Director of Strategic Communications

Position Summary 

The Director will lead the development and execution of a comprehensive communications strategy that will elevate the school’s reputation and support the work of its leaders, faculty, and students. The Director will serve as a critical advisor to the Dean, providing important perspectives on engaging internal and external audiences to advance strategic priorities. The Director will develop and implement a strategy for disseminating the school’s scholarly contributions to internal and external audiences, and create a proactive strategy for promoting faculty achievements, expertise, and research impact. The Director will supervise a team and partner closely with Development, External Partnerships, and academic leadership to advance the reputation and impact of the school. The Director will serve as the primary liaison with University Communications. This is a hybrid position based on Vanderbilt’s main campus in Nashville, Tennessee, with a minimum of three days on campus each week. 

About the Work Unit 

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences (SoM-BS) is a leader in fundamental discovery and therapeutic research, dedicated to advancing knowledge that improves human health. SoM-BS brings together faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and staff across its departments and research centers to pursue the fundamental questions that underlie human health and disease. 

The communications function within the Office of the Dean is responsible for defining and promoting the school’s brand. The team’s work spans content development, web and digital publishing, social media, executive and internal communications, media relations, faculty visibility and recognition, and signature programming. The team partners closely with colleagues across SoM-BS and Vanderbilt University, including Development, External Partnerships, faculty leadership, and University Communications, to ensure alignment and increase impact. 

Key Responsibilities 

Strategy 

• Advise the Dean and school leadership on communications approach, institutional positioning, and reputation management in support of the school’s strategic priorities. 

• Develop and implement a strategy for disseminating the school’s scholarly contributions to internal and external audiences. 

• Create a proactive strategy for promoting faculty achievements, expertise, and research impact. 

• Establish metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of communications and outreach efforts and report on outcomes to leadership. 

• Maintain a consistent brand and messaging framework across all communications and materials. 

• Coordinate content supporting faculty visibility and scholarly output. 

Faculty Visibility and External Recognition 

• Champion a strategy for putting faculty in front of the right audiences, in the right settings, to raise their individual profiles and, by extension, the reputation of the school. 

• Oversee the faculty recommendation and nomination process for high-level external awards, including international and national honors. 

• Proactively identify and pursue external recognition opportunities on behalf of faculty. 

• Coordinate with the Associate Dean for Faculty Development when additional guidance or support is needed for nominations. 

• Build and maintain a system for tracking award cycles, deadlines, and nomination materials. 

• Provide faculty with media and messaging training, where appropriate, to help build individual and school visibility. 

Executive Communications 

• Assist the Dean in developing and preparing strategic presentations, talking points, speeches, and high-level communications for a variety of audiences and occasions. 

• Respond to time-sensitive communications requests from the Dean’s office, producing high-quality work under tight deadlines. 

• Proactively collaborate with associate deans, department chairs, center and core directors, and other school leaders to gather necessary information, data, and context needed to support the Dean’s communications needs. 

• Manage crisis and sensitive communications related to faculty or programmatic matters, in coordination with school leadership and central University Communications. 

• Maintain a thorough understanding of school priorities, initiatives, and key messages to ensure the Dean’s communications are accurate, strategic, and consistent. 

Brand, Digital, and Internal Communications 

• Lead brand strategy for SoM-BS, ensuring consistent messaging and visual identity across school-level platforms and materials. 

• Oversee the SoM-BS website content and social media presence. 

• Oversee the development of promotional and informational materials that support faculty recognition and program visibility. 

• Develop and maintain the school’s brand and style guidelines, applying them directly to school-level channels and materials and encouraging adoption across departments, centers, and faculty laboratories through templates, training, and consultation. 

• Serve as final editorial authority over team outputs and school-level communications channels, ensuring adherence to established brand and style guidelines. 

• Oversee internal communications to keep faculty and staff informed of school-wide news, achievements, and opportunities. 

• Ensure consistent, timely messaging to internal stakeholders regarding programming, awards, and institutional updates. 

Media Relations 

• Serve as the primary point of contact for press inquiries related to SoM-BS. 

• Proactively pitch faculty research and achievements to media outlets to expand external visibility and reach. 

• Build relationships with journalists, editors, and outlets covering biomedical research. 

Programming 

• Relaunch and lead the Apex Lecture Series, securing high-level, nationally and internationally recognized speakers. 

• Develop programming that raises the visibility of SoM-BS research and faculty within the broader academic and scientific community. 

Collaboration 

• Work closely with Development partners to align communications with fundraising priorities and donor engagement. 

• Support philanthropy-related communications, including donor-facing materials that highlight faculty and school achievements. 

• Partner with the Director of External Partnerships and (VITA) Vanderbilt Institute for Therapeutic Advances Programs to align messaging and identify opportunities for joint initiatives. 

• Coordinate with the Office of Biomedical Research, Education, and Training on communications that intersect with graduate and postdoctoral programs and the greater SoM-BS community. 

• Serve as a liaison between SoM-BS leadership, faculty, and central marketing and communications offices as needed. 

• Represent SoM-BS at relevant meetings, events, and committees related to communications and brand. 

Team and Resource Leadership 

• Supervise and mentor direct reports, providing guidance, performance management, and professional development support. 

• Set priorities and workflows for the team to ensure timely delivery of communications, digital, and nomination-related projects. 

• Manage the communications budget for SoM-BS, including annual planning, allocation of resources across priorities, and reporting on expenditures to leadership. 

• Select and manage vendors, agencies, and freelance partners, negotiating scope and ensuring quality and value. 

Reporting Relationships 

• This position supervises three direct reports. 

• This position reports functionally to the Chief of Staff, SoM-BS. 

• This position has a dotted-line relationship to the Dean and works closely and directly with the Dean on executive communications and strategic priorities. 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is necessary. Advanced degree preferred. 

• 8 years of experience in communications, content promotion, social media management and/or public relations. 

• Demonstrated experience in strategic communications planning, ideally within an academic, medical, or scientific setting. 

• Proven experience managing and developing staff and leading cross-functional projects. 

• Strong track record of developing and executing successful communications or brand strategies. 

• Demonstrated experience developing compelling digital content that drives engagement for organizations. 

• Proficiency in leveraging analytics to inform communications strategies and priorities. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience working within a school of medicine, academic health center, or research school, college, or institution. 

• Scientific training or demonstrated ability to understand and translate complex scientific or medical content for broad audiences. 

• Experience managing award nomination processes or faculty recognition programs. 

Skills and Competencies 

• Excellent strategic communications skills, with the ability to translate institutional goals into clear, compelling messaging. 

• Strong change management skills, with the ability to guide teams and stakeholders through evolving priorities and processes. 

• Exceptional storytelling ability, with the capacity to craft narratives that resonate across faculty recognition, programming, and donor engagement. 

• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively across departments and with senior leadership. 

• High degree of organization and attention to detail, particularly regarding award nomination deadlines and requirements. 

• Sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive faculty or institutional information.