Assistant Director of Digital Communications & Marketing Automation

University of Arkansas • Fayetteville, AR

12d • Onsite

About The Position

The Marketing & Strategic Communications (MarComm) team within University Advancement provides centralized strategy, coordination and governance for communications and marketing that support fundraising, stakeholder engagement and campaign priorities. The team leads brand stewardship, creative direction, executive and internal communications, and integrated digital communications standards across the division—developing executive messaging, storytelling and content, and coordinated communications that advance key initiatives and revenue-generating efforts. MarComm works in close partnership with campus units to ensure alignment, consistency and effectiveness across all channels. MarComm delivers enterprise-level services—including integrated campaign communications strategy, philanthropic media relations, content development, email marketing and marketing automation, and creative services—while managing the enterprise email platform and supporting distributed partners with tools, assets and guidance. The team also oversees Advancement’s brand and content ecosystem across web and digital platforms, and leads the development of high-impact storytelling, visual assets and materials that strengthen donor relationships, elevate the university’s reputation and support strategic priorities. The Assistant Director of Digital Communications & Marketing Automation serves as the division’s operational lead and point of contact for email marketing, donor journeys, and digital communications systems. This role is responsible for building, executing, and optimizing email communications in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) and other digital platforms; supporting donor journeys and automated workflows; and providing training, troubleshooting, and governance support across the division and with campus partners and users of the email marketing tool. The role collaborates closely with Advancement colleagues to ensure consistent, compliant, and effective digital outreach.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, information systems, or related field
• At least one (1) year of professional experience building and deploying email campaigns in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, including Email Studio and Journey Builder
• At least one (1) year of experience working with audience segmentation, data extensions, and automated marketing workflows
• Strong understanding of email marketing best practices, including deliverability, accessibility, and compliance
• Demonstrated organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities through related work experiences

Nice To Haves

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud certifications (e.g., Email Specialist, Administrator, or Consultant) completed or in progress, or willingness to obtain certification within the first year
• At least one year of full-time experience in higher education, preferably in advancement communications, or nonprofit
• At least one year of full-time experience supporting platform governance, deliverability, and email authentication practices
• At least one year of full-time experience with workflow management tools such as Smartsheet, Monday.com, Clickup, or similar systems for intake and project tracking
• At least one year of full-time experience training and/or supporting others
• Graduate of the University of Arkansas - Fayetteville

Responsibilities

• Manage and optimize structured intake and request workflows including tracking approvals, timelines, data requirements, and send readiness
• Build, test, and deploy email communications in Salesforce Marketing Cloud
• Design and maintain automated journeys and workflows using Journey Builder, including audience entry, decision logic, suppression rules, and ongoing optimization
• Coordinate with the IT&DM team to manage audiences through data extensions as well as segmentation logic for dynamic content and journeys
• Support ongoing data integrity, audience segmentation, and governance standards across Salesforce Marketing Cloud and the Advancement CRM
• Provide troubleshooting for platform issues related to data, rendering, previews, and sends
• Conduct pre-send quality assurance, including link validation, personalization checks, audience verification, and compliance with email marketing standards
• Support and maintain email compliance and deliverability standards, sender reputation, and distribution list hygiene
• Monitor deliverability metrics and email performance metrics, including bounce rates, spam complaints, engagement trends, and domain reputation, and recommend optimization strategies and corrective actions as needed
• Lead training, enablement and support for email marketing users across the division and campus
• Develop and maintain documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials for Salesforce Marketing Cloud users
• Build and support email communications within the Crescendo platform as needed, ensuring alignment with Advancement and university branding and compliance standards
• Maintain reporting dashboards to track email and journey performance
• Conduct A/B testing and leverage dynamic content capabilities in Salesforce Marketing Cloud to improve engagement and conversion outcomes.
• Regular, reliable, and non-disruptive attendance is an essential job duty, as is the ability to create and maintain collegial, harmonious working relationships with others.

Benefits

• university contributions to health, dental, life and disability insurance
• tuition waivers for employees and their families
• 12 official holidays
• immediate leave accrual
• a choice of retirement programs with university contributions ranging from 5 to 10% of employee salary

What This Job Offers

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