Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Xavier University • Cincinnati, OH

10d

About The Position

Xavier University seeks an accomplished, strategic, and results-oriented Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (VP/CMO) to join the Executive Cabinet in a new senior leadership role reporting directly to the President. At a pivotal moment in the University’s strategic plan, the VP/CMO will lead a centralized Division of Marketing and Communications and be accountable for Xavier’s brand, reputation, marketing strategy, budget, and talent. In close partnership with Strategic Enrollment Management, Advancement, Athletics, and University leaders, the VP/CMO will build a research-driven brand platform articulating Xavier’s distinctive identity and the value of a Xavier education. The VP/CMO will also develop an in-house, agency-style marketing operation that unifies brand strategy and performance marketing to advance institutional priorities and drive enrollment, revenue, and growth. The successful candidate will bring executive leadership experience, a record of connecting marketing investment to measurable results, and the ability to use market research, data analytics, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence to inform strategy, optimize performance, and strengthen Xavier’s position and reputation.

The role sets Xavier’s brand strategy and market position in keeping with its Jesuit Catholic mission; develops and sustains a consistent brand platform; partners with enrollment and advancement teams on measurable outcomes; and oversees communications, reputation management, and crisis readiness. It will build a data-driven division with clear metrics and reporting, integrate research and analytics into decision-making, and apply AI and automation with appropriate safeguards. The VP/CMO will strengthen the Division of Marketing and Communications as a centrally funded in-house agency, coordinate its operating framework with key partners, and manage its budget and external partnerships.

Requirements

• Master’s degree.
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience, including at least 5 years in an executive-level role as a CMO, VP of Marketing, VP of Communications, or comparable senior leader.
• Significant experience serving as a vice president or cabinet-level leader overseeing a marketing and communications organization and serving on a senior leadership team.
• Commitment to advancing Xavier University’s Jesuit Catholic mission through marketing, communications, and institutional leadership.
• Deep understanding of college and university operations, including faculty shared governance, academic program structures, and enrollment and advancement cycles.
• Demonstrated results tying marketing to revenue, such as enrollment, customer acquisition, fundraising, or comparable growth metrics.
• Strong data orientation, including setting measurable goals, interpreting performance data, and making evidence-based budget decisions.
• Experience commissioning and applying market and brand research, including perception tracking, segmentation, and driver analysis.
• Experience leading analytics or data science staff or partners.
• Applied experience with AI, marketing technology, and automation, supported by concrete examples, and specific ideas for using these capabilities in a marketing organization.
• Financial literacy sufficient to partner with a CFO, manage a budget, and discuss financial drivers and the balance sheet.
• Experience in media relations, reputation management, and crisis communications.

Nice To Haves

• Experience at a mission-driven college or university, ideally a Catholic or Jesuit institution.
• Experience leading centralization or reorganization of a marketing function.
• Experience building a brand platform from research and sustaining it across multiple years.
• Experience building an in-house, agency-style marketing team serving colleges and academic units.

Responsibilities

• Set Xavier’s brand strategy and market position, grounded in its Jesuit Catholic mission, and ensure consistent use across colleges, units, and channels.
• Lead research and development of Xavier’s brand platform and secure approval from the President and Board of Trustees.
• Maintain consistent use of the brand platform across colleges, programs, and channels over time.
• Facilitate cabinet-level work on Xavier’s identity and competitive position so senior leaders support shared institutional goals with a unified brand.
• Make the data-grounded case for brand investment and optimize its level and mix.
• Share accountability with Strategic Enrollment Management for undergraduate and graduate enrollment results, strategically strengthening the enrollment funnel from prospects and inquiries through deposited students.
• Support Advancement campaigns and communications that enhance donor and alumni engagement, and help measure their contribution to advancement goals.
• Apply audience segmentation to define and reach prioritized alumni, prospective students, and families.
• Ensure media relations, executive and presidential communications, and internal communications align with the brand platform, working with a dedicated communications leader responsible for day-to-day media relations.
• Proactively protect Xavier’s reputation and maintain a tested issues and crisis response plan.
• Build a data-driven division with clear metrics, dashboards, and reporting to the President and cabinet.
• Establish a continuing brand-perception research program covering prospective students, parents, current students, alumni, and donors, and use it to identify factors influencing enrollment and giving.
• Strengthen source analytics and data science capabilities to segment audiences and attribute results to marketing spend by channel.
• Partner with Institutional Research and IT to integrate CRM, web, media, and survey data into a single source of truth for reporting.
• Bring research and data into brand and marketing decisions with deans, colleges, and units.
• Partner with IT and Institutional Research to establish privacy, access, and data-quality safeguards for audience research, integrated marketing data, analytics, and personal information.
• Apply AI and automation to marketing and communications, partnering with IT on technology, CRM, and data integration.
• Establish practical AI guidelines addressing human review, accuracy, bias, confidential information, and appropriate disclosure of AI use.
• Build and strengthen the Division of Marketing and Communications as a centrally funded, in-house agency and strategic partner to colleges and units.
• Develop a shared operating framework with Strategic Enrollment Management, Advancement, and Athletics for coordinating embedded marketing and communications, campaign planning, brand standards, service priorities, and competing requests.
• Manage the divisional budget and agency and vendor partnerships with rigorous oversight, accountability, and reporting on spending and performance.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance plans.
• Health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and dependent care account.
• Life and long-term disability insurance, accident and illness insurance, and retirement savings plans.
• Paid time off options including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
• Tuition remission for employees and eligible dependents.

What This Job Offers

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