Assistant Director, Marketing Strategist

Penn State University • University Park, IL

12d

About The Position

Student Affairs Communications and Marketing is seeking a strategic, collaborative professional to join the team as the Assistant Director. This position plays a critical role in overseeing and coordinating marketing support for Student Affairs units, ensuring projects are planned, prioritized, and delivered in alignment with divisional goals, available resources, and institutional priorities. The assistant director serves as a central project management and advisory resource for the division, providing structure, transparency, and guidance for marketing initiatives across more than 25 unique units. Working closely with the director and communications and marketing team, this role supports division-wide campaigns and initiatives, oversees project management systems and processes, and helps units make informed, high-value decisions about their marketing needs. Student Affairs Communications and Marketing works to elevate the work of colleagues across the division and to inform students of critical resources, opportunities, and experiences. This role requires strong interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and the ability to balance competing needs while maintaining a clear focus on strategy, equity, and impact. Student Affairs is a dynamic division comprised of more than 25 units focused on student health and wellness, involvement and student life, community and belonging, leadership and success, and support and safety. Staff across the division provide essential programs and services that enable students to thrive at Penn State.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted

Nice To Haves

• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and deadlines
• Ability to guide, coach, and advise stakeholders toward strategic and realistic decisions
• Comfort working across diverse units with varying needs, perspectives, and levels of readiness
• Adaptability and willingness to navigate change in a complex organizational environment
• Commitment to inclusive, accessible, and equity-centered marketing practices

Responsibilities

• Project Management and Oversight Lead and coordinate project management for divisional marketing requests, ensuring clear intake, scoping, prioritization, tracking, and follow-through.
• Maintain oversight of timelines, deliverables, dependencies, and capacity to support both unit needs and divisional priorities.
• Strategic Prioritization and Decision Support Partner with the director, team members, and unit stakeholders to support informed decision-making around marketing initiatives.
• Balance unit requests with available resources, strategic goals, and workload data to guide project sequencing and scope.
• Unit Liaison, Advising, and Coaching Serve as a primary liaison to Student Affairs units seeking marketing support.
• Advise and coach unit partners through planning and decision-making to shape requests that are reasonable, strategic, and high-value for the division as a whole.
• Support shared understanding of marketing processes, constraints, and tradeoffs.
• Division-Wide Campaigns and Strategic Initiatives Coordinate and help shape marketing campaigns and initiatives with a division-wide lens that support key strategic priorities.
• Use data, performance metrics, and institutional goals to inform planning, alignment, and evaluation of marketing efforts.
• Project Management Systems and Process Improvement Oversee and continuously improve project management tools, workflows, and standards used by the team.
• Establish consistent practices that improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability across marketing efforts.
• Digital, Web, and Social Strategy Oversight Provide strategic oversight for digital platforms, including web and social media, in collaboration with the director and team.
• Support consistency, alignment, and effective use of analytics to guide decisions, while providing guidance and support to unit-based contributors as appropriate.

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
• In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time.
• One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level