Executive Director of Marketing and Creative Strategy

Waubonsee Community College•Sugar Grove, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Waubonsee Community College is seeking an Executive Director of Marketing and Creative Strategy to provide strategic leadership for the college's marketing, branding, creative services, and digital marketing initiatives. This role is responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing strategies to increase enrollment, strengthen brand awareness, enhance market position, engage key audiences, and support institutional priorities. The position oversees creative services, advertising, digital marketing, brand management, marketing analytics, and campaign performance, ensuring all efforts are innovative, data-informed, audience-centered, and aligned with the college's mission, vision, and strategic plan. The Director reports to the Vice President of Community Engagement and External Affairs.

Requirements

Master's degree in Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communications, Business Administration (MBA), Digital Marketing, Strategic Communications, Higher Education Administration, or a closely related field required.
Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in marketing, brand management, digital marketing, advertising, creative services, or integrated marketing in Higher Education.
Minimum of four (4) years of supervisory experience leading high-performing marketing, creative, or digital teams, including responsibility for coaching, performance management, and professional development.
Demonstrated experience developing and managing departmental budgets, marketing investments, and vendor contracts while maximizing return on investment.
Demonstrated experience developing comprehensive marketing strategies that support organizational growth, customer acquisition, enrollment, engagement, or revenue objectives through integrated, multi-channel campaigns.
Extensive knowledge of digital marketing strategies and platforms, including website management, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), paid digital advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, marketing automation, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, content management systems (CMS), and web analytics.
Demonstrated experience leading brand strategy and creative services, including oversight of graphic design, photography, videography, publications, advertising, and visual identity standards.
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to interpret marketing data, evaluate campaign performance, measure return on investment, and make data-informed decisions that improve outcomes.
Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership, faculty, staff, students, community partners, and external vendors.
Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups while successfully managing multiple priorities, leading cross-functional initiatives, and fostering innovation within a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of current and emerging trends in higher education marketing, enrollment marketing, artificial intelligence, digital engagement, audience segmentation, and consumer behavior preferred.

Responsibilities

Provides strategic leadership for the college's comprehensive marketing, branding, advertising, and creative services functions in support of the college's mission, vision, RISE 2030 Strategic Plan, and enrollment objectives.
Leads the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies designed to increase awareness, inquiries, applications, enrollment, student engagement, and institutional reputation.
Works collaboratively with the Dean for Admissions, Executive Dean for Student Success and Retention, Academic Affairs, Student Development, and other institutional leaders to develop and execute comprehensive enrollment marketing strategies that support recruitment, retention, persistence, and completion goals.
Leads the college's institutional brand strategy, ensuring consistent messaging, visual identity, positioning, and storytelling across all print, digital, outdoor, video, advertising, and promotional platforms.
Provides leadership for the college's creative services team, including graphic design, photography, videography, publications, advertising, creative direction, and visual storytelling.
Ensures all creative work reflects the Waubonsee brand while meeting institutional objectives.
Develops and implements comprehensive annual marketing campaigns supporting enrollment, workforce development, continuing education, community engagement, fundraising initiatives, major institutional priorities, and special projects.
Leads data-informed marketing planning through the analysis of campaign performance, market research, enrollment trends, audience segmentation, consumer behavior, and return-on-investment metrics.
Uses analytics to continuously improve marketing effectiveness.
Supervises the college's marketing and creative services staff, including managers, designers, digital marketing personnel, photographers, videographers, and other assigned employees.
Responsible for recruitment, professional development, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and creating a collaborative, high-performing team culture.
Provides strategic oversight of the college's digital marketing ecosystem, including the institutional website, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), paid digital advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, marketing automation, landing pages, online video, emerging technologies, and digital engagement strategies.
Serves as the institutional leader for marketing technology, customer relationship marketing integration, digital analytics, and campaign measurement, ensuring marketing decisions are driven by data, audience insights, and measurable outcomes.
Develops, implements, and monitors institutional brand standards and visual identity guidelines, ensuring consistent use of the college's logo, colors, typography, messaging, photography, and graphic standards across all internal and external marketing materials.
Serves as a strategic advisor to the Vice President of Community Engagement and External Affairs, President's Cabinet, Strategic Enrollment Management Committee, and other institutional leadership teams regarding marketing strategy, institutional branding, enrollment marketing, and creative initiatives.
Develops collaborative relationships with academic divisions, administrative departments, community partners, and external organizations to identify marketing opportunities that advance institutional priorities and strengthen community awareness of Waubonsee Community College.
Provides strategic leadership for institutional advertising, media buying, campaign planning, promotional initiatives, sponsorship activation, and vendor management.
Negotiates and manages contracts with outside agencies, photographers, videographers, designers, printers, advertising firms, and other marketing consultants as appropriate.
Provides marketing leadership and creative consultation for major college initiatives, signature events, institutional celebrations, capital projects, student success initiatives, and community engagement activities to maximize visibility, attendance, and institutional impact.
Develops, manages, and monitors the department's annual operating and project budgets, ensuring responsible stewardship of institutional resources while maximizing marketing effectiveness and return on investment.
Leads continuous improvement efforts by evaluating marketing processes, implementing innovative technologies, identifying operational efficiencies, and fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, customer service, and innovation within the department.
Maintains knowledge of higher education marketing trends, enrollment marketing best practices, digital marketing innovations, artificial intelligence applications, consumer behavior, accessibility standards, and emerging technologies to ensure the college remains competitive and forward-thinking.
Performs other duties as assigned by the Vice President of Community Engagement and External Affairs.