The Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communication leads planning and message development for strategic institutional communications and builds the brands of Augsburg University and Luther Seminary, shaping the desired reputations of each institution, advancing their missions and strategic visions, and supporting engagement in enrollment and fundraising priorities. The AVP oversees the shared services Marketing and Communication department and the Augsburg University Events department.

Primary Responsibilities

Division Leadership:

• Lead the Marketing and Communication Division, overseeing a broad array of marketing disciplines, including advertising, brand management, crisis communication, digital marketing, donor outreach and stewardship, events and conferences, internal communications, media and public relations, publications, social media, and web projects; direct a team of 16 professionals across two institutions.
• Manage division budget, including operating funds of approximately $400k and event and shared services revenue.
• Ensure that the marketing resources (human and financial) of the institutions are used to the greatest effect in advancing their missions by consistently evaluating and adjusting the activity of the teams and the media in which the institutions invest for maximum effectiveness.
• Provide team members with coaching and development to increase their effectiveness in developing and presenting creative work, building successful relationships across campus, and working collaboratively.
• Develop and maintain positive and collaborative relationships with key departments in order to effectively communicate institutional objectives to key constituencies, including employees, alumni, donors, and media.

Marketing:

• Develop and hone each institution's brand message platform and articulate it appropriately to various and diverse external audiences. Ensure that all institutional messages effectively and consistently communicate the distinctiveness of the university and the seminary.
• Foster and oversee effective creative and event planning processes that recognize that the best work comes not from excellent individual effort, but a diversity of experiences and talents, and flows from clear articulations of the goals and intended audiences of particular projects.
• Conduct or guide research, including quantitative and qualitative market studies. Share data and insights about the perspectives and behaviors of external/targeted audiences with institutional and program leaders and ground decision making in evidence.

Communication:

• Serve as primary staff for planning and development of executive communications in support of Board of Regents leadership and the President's Office.
• Lead internal and external communication planning and message development. Identify topics/issues that require proactive institutional communication, and ensure appropriate leaders are engaged in identifying/articulating the institution's position, decisions, and actions, taking into consideration the concerns and perspectives of diverse stakeholder groups.
• Lead key stakeholders and decision makers in message development regarding strategy, policy changes, and important moments in the history of the institution. Ensure clarity and precision in the language and terms used to describe situations, articulate the relevant reasoning, and express intended outcomes.
• As required, serve as Augsburg University spokesperson.

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintain All Hands, Focused Conversations, and other communications to support the effective delivery of strategic initiatives across the university.
• Chair the university's cross-functional Campus Design Committee to collaboratively foster the desired physical experience on campus.
• As needed, present the strategic work of the marketing division to Board of Regents committees, university leadership, and relevant faculty/staff groups.
• All other duties as apparent or assigned by supervisor.