value Schools; Top Performers on Social Mobility; and Most International Students. Niche ranked Augustana College among its best 100 liberal arts colleges in America, and number 11 on its Best Colleges in Illinois list. The biology and psychology programs received high national rankings by College Factual, both making the top 100 out of more than 800 programs in the nation.
Employees at Augustana enjoy an excellent benefit package including medical, retirement, generous paid time off, tuition benefits for employees and their family members, and much more.
Job Description:
Reporting to the Executive Vice President for Strategy, Innovation and Enrollment, the Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management will oversee the planning, development and execution of the college's marketing and brand initiatives with primary responsibility to shape the college's brand and promotion strategy, which is shaped by the college's strategic plan, Bold & Boundless. In partnership with the senior leadership team, the Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management will work to advance communication and marketing strategies that will increase regional, national and international awareness of Augustana College.
Characteristic duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Partners with the Office of Admissions to ensure the brand is incorporated into new strategies and tactics developed to support admission and institutional goals.
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Partners with the Office of College Advancement to ensure brand is incorporated into new strategies and tactics to support college advancement and institutional goals.
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Develops a compelling and impactful brand platform that positions the college to accomplish its strategic goals.
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Directs the college's efforts to enhance reputation and awareness with opinion and educational leaders nationally; works with the president, provost and deans and other senior officers on enhancing rankings and increasing outreach, through marketing, events and public and media relations.
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Acts as publisher for the college website, overseeing design, function and content; integrating brand principles; and ensuring best practices in organizational structure, search engine optimization, accessibility and interactivity are maintained.
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Oversees a centralized team of 12 marketing, creative services, public relations and conferencing services professionals, to include setting objectives, managing budgets, monitoring performance and assessing outcomes.
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Works closely with internal and external partners engaged to advance communication, brand, fundraising, student recruitment and marketing strategies and tactics.
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Provides leadership for the development, implementation and analysis of social media strategies with a direct impact on the college brand, perception, marketing, recruitment and engagement goals. Executes campaigns that empower constituents to spread brand messages virally and increase the quality of fans, followers, champions, donors and ambassadors.
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Contributes to, reviews, edits, and approves the college's most visible and strategic marketing plans, marketing content, and marketing assets (including web, print, digital, video, etc.), and ensures quality control, content appropriateness, tone, mission integration, brand platform alignment, and consideration of target objectives.
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Develops, implements and manages a strategic media relations program targeted at enhancing the brand and reputation of the college, faculty and individual academic/athletic/arts programs.
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Understands and analyzes marketplace trends, data and models to develop strategy, including overall communications planning, marketing research, academic program development, public and outreach efforts.
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Coordinates crisis communication as needed.
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Coordinates relationships with a variety of outside partners.
Requirements:
Education and Experience Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree
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Minimum of 7 to 10 years of related experience with brand management, marketing and communication experience in positions of increasing responsibility
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Minimum of 3 years' experience in a leadership role with a hands-on collaborative style and a proven ability to supervise creative, communications and technical personnel, and manage complex projects with deadlines, budgets and outside resources
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Prior experience working within higher education or similarly complex organization preferred
Skills and Abilities:
- Proven ability to develop a project from concept to completion, review the effectiveness of processes to ensure professional standards and high quality as well as the ability to implement brand and marketing strategies in the execution of video, social media and other interactive media projects
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Excellent skills as a writer and storyteller with a collaborative style that demonstrates relationship- and consensus-building
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Exceptional verbal and written communications skills and compelling and impactful presentation abilities
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Ability to motivate and inspire creative, communications and marketing teams as well as colleagues, constituents, leaders and outside partners
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Experience brainstorming ideas and concepts for brand marketing campaigns and recommending solutions within the context of an institutional brand, communication and marketing strategy
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Ability to work across the college, to assess the needs of internal clients and suggest appropriate programs and ideas to meet needs
Travel: This position is located on the Augustana campus (Rock Island, Illinois) involves limited travel.
Work Environment: This position has potential for hybrid-remote work in accordance with institutional policy.
Physical Requirements: This position is located on campus and works in a traditional office environment. Must be able to lift 15 pounds on a frequent basis. Also required is the ability to listen, hear, speak, read, write, climb stairs, bend, stoop, and stand for intermittently long periods of time. Must be able to use a computer to accomplish a variety of job tasks.
Special Requirements: As key personnel representing the College to students, this position requires excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to relate to a diverse student body, and the ability and willingness to model the mission and high standard of behavior of Augustana College. This position has work obligations that involve evening and weekend work. All potential employees must pass a criminal background check.
Additional Information:
Note: This job description is subject to change and is not designed to be a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required by the employee.
Additional Information: Augustana is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Augustana College provides equal opportunity to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, and any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
College Commitment to Diversity: As part of the Augustana 2020 Strategic Plan, the campus has committed to growing as a community who welcomes and includes those historically underrepresented groups on our campus. Information on these initiatives and future plans can be found at: http://www.augustana.edu/about-us/president/diversity
Application Instructions:
Application Instructions: Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume for consideration along with contact information for three professional references. For full consideration, applications should be submitted by July 1, 2024. Review of applications will begin immediately and the position will remain open until filled. Expected start date is no later than August 15.
Questions may be directed to W. Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President of External Relations at wkentbarnds@augustana.edu.