Associate Director, Communications

Associate Director, Communications

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Communications, the Associate Director, Communications advances the College's strategic priorities of academic excellence, culture, community and well-being for Columbia College students, staff and broader community.

The Associate Director, Communications (AD) serves as the principal deputy to the Director of Strategic Communications. The AD will be a lead partner with several offices across Columbia College developing communication plans to bring the College's stories to life and increase awareness of programs, services and events.

Campus Partner Communications Strategy

• Maintain regular and proactive contact with a portfolio of campus partners (e.g., Undergraduate Student Life, Center for Student Advising and Housing/Dining) to develop communication plans that elevate their work within Columbia College and outside the College to the wider University community.
• Serve as a communications resource and adviser to partner offices across the College.
• In partnership with the editorial, comms and events teams and campus partners, lead the development and execution of major student and family-facing communications campaigns, including Countdown to Class Day and Countdown to Columbia, among others.
• Write articles on Columbia College news, such as announcements for students who receive top awards, including Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars and Gates Scholars, among others.

Email and Social Media Communications

• Develop and help implement the communications strategy for all Columbia College newsletters.
• Oversee the execution of email campaigns and message through Salesforce CRM & Marketing Cloud platforms and develop effective messages, CTAs, and copy for email for optimal performance.
• Monitor the effectiveness of student and family-facing email campaigns and provide recommendations for improvement.
• In partnership with the Director of Editorial Strategy and Content, develop, launch and manage a new monthly editorial newsletter.
• Review and edit weekly student and family-facing newsletters to ensure that the content is appropriate and accurate for the audience.
• In partnership with the Director of Strategic Communications, manage the Columbia College social media calendar, ensuring 4-6 diverse and optimized posts are published each week across platforms.
• Monitor social media performance and adjust strategy accordingly.

Crisis Communications Support

• Provide occasional operational support to the Director of Strategic Communications for urgent or after-hours communications to the Columbia College community, including evenings and weekends as needed.

Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 3-5 years of experience managing and executing communications and marketing campaigns, preferably in higher education or complex organizations
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills with strong attention to detail
• Proficiency in copy editing in AP, Chicago and other styles
• Experience developing communications strategies and coordinating with diverse stakeholders
• Strong understanding of email campaign platforms and tools and proven track record for optimizing email campaigns
• Proficiency with social media platforms and best practices
• Ability to work independently, take initiative and problem-solve effectively
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal and external partners
• Comfortable learning new technologies and seeking resources to achieve results

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite and Sprout
• Bachelor's Degree in writing, journalism or other humanities-based field
• Experience with Salesforce CRM and Marketing Cloud, or similar system
• Experience with website content management systems
• Familiarity with higher education communications and constituencies

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.