Vice President, Strategic Communications

Vice President, Strategic Communications Connecting Messages to our Mission Transforming Lives at Valencia College At Valencia College, we are committed to fostering an environment where strategic communication plays a key role in advancing our mission of student success and community impact. Valencia College is searching for an inspiring senior leader to shape and elevate our brand as the next Vice President of Strategic Communications . As the driving force behind our multi-channel communication strategies, you’ll enhance the visibility and reputation of Valencia College by overseeing marketing, media relations, and internal and external communications. Join us in ensuring our messaging resonates consistently across all audiences and channels, amplifying our mission to transform lives through education and innovation. We are seeking an innovative individual who is driven to contribute to transformative change with a clear purpose—to significantly influence the lives of students and our community, rather than change for the sake of change. If you are ready to lead with vision and creativity and advancing the College’s impact on higher education through effective communication, we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity with us. We invite you to submit a complete online application and the following materials: A letter of interest A resume or curriculum vitae. The names and contact information for three (3) professional references. Professional references will only be contacted for finalist candidates. Applicants must complete the entire online application and include work history, even if attaching a resume. Any incomplete applications will not be considered. Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution, or any equivalent combination of related education, training, and/or experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions. Required Field of Study: Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or closely related field. Six-eight (6-8) years of progressive experience with developing and leading strategic communication initiatives; experience managing multiple teams. Valencia College is committed to providing employees with a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. Your total rewards include significantly more than just your base pay. Our total rewards program offers a wide-ranging combination of pay, benefits, professional development, work/life balance in a meaningful, collaborative work environment, and so much more… Additional Information: This is a primarily onsite position located at the West Campus and will require you to drive to various College-Wide Campus Locations and community off-campus events as needed. This position is not eligible for Veteran’s Preference under Florida Statute 295.07(5)(a), F.S. Please note that you will need to establish Florida residency within 30 days from your start date if selected for this position. Closing Date: This position is Open until Filled. Applications will be reviewed continuously until all positions have been filled, and the posting may close at any time. We invite all applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. About this Position Position Number: SE1105.00000 Position Title: Vice President, Strategic Communications Job Type: Administrator FT/PT: Full-Time Employee Class Description: A2-Executive Staff General Position Description: Provides senior leadership and vision for the development and implementation of multi-channel communication strategies that enhance the visibility and reputation of the Valencia College brand. Oversees marketing, media relations, internal and external communications to ensure consistent messaging across all audiences and channels. Essential Job Functions Leads and executes comprehensive communication plans to support the college’s goals and strategic impact plan. Collaborates with key stakeholders to implement communication strategies to build awareness of the college’s mission, programs, services, and initiatives and enhance its public image. Provides strategic oversight of all marketing and branding initiatives including press releases, media kits, public relations campaigns, social media, and other materials. Ensures the college’s brand is consistently represented across all communications and marketing materials. Oversees a multi-channel student marketing strategy to engage priority audiences and attract enrollment, clearly communicating the college’s commitment to affordability, accessibility, and high-quality educational opportunities. Oversees the college’s social media strategy across platforms (e.g., Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.) to strengthen the institution’s online presence and engage with prospective students, alumni, community leaders and partners, and other key stakeholders. Monitors return on investment (ROI) as well as other metrics and analytics to report results to key stakeholders. Establishes internal communication strategies and practices to ensure clear and timely information flow within the college; oversees internal communication tools and resources and evaluates their effectiveness. Builds and cultivates relationships with local, regional, and national media to enhance the college’s visibility, reputation, and ability to respond effectively in times of crisis or opportunity. Anticipate potential risks or crises and helps develop or refine the college’s crisis communication plan. Coordinates media training, tabletop exercises, and simulations to ensure that spokespeople and staff are prepared for emergencies. Leads and guides the Communications and Marketing teams, provides professional development opportunities and mentorship, and fosters a positive and collaborative team environment. Serves as primary advisor to the College President and all members of the senior leadership team and Valencia College Foundation in matters of internal and external communications, including crisis communications. Monitors news, media, and social media. Ensures the timely, accurate, and sensitive handling of issues and responding as appropriate to mitigate potential reputational risks. Provides direction for special events that promote the college and supports colleagues with public speaking, presentations, articles, and programs. Develops and manages assigned budgets. Other related assigned responsibilities as determined by the President. Qualifications Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution, or any equivalent combination of related education, training, and/or experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions. Required Field of Study: Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or closely related field. Six-eight (6-8) years of progressive experience with developing and leading strategic communication initiatives; experience managing multiple teams. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Demonstrates leadership in marketing, communication, planning, organization, and management. Understand college organizational goals, objectives, policies, and procedures, with a commitment to the mission of the college. Ability to travel between campuses or off-site meetings. Knowledge and understanding of brand and enrollment marketing and communications within a higher education environment. Understanding of public relations, branding, and messaging to ensure consistent and accurate communication aligned with organizational goals. Expertise in leveraging social media for storytelling, engagement, and brand building and ability to analyze social media metrics to inform decision-making and strategy refinement. Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills. Ability to work tactfully and collaboratively as part of a team and build strong professional relationships at the college and in the community. Demonstrated skill in managing multiple projects and personnel relationships, prioritizing competing demands, and meeting deadlines. Strong ability to craft clear, compelling, and professional content for press releases, op-eds, media pitches, and responses to media inquiries. Working Conditions: This job primarily operates in a professional office environment. The employee will routinely operate standard office equipment including but not limited to computers, keyboards, mouse, phones, photocopiers, printers, scanners, filing cabinets and fax machines. While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. Typical physical competencies include but are not limited to frequently remaining stationary, moving, reaching, positioning self and occasionally ascending/descending, lifting/moving objects weighing between 5-15 pounds. This job also entails frequently communicating, discerning, and exchanging information, detecting and perceiving objects up close, at a distance, and the ability to adjust focus. Cognitive abilities include but are not limited to frequently using discretion, judgment, reasoning, memory, learning, maintaining confidentiality, comprehension, problem solving, and decision-making. The typical work environment, physical and cognitive demands listed above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The College has a process to identify and make available reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. J-18808-Ljbffr