HSMAI Foundation Career Center

The Enrollment Division at the University of Denver (DU), which consists of Undergraduate Admission, International Student Admission and Financial Aid, works to attract, enroll and cultivate an optimal mix of vibrant and intellectually motivated students who will enrich the composition of our learning community and go on to lead lives of meaning and purpose. Recognizing education as a means of individual and societal transformation, our vision is to inspire, guide, and support prospective and current students as leaders and scholars who will positively impact their communities. In our daily work, the enrollment team is guided by these values: intentional and informed decisions; integrity; diversity, equity and inclusion; collaboration; fiscal responsibility; clear and thoughtful communication; and exceptional quality service. As an educational and research community, DU values curiosity, intellectual freedom, and open communication. DU respects individual differences and embraces civil discourse. DU promotes caring and close individual attention. DU is a community distinguished by inclusiveness, collaboration, responsiveness, and accountability. As such, we are committed to enhancing the diversity of our faculty and staff. The University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment, the Director or Senior Director of Communication and Marketing (Director/DCM) for the Enrollment Division will serve to meet the communication, public relations and marketing needs of the Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid departments. Acting as a key partner in conjunction with the Vice Chancellor and Associate Vice Chancellor for Admission, as well as the Division of Marketing and Communications, the DCM is responsible for creating, developing and implementing an integrated communication/marketing plan. The DCM leads the communication and marketing effort within the division and will plan, develop, implement and assess all communication and marketing needs, strategies and all forms of communication of the Division for key constituents/stakeholders with a high standard of excellence.

All messages and communication plans will be developed and shaped with much thought for the direct needs of prospective students, parents, high school counselors and other key constituents; all messages should comply with and promote DUs brand attributes with both a “one DU” ideal and 4D experience representation. The DCM shares responsibility to ensure the University is meeting all enrollment and retention goals and supports the desire of the University to attract and retain diverse students. The DCM will be sensitive to, and have an understanding of, the diverse academic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds of University staff and students as well as establish, maintain, and foster positive and harmonious working relationships inside and outside of the University. Upon identification and assessment of marketing and communications needs, the DCM will select the most effective means of communication and create/implement the appropriate messages and materials for each population/project, ensuring all assets are consistent, professional, relevant and delivered in a timely and logical manner.

The DCM is required to keep abreast with communication, marketing and design trends with special emphasis on the trends/methods being implemented by other Enrollment divisions across the country. The DCM will partner with campus colleagues to ensure a cohesive and consistent user experience for prospective undergraduate students and their families. The DCM is responsible for promoting information flow within our Division and the University and should have exceptional interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate effectively. These skills enable the DCM to participate successfully on the senior leadership team in the Enrollment Division.

In a limited capacity, the DCM will assist with admission counselor responsibilities, including high school visits, campus visit programs, and application review.

In closing, the Director is responsible for developing and executing an integrated marketing and communication plan, promoting and utilizing DU’s brand identity using DU’s visual guide; website design guide; and editorial style guide for brand standards. Working with market research findings, identifying and reaching target audiences, generating imaginative solutions, producing excellent print and digital communication materials, and collaborating with enrollment, central marketing, media relations, athletics and advancement teams is a key objective of the position.

