Executive Director of Marketing & Communications

McKendree University, located in Lebanon, IL and home of the Bearcats, invites qualified applicants to join our team. McKendree University offers a competitive compensation and benefits package and the opportunity to influence the future leaders of tomorrow.

The mission of McKendree University is to provide a high-quality educational experience to outstanding students. We guide our students in the pursuit of academic excellence, which will prepare them for leadership roles in our society. To achieve this end we encourage broader vision, enriched purpose, engagement with community, commitment to responsible citizenship, openness to new ideas and dedication to lifelong learning. In keeping with our history and traditions, we provide our students with a rigorous, broadly based liberal arts curriculum joined with specialization in a specific discipline.

Position Summary and Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement, the Executive Director provides the strategic and cultural leadership that anchors the department’s success. This role ensures the department functions as a collaborative, forward-looking partner — not a service center — and that all marketing and communications work advances the university’s broader goals. This role bridges strategy and execution — guiding the vision, building alignment, and ensuring that every message and campaign reflects the university’s mission, values, and aspirations.

The incumbent will be responsible for implementing the university’s new brand strategy that aims to resonate with target audiences, deliver content most effectively, and conduct regular assessments for continual improvement. The Executive Director will lead the day-to-day operations of the marketing and communications department, ensuring operational efficiency and providing mentorship to staff. The Executive Director will be a strong partner and highly respected colleague whose counsel is paramount when unexpected challenges arise

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and operationalize the department’s transformation toward a more strategic, proactive, and collaborative model.
• Oversee the development and stewardship of McKendree’s unified messaging framework.
• Serve as senior marketing and communications advisor to the President, Cabinet, and other university leadership.
• Advance the university’s reputation through integrated marketing, storytelling, media engagement, and institutional branding.
• Manages external vendor and agency partnerships in support of the strategic communications priorities for the University
• Collaborate across all university divisions to ensure that every communication effort aligns with shared priorities.
• Manage team operations, performance, and professional growth while fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and shared purpose.
• Lead and coordinate crisis communications and issues management, ensuring the university responds with transparency, empathy, and accuracy.
• Execute an innovative and comprehensive university-wide marketing, communication, and branding plan, consistent with strategic goals, plans, and aspirations of the university.
• Develop, implement, and manage the marketing and communications annual plan and budget.
• Take an engaged approach to coaching, mentoring, and guiding the communications and marketing team to increase the capabilities and effectiveness of this group, including setting clear performance management objectives, and evaluation of the department’s structure.
• Report on key metrics for marketing campaigns.
• Serves as spokesperson for the university or identifies appropriate spokesperson(s)
• Serves as a member of the President’s Leadership Council
• Other duties as assigned including departmental events and projects.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, graphic design, marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum seven years of work-related experience desired in marketing, communications, public and/or media relations, or related field.
• Advanced knowledge of marketing strategy, excellent written and verbal communication abilities, design and production expertise, and successful oversight of marketing and media activities.
• Proven ability and experience managing and leading teams with varying degrees of experience, skillsets, and focus areas.
• Experience as a senior leader within an organization, operating with sound judgement, and self-awareness.     
• Experience evaluating marketing campaigns for results and communicating about them to leadership.
• Demonstrated experience utilizing data to derive insight in developing marketing and communication strategy and evaluating performance.
• Demonstrated ability to build rapport, collaborate, and partner with senior University leaders and other managers.
• Strong writing, editing, project management, content generation, and supervisory skills needed.
• Ability to prioritize complex and competing communications needs and make prompt and informed decisions about best communications practices and messaging. 
• Ability to handle multiple priorities, function well under tight deadlines, have good interpersonal skills, and lead a creative team while fielding requests from various constituencies.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• A successful track record of developing and implementing strategic communications plans and a track record of measuring the success of such plans
• Ability to provide vision and inspiration necessary to unite a team and accomplish significant goals.
• Collaborative work style that includes the ability to work well with senior leaders across an organization.
• Understanding of media placement at the national and local levels
• Strategic thinking, creativity, and willingness to try different approaches.
• Excellence and innovation in the field of communications and media relations including communications strategy, organizational storytelling across multiple media platforms, press engagement and public relations, and hands-on execution.
• Demonstrated experience advising leadership and navigating communications related to institutional priorities, change and reputational risk
• Ability to exercise diplomacy, think quickly in response to media questions, act with a cool head and present a calm demeanor, and shift priorities in response to changing circumstances
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Five years leading strategic communications and marketing efforts for an organization, preferably in higher education, K-12 education, or another academic setting.
• Experience directing media relations, crisis communications, and/or serving as a Public Information Officer for a project, agency, company, and/or institution.
• Ability to rapidly design and adapt strategies, plans, and messaging to achieve mission goals.
• In-depth knowledge of adaptive marketing, broadcast and print advertising, internal and external communications, digital and social media, and brand strategy development and management.

Application materials must be submitted through https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/mckendree

Work Conditions

Office environment; 40 hours per week; normally 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; some evening and weekend work required

Required Application Materials

Cover Letter

Resume/CV

Equal Opportunity Employer

McKendree University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, and other statuses protected by law. This extends to all aspects of the employment relationship, including recruiting, hiring, training, on-the-job treatment, promotion, layoff, and termination.