Senior Director of Marketing & Communications: Tickle College of Engineering - UTK

University of Tennessee • Knoxville, TN

15d • $115,000 - $125,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, seeks a Senior Director of Marketing and Communications to lead its integrated marketing and communications enterprise. The role is primarily responsible for strengthening the college’s national reputation, competitive positioning, and recognition among influential audiences. It translates college priorities and strengths in research, education, and innovation into audience-focused marketing strategies, aligning personnel, budgets, channels, and communications activities with measurable institutional objectives.

Reporting to the Chief Alignment Officer, the Senior Director supervises the Director of Communications and other professional staff and holds final unit-level accountability for strategy, organizational structure, staffing, budget, and performance. The position provides strategic and operational leadership across the college’s marketing and communications units, overseeing brand strategy, research, campaigns, media, publications, digital platforms, and communications. It also advises college leadership, coordinates with university and departmental partners, builds external relationships, and allocates resources in support of strategic priorities.

The role is based at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus, with a hybrid in-office and remote schedule. Occasional evening and weekend work and occasional overnight travel are required. The anticipated hiring range is $115,000–$125,000.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or a related field.
• Eight years of progressively responsible experience in strategic marketing, including substantial responsibility for brand positioning, audience research, integrated marketing campaigns, and marketing performance measurement.
• Experience translating organizational priorities into marketing strategies, managing marketing budgets and allocating resources, and at least three years managing managers and professional staff.
• Ability to provide visionary leadership and manage multiple operational units, including supervision of managers and professional staff.
• Ability to establish organizational structures, policies, and performance measures for a multi-unit organization.
• Ability to bring together broad constituencies to build collaboration, teamwork, and synergies.
• Ability to analyze complex issues involving variable factors and exercise sound, independent judgment.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including communicating strategic direction and evaluating messaging for varied audiences.
• Knowledge of strategic marketing, brand positioning, and integrated communications, particularly in relation to organizational reputation and competitive standing.
• Knowledge of market research, audience segmentation, and targeting methods sufficient to identify priority audiences and inform strategy.
• Skill in translating organizational goals into integrated marketing plans, campaign priorities, and resource allocations.
• Ability to use research, data, and marketing analytics to establish measures, evaluate effectiveness, and guide strategic decisions.
• Knowledge of paid media, web, video, social media, and digital trends and their application to marketing and communications.
• Knowledge of creative production tools and digital platforms sufficient to set standards and evaluate work quality and effectiveness.
• Skill in project management, time management, and prioritization across multiple units with concurrent deadlines.
• Skill in budget planning and management, including evaluating marketing investments and aligning expenditures with strategic priorities.
• Ability to direct vendors and agencies working in marketing strategy, market research, creative services, media buying, and analytics.
• Ability to align editorial, creative, and digital capacity with organizational priorities and resolve competing demands.
• Ability to lead organizational change and establish shared planning, accountability, and collaboration across marketing and communications functions.
• Ability to develop and deliver training and professional development for managers and staff.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or a related field.
• Ten years of relevant, progressively responsible experience, including leadership of a multi-unit communications and marketing organization.
• Expertise in multiple marketing and communications specialty areas, such as design, writing, media relations, and marketing and communications strategy.
• Experience in higher education, a government agency, or an engineering or science organization.
• Knowledge of trends in public affairs, higher education, and the technology sector.
• Knowledge of reputation marketing and competitive positioning for higher education, engineering, science, or research-intensive organizations.
• Ability to translate complex research, technical information, and institutional achievements into compelling value propositions for priority audiences.
• Ability to navigate complex organizational and external dynamics with political acumen.
• Ability to manage communications under pressure with rapid turnaround.
• Skill in building strategic relationships with academic and research leaders, industry decision-makers, journalists, thought leaders, and other high-profile stakeholders.
• Knowledge of methods for assessing changes in brand awareness, audience perceptions, and institutional reputation.

Responsibilities

• Establish the college’s multi-year marketing and communications vision, strategic framework, priorities, and performance measures in alignment with its strategic plan and goals.
• Lead integrated marketing strategy, translating institutional goals into audience priorities, positioning, coordinated campaigns, and resource allocations.
• Lead a sustained national reputation strategy to strengthen recognition of the college as a leading destination for engineering education, research, and collaboration.
• Direct market, audience, and competitive research to assess awareness and perceptions, identify barriers to recognition, and inform positioning, messaging, and investment.
• Establish differentiated brand positioning and audience-specific value propositions based on the college’s research strengths, educational outcomes, and institutional impact.
• Direct integrated campaigns across paid, owned, earned, and shared channels, aligning editorial content, creative work, digital platforms, and media outreach with marketing objectives.
• Set measures for awareness, perception, audience engagement, and campaign effectiveness; evaluate results and adjust strategy, investment, and resource allocation.
• Advise the Dean and Chief Alignment Officer on reputation, competitive positioning, enrollment growth, research visibility, partnerships, and institutional impact.
• Develop solutions to complex marketing, reputation, and communications challenges, exercising independent judgment when priorities, policies, or resources compete.
• Provide operational management and administrative direction for all marketing and communications units, including the Office of Engineering Communications and departmental staff.
• Supervise the Director of Communications, managers, and professional staff, including hiring, training, evaluation, mentoring, and merit-increase decisions.
• Provide second-level oversight of personnel actions, performance management, and workload; address complex staffing and operational issues.
• Design and approve organizational structure, reporting lines, staffing models, and new position requests; recommend future hiring needs to college administration.
• Develop and lead training and professional development for managers and staff across marketing and communications functions.
• Hold final approval authority for college visual brand identity and messaging policies across print and digital platforms, within university brand standards.
• Oversee brand strategy, market research, paid media, audience targeting, analytics, publications, media relations, web, video, and digital and social media operations; establish standards for quality and impact.
• Review and approve critical and high-profile communications, including crisis and sensitive-issue communications.
• Determine the balance of in-house and outsourced production and approve major vendor and agency engagements.
• Represent college marketing and communications with university leadership, the University’s Office of Communications and Marketing, the UT Communications Council, and campus communications offices.
• Coordinate marketing and communications strategy across academic departments, research centers, and administrative units.
• Build and maintain relationships with industry and community partners, media organizations, and external stakeholders to expand visibility and partnerships.
• Establish the overall marketing and communications budget and allocate personnel, funds, paid marketing, and equipment according to strategic priorities and campaign performance.
• Review and approve unit and project budgets and commitments for services, equipment, and paid advertising and marketing campaigns.
• Implement administrative processes and creative and project management tools to improve unit efficiency and accountability.

Benefits

• Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and development and training opportunities.
• The university emphasizes work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership.

What This Job Offers

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