Senior Director of Marketing & Communications: Tickle College of Engineering - UTK

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, seeks a Senior Director of Marketing and Communications to lead the college's integrated marketing and communications enterprise. The Senior Director holds primary responsibility for strengthening the college's national reputation, competitive positioning and recognition among the audiences that influence its standing. The position translates college priorities and demonstrates strengths in research, education and innovation into audience-focused marketing strategies, aligning personnel, budgets, channels and communications activities with measurable institutional objectives.

Reporting to the Chief Alignment Officer, the Senior Director supervises the Director of Communications and other professional staff, and holds final unit-level accountability for strategy, organizational structure, staffing, budget and performance.

Strategic Leadership and Direction

Establish the multi-year marketing and communications vision, strategic framework, priorities and performance measures for TCE, aligned with the college's strategic plan and goals for national reputation, enrollment, research and external engagement.

Lead development of the college's integrated marketing strategy, translating institutional goals into audience priorities, differentiated positioning, coordinated campaigns and resource allocations.

Lead a sustained national reputation strategy that strengthens recognition of TCE as a leading destination for engineering education, research and collaboration, grounded in the college's demonstrated strengths and distinctive capabilities.

Direct market, audience and competitive research to assess awareness and perceptions of the college, identify barriers to recognition and inform positioning, messaging and marketing investments.

Establish differentiated brand positioning and audience-specific value propositions that translate the college's research strengths, educational outcomes and institutional impact into compelling reasons to engage with TCE.

Direct integrated campaigns across paid, owned, earned and shared channels, ensuring editorial content, creative work, digital platforms and media outreach advance defined marketing objectives.

Establish measures of awareness, perception, priority-audience engagement and campaign effectiveness; evaluate results and direct adjustments to strategy, investment and resource allocation.

Serve as an advisor to the Dean and Chief Alignment Officer on national reputation, competitive positioning, enrollment growth, research visibility, partnerships and institutional impact.

Develop innovative solutions to complex marketing, reputation and communications challenges, exercising independent judgment when competing policies, priorities or resource demands are present.

Unit Leadership and Operational Management

Provide operational management and administrative direction for all marketing and communications (MARCOM) units, including the Office of Engineering Communications and departmental communications and marketing staff.

Directly supervise the Director of Communications and other managers and professional staff, including hiring, training, evaluating, mentoring and determining merit increases.

Provide second-level oversight of personnel actions, performance management and workload across the unit, and serve as the point of escalation for complex staffing and operational issues.

Design and approve the unit's organizational structure, reporting lines, staffing models and new position requests, and recommend future hiring needs to TCE administration.

Develop and lead training and professional development for managers and staff across all MARCOM functional areas.

Executive Oversight of MARCOM Functions

Hold final approval authority for TCE visual brand identity and messaging policies across all college and departmental print and digital platforms, within UT brand standards.

Oversee brand strategy, market research, paid media, audience targeting, marketing analytics, publications, media relations, web, video, and digital and social media operations, establishing standards for quality, effectiveness and measurable impact.

Provide final review and approval of critical and high-profile communications before release, including crisis and sensitive-issue communications.

Determine the unit's balance of in-house versus outsourced production and approve major vendor and agency engagements.

Institutional Coordination and Strategic Partnerships

Represent TCE MARCOM with university leadership, the University's Office of Communications and Marketing, the UT Communications Council and other campus communications offices.

Coordinate communications and marketing strategy across academic departments, research centers and administrative units to ensure consistent, high-impact messaging.

Build and maintain strategic relationships with industry and community partners, media organizations and external stakeholders to expand TCE's visibility and partnerships.

Budget and Resource Management

Establish the overall MARCOM budget and allocate personnel, funds, paid marketing and equipment across units in alignment with strategic priorities and campaign performance.

Review and approve unit and project budgets, and approve commitments of funds for services, equipment and paid advertising and marketing campaigns.

Implement administrative processes and creative and project management tools that improve efficiency and accountability across the unit.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations or a related field.

