Associate Vice President for Marketing and Brand Strategy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA - United States
Carnegie Mellon University seeks a dynamic, collaborative and optimistic leader to serve as Associate Vice President for Marketing and Brand Strategy. The AVP for Marketing and Brand Strategy will sit on the leadership team of, and report to, Tysen Kendig, Vice President for University Communications and Marketing. As a thought partner to the Vice President, along with the Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications, the AVP for Marketing and Brand Strategy will help define and build the long-term strategy for communications and marketing at Carnegie Mellon.
Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology, and business to public policy, the humanities and the arts. CMU is positioned like never before to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At the intersection of technology and humanity, CMU’s research, innovation and creative activity across seven schools and colleges will continue to guide its future as a world-class university. A member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), CMU ranks No. 24 for national universities in U.S. News & World Report. This is a global community of 15,000 students hailing from 127 countries, faculty representing 63 countries and alumni representing 147 countries.
This search comes at an incredibly exciting time at CMU. With the full support and partnership of the President, Provost, Deans and senior leaders of the administration, an entirely new senior management team is being built in the division this year. University Communications and Marketing (UCM) is accelerating forward with new thinking and innovative ways to tell the institution’s story. The highly skilled, collaborative, and passionate team in place is eager to carry out its charge alongside this new cadre of leaders.
The Associate Vice President will be an accomplished leader in marketing and branding, with demonstrated experience in advancing the reputation of global brands and a strong understanding of higher education and its societal impact. They will play a critical role in building and establishing a vision and direction for the marketing team while also helping shape how UCM will grow and work in the future. They will have a senior leadership role in defining and building the CMU brand across a wide variety of platforms and distribution channels, working collaboratively across the department and with schools, colleges and units.
This position will have direct oversight for several departmental functions – digital, strategic marketing, creative, web, and multimedia – and will play a key leadership role across all aspects of the organization. The role also will serve as a liaison between the division and its academic and administrative partners as UCM works together to elevate and unify storytelling across the university. To succeed, the AVP will be a strong team player, builder and partner, in addition to being extremely adept at leading through influence, empathy and consensus-building.
The Associate Vice President will lead CMU’s marketing efforts by driving vision, strategy and execution toward a clear set of goals. In a highly collaborative, decentralized environment, the Associate Vice President will spearhead brand campaigns, cross-university messaging programs, and current and future strategic initiatives. The Associate Vice President and their team will be responsible for measuring the impact of work to increase regional, national and global awareness and the reputation of CMU, partnering with schools, colleges and administrative units in meeting their goals and objectives, and serving as a sector leader in higher education marketing. The Associate Vice President for Marketing and Brand Strategy will partner closely with a new Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications to create, guide, and measure fully integrated marketing communications strategies and campaigns.
All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or résumé and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile available below.
WittKieffer is assisting Carnegie Mellon University in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by Monday, September 30th 2024. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal, via the buttons below.
Nominations and inquiries may be directed to Melissa Fincher and Jenna Brumleve at [email protected]