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Director, Institutional Communications & Content

Employer
Denison University
Location
Granville, OH
View more categoriesView less categories
Employment Type
Full Time
Institution Type
Four-Year Institution

Job Details

Denison University seeks an experienced and skilled marketing communications professional to serve as its next director of institutional communications & content. Reporting to the associate vice president of university communications & marketing, the director of institutional communications & content is a key partner on communications matters across Denison’s campus and routinely leads high-impact projects alongside talented and collaborative cross-functional teams. With content creation and management being a primary focus, this role leads a group of talented, experienced writers and works closely with a team of exceptionally creative University Communications & Marketing colleagues, including social media, photo/video, design, digital, and web development professionals. Denison seeks applicants with at least 7 years of experience implementing internal and external communications and marketing content strategies for brands, including developing thoughtful communications plans, compelling editorial content, and persuasive marketing materials. The ideal candidate will possess advanced skills in the following four areas: exceptional writing and editing (both editorial and marketing), detail-oriented project management, communications and content planning, and a demonstrated ability to build collaborative, effective partnerships.

Division Overview

University Communications & Marketing advances Denison's strategic priorities through integrated marketing, communications, and brand management. The department develops strategies and campaigns that strengthen the university's reputation, support student recruitment, deepen alumni engagement, and increase visibility among key audiences.

Responsibilities

Campus Communications Management (30%)

  • Collaborate with leaders across campus on communication strategy

  • Translate university priorities into communications plans that inform internal audiences.

  • Partner with departments to develop internal communications for email, web, and print.

  • Improve the effectiveness, consistency, and coordination of campus communications.

  • Maintain high standards of accuracy and quality with an attention to detail.

Marketing Content Development (25%)

  • Create and execute marketing content plans with cross-functional creative teams.

  • Create compelling, persuasive, audience-centered promotional copy and content.

  • Contribute to the development of channel-optimized brand content experiences.

  • Guide narrative structure, message hierarchy, user journeys, and multimedia integration.

  • Learn and apply the latest AEO, SEO, and digital content optimization best practices.

News, Publication, & Editorial Storytelling (25%)

  • Develop news articles about campus announcements and updates for web and print.

  • Showcase the experiences of Denison’s audiences in digital news stories and features.

  • Maintain UCM’s editorial calendar aligned with key events and tentpole moments.

  • Support the planning, writing, editing, and production of Denison Magazine.

Content Planning & Project Management (20%)

  • Manage workflows, editorial calendars, project deadlines, and content coordination.

  • Provide strong editing support and feedback to strengthen audience impact.

  • Use analytics and audience insights to learn from and strengthen content effectiveness.

  • Monitor trends in internal communications, AI, digital storytelling, and audience behavior.

Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree.

  • Exceptional writing (editorial and marketing), editing, and organizational skills.

  • At least seven years of experience in content planning and marketing communications.

  • Experience creating communications for both internal and external audiences.

  • Experience developing project timelines and managing projects for on-time delivery.

  • A demonstrated ability to build deeply collaborative and effective partnerships.

  • Experience as both a supervisor and a manager of cross-functional teams.

  • Strong knowledge of editing and AP style, and an attention to detail.

  • Demonstrated understanding of AEO, SEO, and evolving digital discoverability practices.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience in higher education, corporate communications, or agency environments.

  • Magazine, publication, and print collateral development experience.

  • Proactive and reactive media relations and reputation management experience.

  • Social media content development and digital advertising experience.

  • Experience analyzing content performance data and developing monthly reports.

  • Familiarity with Google Workspace, Drupal, Hubspot, Asana, Emma, and Slack.

Why Choose Denison?

Denison University is a leading private liberal arts college located in Granville, Ohio, just 25 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio, one of the fastest-growing innovation economies in the Midwest. Founded in 1831, Denison is nationally recognized for its rigorous academics, strong career preparation, and commitment to experiential learning. Through programs such as Denison Edge and partnerships with regional employers, startups, and civic organizations, Denison actively connects talent to opportunity across the central Ohio economy.

Denison provides a number of staff-focused benefits, with some highlights:

  • 10% contribution to your retirement

  • 22 annual paid vacation days + 3 floating holidays

  • Free parking and gym membership

  • Free classes for employees

  • Full tuition coverage for dependents

Want to learn more about us? Visit Denison.edu for more information.

Salary Range: 90,000 - 100,000

Organization

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, Denison offers an authentic education in the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Founded in 1831, Denison is one of the earliest colleges to be established in the old “Northwest Territory,” west of the Allegheny Mountains and north of the Ohio River. Denison is located in Granville, Ohio; 27 miles east of Columbus, the state capital.<img alt="denison_university1.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university1.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p>Innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in the pursuit of knowledge and the cultivation of independent thinking. And because Denison is a residential college, students are deeply engaged as citizens of the campus community. They learn from one another in a rigorous academic setting, but also in rich social, cultural and political environments.</p> <p>As a residential undergraduate liberal arts college, Denison is among those places that have been called “distinctively American” in their contribution to higher education worldwide. In fact, it is one of a select number of institutions that today defines the type.</p> <p>Confident in the distinction of its graduates and advantaged by unusual resources, Denison has pointedly resisted the tendency in higher education to add layers of graduate degrees, professional schools, and service functions beyond the scope of baccalaureate education of the highest order. Entering its 177th year, Denison has maintained a fully residential campus based upon the well-tested premise that learning flourishes in community.</p> <p>Denison selectively admits successful, confident, and motivated students who seek to take advantage of highly participatory learning within classroom, laboratory, and studio and who expect to learn and grow through their investment in the challenges and opportunities of college life.<br /> The college attracts matriculants from across the country and more than three dozen nations. Denison engages students with outstanding professors in small classes that encourage men and women to take a high degree of personal responsibility for learning. Students pursue a major field of study selected from 39 areas offered by 28 disciplinary departments and interdisciplinary programs in the divisions of Natural Science, Humanities, Social Science, and Fine Arts as well as complete a sequence of General Education and a personalized curriculum of electives from across the college.</p> <p><img alt="denison_university2.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university2.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image" />A Denison education is not just for a living but for a life. Denison graduates are educated to be curious, resourceful, and reflective. They are expected to begin a life of learning at Denison, not complete it. They are well prepared for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century.</p> <p>Nothing defines a Denison education more than the mutually enriching relationships that develop between students and faculty. The heart of the college is a full-time faculty of almost 200. These men and women, who hold the most advanced degrees in their fields, are selected on the basis of pedagogical and scholarly ability and are encouraged to be innovative teachers whose continuing growth in their discipline through active scholarship allows them to be among the best at their craft. They look forward to the challenge and stimulation of their students even as they seek to draw the best efforts from them. Many Denison students come to regard professors as mentors, who frequently oversee students' independent scholarly projects.</p> <p>Denison’s faculty is committed to undergraduate education. As teacher-scholar-advisers, their principal responsibility is effective teaching informed by the best scholarship. Faculty members place a priority on working closely with students, interactive learning, and partnerships with students in original research. Denison’s low student/faculty ratio allows for close supervision of independent research and collaborative work in small groups and classes.</p> <p><img alt="denison_university3.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university3.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p>At Denison, men and women learn and grow in community, and the residential character of the campus is more than a convenience but a way of engaging the full student body in a shared enterprise. The college actively seeks academically superior students who bring diverse talents, interests, backgrounds, and experiences, believing that out of the classroom as well as within learning takes place by sharing, questioning, and growing together. Denison students have unusual opportunities to participate in the arts, in athletics and recreation, in service to others beyond the campus, in student organizational life, and in campus governance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

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