Essential Functions

• The Director is responsible for developing and executing an integrated marketing and communication plan, promoting brand identity, working with market research findings, identifying and reaching target audiences, generating imaginative solutions, producing excellent print and electronic communication materials, including leveraging the digital landscape with email, social media and digital content for ads and other communications. In general, this person is the strategic leader for all forms of communication issued by the Enrollment Division.
• Manage the undergraduate admission and financial aid website, and ensure appropriate analytics and informed responses are being executed. Designate staff to create, oversee, monitor, edit, and post relevant content to the sites. Works with campus partners in academic and administrative units to know and understand their various programs to ensure that website pages are consistent, accurate and on-brand. All content must be regularly evaluated and updated to reflect the changing dynamics of both the programs/information and the audiences using our site. This team will work closely with our internal IT manager, DU’s central Information Technology division, and Marketing and Communications for continual maintenance and upgrades/re-design for templates, artwork, pictures, student profiles, blogs, conversion funnels, user-testing and personalized messaging.
• Track and analyze marketing strategies being implemented by competitor institutions. Keep abreast of marketing trends, especially as it relates to recruiting and admission. Identify and implement new technology and methods of recruitment as they become available (social media, digital advertising, etc). Creatively develop unique and innovative strategies on a yearly basis to maximize potential and to meet the enrollment goals of the University. Each year the communication plan as well as the individual components of the plan must be assessed for overall effectiveness and value in the pursuit of our enrollment goals. Must understand and interpret data trends in order to compare and contrast these trends to previous years. With these comparisons, the Director is responsible for identifying patterns and creating initiatives to respond to the trends. Overall, Director must continually evaluate the effectiveness of communications, marketing efforts, and programs and set goals and objectives that form an integral part of a complex set of Enrollment objectives and performance indicators; monitor outcomes; and use results-analysis to measure engagement demonstrated by clicks and other content engagement to fashion future plans, strategies, goals, and uses of resources.
• Work closely with central MarComm Division, as well as various vendors in the creation, development, implementation, delivery and assessment of print materials, posters, presentations, web designs/upgrades, messages, email campaigns, social media, digital advertising, video work, etc. Ensure that messages are on-brand; appropriate for the intended audiences; meet the purpose of the project/program/campaign; are within budget guidelines; and meet the deadlines dictated by our communication/recruiting plans. Serves as liaison to MarComm division.
• In a limited manner, will assist with visit programs and basic counseling duties (will most likely manage territory for one local school district). Expected to stay updated with DU academic programs, majors and initiatives to best represent the various divisions/departments/programs.
• Accountable for Division Communication budget, including allocation recommendations of existing and new communication and marketing plans/campaigns, project cost quoting; and routine budget monitoring/stewardship.

Supervisory Duties:

Directly supervise three admission counselor positions that also have communication duties, and one CRM operations position. These positions will have additional duties in assisting the Director with the development and execution of key deliverables related to the communication plan- email campaigns, print materials, web content, social media, advertising, etc. Will lead the division-wide communications team (with representation from key areas across the enrollment division) in idea generation and developing strategic initiatives that more effectively engage our audiences and lead to measurable results against engagement and enrollment goals.

