Position Summary
Effective communications products and transformative digital practices don’t occur spontaneously at a university—they result from leading-edge thinking, cross-unit collaboration, and an intensive commitment to engaging with the many constituents that an institution serves. If you are an innovative, collaborative and future-focused digital communications leader passionate about data-driven solutions and are looking for an opportunity to shape and mature digital communications at an enterprise level, the University at Buffalo (UB) has an outstanding opportunity as University Communications’ (UC’s) Director of Digital Products and Strategy. Join UB’s team of digital communications visionaries at New York’s flagship and one of the nation’s top public research universities.
Position Overview
The Director of Digital Products and Strategy is responsible for providing daily leadership and guidance to develop, implement and mature the university’s digital strategy and user/audience experience. This individual works collaboratively with the Associate Vice President for Marketing and Digital Communications (AVP), Creative Director, and Director of Content Strategy, Director of Marketing and Brand Management, as well as with the UC Media Relations and Issues Management and Internal Communications teams, to devise, craft, and implement digital strategies and solutions to enhance and elevate the integrity of the UB brand.
Specifically, the Director oversees and provides strategic leadership for UC’s digital initiatives with primary foci on the university’s top-level web presence, UB’s unit website ecosystem, and the institution’s new constituent relationship management initiative (where UC is leading a transformation of the university’s marketing email practices and processes). The Director works collaboratively to develop effective digital strategies that serve the university’s business goals, including (but not be limited to) the following:
- conducting needs assessments,
- developing audience and engagement strategies,
- providing leadership and digital project management for enterprise-wide initiatives,
- evaluating, creating strategies for and leading implementation of product solutions,
- developing digital solutions that are scalable and sustainable,
- leading change management and skill-building efforts in the digital space,
- formulating governance, policy and associated processes,
- overseeing user experience and interface maturation,
- optimizing products and content for search,
- ensuring channels and content are mobile-first and fully accessible,
- continuously assessing product and practice efficacy.
The Director also regularly collaborates with unit communicators to provide strategic counsel and best-practice recommendations, planning for large-scale and highly-visible university initiatives, and serves as an important resource to help coordinate and align communications across the university’s digital product ecosystem.
Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit – all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. Visit our benefits website to learn about our
benefit packages.
About University Communications
Under the Vice President for Communications, the
Division of University Communications (UC) is responsible for providing strategic leadership for institutional communications initiatives and practices, including internal communications, issues management, marketing and branding, visual and editorial storytelling, crisis communications, and media relations for the University at Buffalo. UC is highly visible, and its communications products are the public face of the university for many audiences. The goal of UC is to integrate and align communications vehicles and associated disciplines, and provide strategic direction and best-practice counsel for communicators across the university, calling for a continual need to improve efficiency and effectiveness within the organization and across institutional channels.
University at Buffalo is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and, in keeping with our commitment, welcomes all to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of full-time work experience as a professional communicator in a strategy and/or digital communications leadership role. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
- Demonstrated effectiveness in leading strategy development and operationalizing implementation of enterprise-level digital communications initiatives.
Preferred Qualifications
- Leadership experience in higher education.
- Supervisory experience.
