Director of Marketing and Communications, Veterinary Medicine

Virginia Tech • Blacksburg, VA

21d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Marketing and Communications for the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) develops, plans, executes, and evaluates a comprehensive strategic marketing and communications program for the college, aligning it with Virginia Tech’s communications, marketing, branding priorities, and initiatives. The program reflects VMCVM’s core values, principles, strategic goals, priorities, unique attributes, and offerings, while supporting broader understanding of the university.

The Director collaborates with VMCVM’s Dean and senior leadership, advancement team, department heads, teaching hospital administration, marketing and communications leaders across the university, and university colleagues and partners. The position currently leads and supervises four marketing and communications professionals, including performance planning and evaluation, direction, support, and professional development. The Director also works with university leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, grateful clients, and external partners.

The program encompasses communications plans, news and feature stories, leadership speeches, message alignment, marketing campaigns, media relations and pitches, publications, photography and videography, social media, advertising, and related activities. Platforms include websites, news and information sites, email newsletters, and social media channels. The Director oversees content and communications activity across VMCVM and uses metrics to evaluate effectiveness and inform improvements. In collaboration with the university media relations team, the Director develops and manages media relations targeting strategic regional, trade, and national outlets.

The position supports VMCVM and university initiatives in Blacksburg, Roanoke, and the greater Washington, D.C. metro area, including teaching hospitals in Blacksburg, Roanoke, and Leesburg, Virginia. It is based at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus and is designated as emergency personnel. The role reports to both the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Virginia Tech, and the Assistant Dean of Advancement of VMCVM. Regional and national travel is occasionally required, potentially including overnight stays and weekends. The employee must be able and willing to travel using standard, commercial, and/or personal transportation, and must be able to work nights and weekends and participate in college or university programs when possible. A criminal conviction check is required.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in communications, journalism, or a related field, or a bachelor’s degree with experience equating to an advanced degree.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive strategic marketing and communications program.
• Ability to define goals and objectives, identify target audiences, and measure progress toward communications and marketing goals.
• Demonstrated strong communications, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with communications principles including messaging, graphic design, visual communications, branding, marketing, advertising, electronic communications, and social media.
• Ability to be self-motivated and work in a complex matrix management environment.
• Safe driving record.
• Ability and willingness to travel using standard, commercial, and/or personal modes of transportation.
• Ability to work nights and weekends and participate in college or university programs when possible.
• Successful completion of a criminal conviction check.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with veterinary medicine teaching and research techniques and ability to communicate highly technical content to a general audience.
• Demonstrated experience supervising communications professionals.
• Experience executing marketing initiatives and analyzing and applying market research in veterinary medicine, a medical school, hospital, or higher education setting.
• Experience working with business or industry, alumni engagement, or development initiatives.
• Demonstrated budgetary supervision experience.
• Experience in higher education, an independent school, a scientific organization, or a nonprofit environment.
• Strong workplace technology skills and familiarity with content management systems and email platforms; social media competencies.
• Significant communications experience writing and producing publications, developing and placing stories with external media, and collaborating with medical professionals.
• Strong record of progressive experience in marketing and communications, including developing and implementing a strategic, comprehensive program.
• Experience leading a marketing and communications team.
• Strong understanding of effective graphic design and branding principles and the Internet as a communications medium.
• Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Proficiency with word processing, image processing, content management system, and social media tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive strategic marketing and communications plan supporting VMCVM’s and the university’s missions and integrating their priorities.
• Oversee and manage creation of high-quality, engaging content, and create content for VMCVM and university digital and print platforms.
• Ensure VMCVM content follows university brand standards and editorial, messaging, and graphic design guidelines.
• Exercise oversight of marketing and communications activities throughout VMCVM.
• Use metrics to gauge strategy effectiveness and make data-informed decisions to improve marketing and communications efforts.
• Collaborate with VMCVM’s advancement and leadership teams, university communicators, marketing and communications colleagues, and other groups.
• Edit and oversee the quality of content across websites, social media, newsletters, reports, promotional materials, and other platforms.
• Collaborate with the university media relations team to develop and manage a comprehensive media relations program targeting strategic regional, trade, and national outlets.
• Lead and supervise a team of four marketing and communications professionals, including performance planning and evaluation, direction, support, and professional development.
• Work with VMCVM department heads and teaching hospital administration to align marketing and communications work with college and university priorities.

Benefits

• Virginia Tech encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance, which can provide professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

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