• Counselor position – Visit team liaison, E-newsletter series, editing, internal communications.
• Counselor position – Create, oversee, monitor, edit web content, photo management, video production, supervision of student media intern.
• Counselor position – Manage social media, Diversity and Access team liaison, and supervision of student communication intern.
• Slate CRM Manager – Management of Slate, Slate training, new content creation and analysis. Operations and communications within Slate.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Language Skills: Strong writing, editing and organizational skills with an emphasis on creative and promotional writing. Familiarity with contemporary communication tools and channels. Ability to effectively present information one-on-one and in large-group settings to a variety of audiences. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret marketing/communication and enrollment management data/reports as well as departmental procedures and policies. Ability to draft reports and business correspondence. Knowledgeable in software programs and other computer skills. Demonstrated commitment to promoting inclusive excellence.
• Mathematical Skills: Ability to compute, read and interpret rates and percentages in all areas of tracking and managing statistical communication and marketing data as well as for assigned territory management. Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure. Ability to compute and interpret ratios, percentages, charts and bar graphs. Basic accounting skills are required for developing and managing the assigned marketing/communication budget/s.
• Reasoning Ability: Must be able to independently assess opportunities and situations and provide reasonable solutions. Must be focused on problem resolution. Creative problem solving and thoughtful, timely decision-making skills. Ability to analyze a situation, draw conclusions and take or recommend actions on a timely and regular basis. Continually evaluate the effectiveness of communications, marketing efforts, and programs. Set goals and objectives that form an integral part of a complex set of Enrollment goals; monitor results; and use results analysis to fashion future plans, strategies, goals, and uses of resources.
• Strategic Ability: Proven ability to understand industry and data trends for a program/project/plan/territory and translate into measurable action plans.
• Leadership: Ability to cast vision as well as to motivate team to reach objectives both independently and with the group. Model behavior of commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as well as transparency and authenticity in all communications. Proven ability to form effective partnerships internal and external to organization.
• Results Tracking: Ability to summarize the results of communication/marketing/recruiting efforts and make future recommendations. Ability to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for unit and measure success of programming.
• Data Ability: Ability to create and interpret data/marketing/enrollment reports.
• Communicating Excellence: Ability to communicate the features, benefits, value and outcomes of a University of Denver education. Ability to describe the areas of study and curriculum offered at DU as well as the benefits each offer. Able to define the basic needs of prospects and customize responses accordingly. Must effectively manage and plan letters, e-mails, digital advertising, text messages and calls to prospects, parents and counselors for use in persuasive marketing.
• Creativity: Passion for innovation while endeavoring to deliver quantifiable results.
• Decorum: Professional, personable, and responsive.
• Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to write and edit marketing/communication materials for a brand/organization and yield results. Ability to speak and give professional presentations sharing the features, outcomes and value of DU. Ability to manage content and critically assess what is being communicated with prospects. Experience managing communications through a constituent relationship management (CRM) tool or similar system, as well as experience managing websites through a content management system (CMS)
• Project Management: Ability to manage projects involving multiple stakeholders, including other DU divisions, vendors and direct reports using time management to meet project deadlines
• Evaluating and Assessing Students: Assess the student’s ability to succeed at DU and determine the student's "fit" on our campus. Evaluate student's application/transcript to assess the academic abilities of a student and determine their admissibility at DU.

Required Qualifications

For Director

• Bachelor’s degree
• Five years’ general business experience.
• A track record showing the ability to develop and execute an integrated marketing and communication plan, promote brand identity, work with market research findings, identify and reach target audiences, generate imaginative solutions, produce print and electronic communication materials that yield demonstrable results/positive outcomes, and collaborate with finance, media relations, enrollment (recruitment/financial aid), and development teams.

For Senior Director

• Bachelor’s degree
• Five to seven years general business experience.
• A track record showing the ability to develop and execute an integrated marketing and communication plan, promote brand identity, work with market research findings, identify and reach target audiences, generate imaginative solutions, produce print and electronic communication materials that yield demonstrable results/positive outcomes, and collaborate with finance, media relations, enrollment (recruitment/financial aid), and development teams.
• Supervisory experience
• Digital marketing experience

Preferred Qualifications

For Director

• Master’s degree – prefer degrees in Public Relations, Journalism, English, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
• Five years of significant higher education communication and marketing experience.
• Supervisory experience.

For Senior Director

• Master’s degree – prefer degrees in Public Relations, Journalism, English, Marketing, Communications or related field.
• At least seven years of significant higher education communication and marketing experience.

Working Environment

1. Standard office environment
2. In-person, campus-based position
3. Unexpected interruptions may occur
4. Noise level is quiet to moderate

Physical Activities

1. Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period.
2. Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs. with assistance.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, employees are eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.

Application Deadline

For best consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) May 8, 2023.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:

The salary grade for the Director position is 13.

The salary grade for the Senior Director position is 14.

Salary Range:

The salary range for the Director position is $85,000-$100,000.

The salary range for the Senior Director position is $100,000-$110,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age (40 years and over in the employment context), religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, veterans status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the university's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in 2008; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For the university's complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please see non?discrimination?statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.

About University of Denver

Located where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains, we embody the spirit of exploration and discovery that defines our region and our history. The University of Denver is a private institution built on exploration through research and collaboration among educators, students, and local and global communities. With nationally recognized academic programs, a history of widespread influence, a forward-looking vision for a 21st century education and a deep commitment to promoting inclusion, we open a world of opportunity to students and empower Pioneers to make a difference around the world.

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