The Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives and Communications serves as the senior strategic communications and organizational initiatives leader for the Graduate School and provides executive-level leadership for institutional communications, graduate enrollment messaging, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning initiatives, and organizational visibility.

Reporting directly to the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, this position serves as a member of the Graduate School Executive Leadership Team and leads the development and execution of integrated strategies that advance graduate education, graduate admissions, enrollment growth, institutional reputation, student engagement, research visibility, and university priorities.

This position provides executive oversight for strategic communications, executive messaging, public-facing initiatives, graduate enrollment communications, institutional partnerships, digital engagement strategy, and cross-campus communication alignment. The Executive Director collaborates extensively with university leadership, academic colleges, enrollment management, university communications, student success units, graduate students, and external stakeholders to ensure coordinated messaging and strategic advancement of Graduate School priorities.

The position supervises communications and engagement personnel and provides strategic direction for organizational initiatives, communication planning, assessment metrics, and emerging opportunities that support the Graduate School’s mission and long-term strategic goals.

Required Qualifications

Education: Master’s Degree in Communications, Higher Education Administration, Marketing, Public Relations, Organizational Leadership, or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, organizational leadership, public relations, enrollment communications, marketing, or related areas.

• Experience advising executive leadership and leading institution-wide or organizational initiatives.

• Experience supervising professional staff and managing complex projects.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to develop and implement large-scale strategic initiatives.

• Ability to advise executive leadership on communications strategy, organizational messaging, and stakeholder engagement.

• Knowledge of strategic communications, enrollment marketing, public relations, branding, and organizational communication practices.

• Ability to manage complex projects and coordinate initiatives across multiple stakeholders and organizational units.

• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and relationship-building skills.

• Ability to analyze data and assessment metrics to inform strategic decision-making.

• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.

• Ability to manage sensitive communications and exercise sound professional judgment.

• Knowledge of digital communication platforms, communication technologies, and emerging communication trends.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

• 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, organizational leadership, public relations, enrollment communications, marketing, or related areas.

• Experience in higher education or a similarly complex organizational environment.

• Experience in higher ed communications, graduate education, enrollment management, or institutional strategy.

• Experience leading executive communications and organizational change initiatives.

• Experience supervising professional staff and leading cross-functional teams.

• Experience with strategic planning, institutional communications, or public-facing engagement initiatives.

• Experience with executive communications, crisis communications, strategic enrollment initiatives, or institutional advancement.

•Experience managing budgets, organizational assessment, and long-range strategic planning.

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN

• Onsite, Hybrid, or Remote – Onsite

Compensation and Benefits

UT market range: 12

• Anticipated hiring range: $95 -120K

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter

• 3 Professional References

About The College/Department/Division:

The Graduate School at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is a dynamic office that provides a wide range of services to students and academic units from recruitment to graduation. While prospective students are exploring graduate education, we are here to provide insight into the programs available and the process for applying. Once a student has decided to submit an application, we manage the admissions process in coordination with the academic units. During the time a student is enrolled at UTK, the Graduate School monitors student progress and provides support for student success. As students approach graduation, we evaluate records and verify the awarding of all degrees.

Graduate education is one of the components that makes UT a great university. The Graduate School is a full partner in supporting the university’s mission, vision, and the values embodied in the Volunteer Spirit.

Strategic Leadership and Executive Communications

• Develops and implements a comprehensive strategic communications vision for the Graduate School aligned with institutional priorities and long-term organizational goals.

• Serves as a strategic advisor to the Vice Provost and Dean regarding communications, messaging, institutional positioning, and stakeholder engagement.

• Leads executive communications initiatives including leadership messaging, presentations, speeches, reports, and strategic communications planning.

• Provides leadership for institutional communication strategies related to graduate education, enrollment growth, student success, and research visibility.

• Coordinates high-level communications and messaging across the Graduate School in collaboration with university leadership and central communications offices.

• Creates timeline and oversees the development, implementation, and execution of university wide and external facing communications that promote the work of the Graduate School.

• Leads communication planning and messaging development for sensitive issues, organizational changes, and crisis response situations impacting graduate education.

• Represents the Graduate School on university-level committees and strategic planning initiatives related to communications, enrollment, branding, and institutional engagement.

Strategic Initiatives and Enrollment Communications

• Works closely with the Assistant Vice Provost and Director of Graduate Enrollment Management to engage graduate enrollment communication strategies supporting recruitment, admissions, yield, retention, and student engagement efforts.

• Collaborates with institutional partners to develop integrated marketing and communication initiatives that enhance the visibility and reputation of graduate education at the university.

• Oversees strategic communication planning related to graduate student success initiatives, research promotion, professional development, and institutional priorities.

• Leads the development of communication strategies that support emerging Graduate School initiatives, new academic programs, and cross-campus collaborations.

• Uses data-informed assessment practices, communication analytics, market trends, and enrollment insights to guide strategic decision-making and initiative development.

• Identifies opportunities to strengthen institutional reputation, public engagement, and national visibility for graduate education and research initiatives.

Organizational Oversight and Management

• Provides leadership and strategic oversight for Graduate School communications personnel, digital engagement efforts, and communication operations.

• Supervises director-level communications staff and establishes priorities, goals, accountability measures, and assessment strategies for communications initiatives.

• Oversees long-range communication planning, project prioritization, workflow coordination, and resource allocation for communications and engagement efforts.

• Collaborates with university partners to ensure Graduate School communications align with institutional branding, accessibility standards, and communication best practices.

• Provides oversight for communication-related budgets, contracts, vendor relationships, and resource planning.

• Leads assessment efforts to evaluate communication effectiveness, audience engagement, and organizational impact.

External Relations and Institutional Engagement

• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with campus leadership, academic colleges, alumni, donors, external organizations, and community stakeholders.

• Supports advancement, development, and donor engagement initiatives through strategic communication planning and messaging support.

• Collaborates with university relations and external communications teams on media opportunities, public relations initiatives, and institutional storytelling.

• Represents the Graduate School in institutional and external settings to advance organizational priorities and partnerships.

• Supports initiatives that strengthen graduate student engagement, faculty collaboration, and institutional community-building efforts.

Other Duties

• Participates in Graduate School leadership meetings, strategic planning efforts, and university initiatives.

• Maintains awareness of emerging trends, technologies, and best practices related to higher education communications, strategic initiatives, enrollment marketing, and organizational leadership.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.