Experience: Eight years of progressively responsible experience in strategic marketing, including substantial responsibility for brand positioning, audience research, integrated marketing campaigns and marketing performance measurement. Experience must include translating organizational priorities into marketing strategies; managing marketing budgets and allocating resources; and a minimum of three years managing managers and professional staff.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Ability to provide visionary leadership and to manage multiple operational units, including supervision of managers and professional staff

Ability to establish organizational structures, policies and performance measures for a multi-unit organization

Ability to bring together broad constituencies to build collaboration, teamwork and synergies

Ability to analyze complex issues involving variable factors and to exercise sound, independent judgment

Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate strategic direction and evaluate messaging for varied audiences

Knowledge of strategic marketing, brand positioning and integrated communications, particularly as they relate to organizational reputation and competitive standing

Knowledge of market research, audience segmentation and targeting methods sufficient to identify priority audiences and inform marketing strategy

Skill in translating organizational goals into integrated marketing plans, campaign priorities and resource allocations

Ability to use research, data and marketing analytics to establish performance measures, evaluate effectiveness and guide strategic decisions

Knowledge of paid media, web, video, social media and digital trends and their application to marketing and communications efforts

Knowledge of creative production tools and digital platforms sufficient to set standards and evaluate work quality and effectiveness

Skill in project management, time management and prioritization across multiple units with concurrent deadlines

Skill in budget planning and management, including evaluating marketing investments and aligning expenditures with strategic priorities

Ability to direct vendors and agencies, including marketing strategy, market research, creative services, media buying and analytics partners

Ability to align editorial, creative and digital capacity with organizational priorities and resolve competing demands

Ability to lead organizational change and establish shared planning, accountability and collaboration across marketing and communications functions

Ability to develop and deliver training and professional development for managers and staff

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations or a related field.

Experience: Ten years of relevant, progressively responsible experience, including leadership of a multi-unit communications and marketing organization. Expertise in multiple marketing and communications specialty areas (design, writing, media relations, marketing and communications strategy). Experience in higher education, a government agency, or an engineering or science organization.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Knowledge of trends in public affairs, higher education and the technology sector

Knowledge of reputation marketing and competitive positioning for higher education, engineering, science or research-intensive organizations

Ability to translate complex research, technical information and institutional achievements into compelling value propositions for priority audiences

Ability to navigate complex organizational and external dynamics with political acumen

Ability to manage communications under pressure with rapid turnaround

Skill in building strategic relationships with academic and research leaders, industry decision-makers, journalists, thought leaders and other high-profile stakeholders

Knowledge of methods for assessing changes in brand awareness, audience perceptions and institutional reputation

Work Location

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee (University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus)

Onsite, Hybrid, or Remote: Hybrid in-office and remote schedule

Work schedule: Occasional evening and weekend work and occasional overnight travel are required.

Compensation and Benefits

UT market range: MR15

Anticipated hiring range: $115k - $125k

Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

Resume

Cover Letter

Sample portfolio of your work. The portfolio could include PDFs, hyperlinks, and/or image files. When uploading images or work samples, please include clear labeling that includes your first and last name.

Three professional references

About The College/Department/Division

The Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is the engineering college of Tennessee's flagship public research university. The college educates undergraduate and graduate students across a broad range of engineering disciplines and conducts research that addresses challenges in areas such as energy, advanced manufacturing, materials, computing and national security, supported by a close partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The college's Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) team, including the Office of Engineering Communications and departmental communications and marketing staff, shares the stories of TCE's students, faculty, research and impact with audiences across Tennessee, the nation and the world.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees—the Volunteers—who uphold the university’s tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service.

UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee’s flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy’s largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.

UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone.

The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as “Best Employer for New Graduates,” “One of America’s Best Large Employers,” and “Best Workplace for Women,” and has been designated as “Best Place for Working Parents” by Forbes Magazine.

Apply today and join the Tennessee Volunteer community!