Lafayette College seeks a forward-thinking, proactive, and experienced leader to be the College's new Associate Vice President (AVP) for Strategic Communications. The AVP reports directly to the Vice President for Communications and Marketing, and will play an instrumental role in setting strategic direction for communications, leading public affairs and media relations at the College, as well as collaborating with academic, administrative, and communications leaders across the institution. As a senior leader within the Communications Division, the AVP supervises a team of directors, provides vision and strategic guidance for internal communications, supports change and issues management, manages media inquiries and institutional responses, and deputizes for the VP as appropriate.
Key Responsibilities
• Provide leadership for critical areas of communications at Lafayette, including internal communications, issues management, and public relations.
• Partner with the VP in shaping and implementing outreach strategies and initiatives, and engaging, informing, and connecting stakeholders while advancing Lafayette in tandem with institutional goals and in the context of the College strategic plan.
• Lead a team of directors with a focus on content strategy, publications, academic communications, and public affairs. Oversee workload, schedules, process updates, and review and approval of all final output. Conduct annual performance appraisals and facilitate mentorship of staff.
• Guide the development and implementation of strategies and activities that enhance Lafayette's visibility, promote and protect its brand and reputation among external and internal constituents, and ensure strategic alignment among all external and internal communications deployed across multiple platforms and channels.
• Manage the creation of timely, relevant, and robust content designed to engage and inform internal and external stakeholders of key initiatives, news, and events across the College.
• Collaborate with and provide support for College communicators external to the central team to maintain a cohesive brand identity and address campus-specific projects and needs.
• Lead the development and execution of strategic and comprehensive communications plans for College-wide initiatives. Conceive, plan, initiate, and steward the effective implementation of campaigns and activities that increase awareness and visibility of the College's academic, scholarly, and service initiatives and showcase its outstanding faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
• Develop and oversee a proactive media relations strategy to enhance the College's visibility through strategic content development and storytelling. Collaborate with faculty, staff, and campus partners to shape and deliver newsworthy and compelling content aligned with College priorities. Determine need and manage relationships with external vendors to pursue meaningful media coverage.
• Implement a strategic approach to media monitoring, analytics, and logistics to track coverage, evaluate sentiment, and inform future public relations strategies.
• Partner closely with Communications and Marketing leadership to raise awareness of the College, promote its reputation, and inspire prospective students, alumni, and donors.
• Act as strategic thought partner, and provide support and counsel to the VP regarding crisis communications. Contribute to reputation management through the development of rapid responses and statements during high-profile and sensitive issues management. Manage the execution of proactive and reactive strategies to address crises and emerging issues. Serve on the College's crisis management team, deputizing for the VP as necessary.
• Leverage existing resources and appropriately manage the strategic communications operating budget, including onboarding and managing freelancers.
• Provide executive presentation and writing support to the VP and select senior leads as needed.
• Serve on other College committees, councils, and/or task forces as appropriate.
Qualifications & Experience
• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree strongly preferred, in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, business administration, or a related discipline, and minimum 10 years of experience with at least eight years in a supervisory role.
• Proven experience in a senior communications role, preferably within a higher education setting, with a focus on strategy, public relations, and issues management.
• Leadership style that fosters a positive work environment and empowers team members to deliver high-impact communications solutions.
• Collaborative, team-oriented approach with a demonstrated commitment to inclusion and belonging.
• Highest levels of professionalism and integrity, and ability to handle sensitive matters with tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities and short-term initiatives while maintaining a focus on long-term objectives.
• Successful record of leading and managing teams, providing day-to-day oversight and guidance to ensure operational effectiveness.
• Experience managing operating budgets and effectively stewarding resources for vendor and freelance partnerships.
• Ability to build and maintain positive, transparent working relationships with colleagues across the campus community.
• Familiarity with trends in higher education and communications, with ability to translate that knowledge to effective strategies and best practices to advance engagement across the College.
• Commitment to embracing opportunities for change to propel the unit and College into the future.
Application Instructions:
Please provide a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references.
Lafayette is deeply committed to creating a diverse community, one that is responsive inclusive and is supportive of each and all of its faculty, students, and staff. All members of the college community share in the responsibility for creating, maintaining, and developing a learning environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced. All lafayette operations reflect the college's commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (deai) initiatives, and lafayette welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds.
