AVP of Communications

General Function

The associate vice president (AVP) of communications is a member of the college’s leadership council and serves in an external-facing leadership capacity. This leader is responsible for developing and executing comprehensive communications strategies that increase brand awareness, enhance the college’s reputation, and drive engagement with internal and external audiences.

Reporting to the vice president of communications, advancement and external engagement, this leader will work with a team of professionals to execute the college’s media relations, employee and student communications, issues management, crisis communications, government relations, and content and storytelling efforts to support the Central Piedmont Foundation.

The AVP also manages leadership communications and executive positioning to support the institution’s strategic goals. As a college leader, this individual will collaborate with marketing leadership, creative services, and the digital experience team to ensure consistent and compelling storytelling across all channels, as well as leaders across the college.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. People leadership: Working people manager who oversees external, internal and student communications professionals. Lead and mentor a team of communications professionals, including media relations, internal communications, and content specialists. Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making. Lead assigned staff with a focus on accountability and disciplined leadership (e.g., setting goals, assigning tasks, managing work schedules and workloads, evaluating performance with a focus on coaching, and making employment decisions).

2. Comprehensive strategic communications: Manage the development and implementation of comprehensive, measurable communications strategies to support college functions, including strategy, finance, human resources, information technology services, safety and security, facilities, institutional advancement, community-facing programs (e.g., arts, medical clinics), and overall college leadership. Prioritize messaging and content planning, aligning to college’s strategic vision.

3. Media relations and positioning: Oversee media relations strategy, proactively engaging with local, regional, and national media to generate positive coverage and earned placements. Serve as a key media spokesperson and prepare leadership for interviews and public statements. Develop and manage relationships with journalists and media partners to enhance the college’s visibility.

4. Crisis communications: Serve as communications lead on college’s critical response team (CRT) and as deputy public information officer (PIO). Prepare strategic responses to issues and crises, always focused on maintaining transparency and trust. Expand and consistently update college’s communications response plans. Prepare crisis messaging, FAQs, and talking points to address potential reputational risks.

5. External communications and writing: Ensure the team is participating in, sharing information for and maintaining a cross-functional editorial calendar to drive coordination of message sharing, audiences and objectives. Lead the development of news releases, op-eds, media pitches, messaging and college reports, prioritizing narratives and news to share. Partner with department’s copywriter on college’s annual publications and reports.

6. Executive positioning and communications: Work closely with VP to define and implement executive positioning plans for key college leaders, including strategic internal and external engagement activities. Prepare nominations for relevant awards or sponsorships. In partnership with the college copywriter and other department leaders, manage college’s executive communications, including preparing leadership speeches, town hall messaging and leadership briefs that effectively convey institutional priorities and ensure consistency across platforms and events.

7. External and government affairs: Support VP with government affairs efforts, including routine communications and updates to key stakeholders. Assist with stakeholder visits to campuses, tours of facilities and program areas, and media events, as needed.

8. Employee and student communications: Oversee team that manages internal (faculty/staff) and student communications strategies and content (Note: this team manages communications for existing students, not prospective students). Guide teams to implement strategies and content to ensure faculty, staff, and students are informed and engaged.

9. Media monitoring: Monitor news cycles trends to proactively manage emerging issues. Leverage department’s media monitoring tools to enhance reporting and to refine media pitching ideas.

10. Reporting, data and insights: Routinely report progress against KPIs and established metrics, including reputational tracking data, internal communications metrics, etc. Leverage data to derive insights; adjust strategies based on data-driven insights.

11. Cross-collaboration: Work closely with marketing, creative services, and the digital experience team to ensure consistency in messaging and branding across all platforms.

12. Training: Develop training programs and best practices for college-wide communicators.

13. Internal and external committees: Serve as a representative of the communications, advancement and external engagement department on various internal committees, and represent the college in external forums, as needed.

14. Supervises special projects and performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements and Preferred Qualifications

10+ years of progressive experience in strategic communications, media relations and crisis communications.
Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism or related field.
Proven leadership experience managing communications teams and cross-functional collaborations.

Preferred Qualifications:

Strong experience managing reputation management strategies in a complex organizational setting.
·Strong experience with media management, digital communications tools, and analytics platforms.

Additional Information

Salary Range:

Annual Salary $120,000 – $145,000

Reporting Relationships:

Direction Received: Reports to the Vice President – Communications, Advancement and External Engagement

Direction Given: Direct supervision as a first-line supervisor over professional and administrative support staff, including two directors and their direct reports.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Worker Characteristics:

Exceptional writing, editing, and verbal communications skills with expertise in storytelling and brand messaging.
Exceptional skills in public speaking, on-camera media interviews, executive communications and stakeholder engagement.
Exceptional interpersonal skills.
Proficient in crisis communications best practices and media relations strategies.
Demonstrated experience working with marketing, creative, and digital teams to ensure alignment in messaging.
Strong experience in project management, time management and prioritization skills.
Experience with departmental budget management
Familiarity with marketing and communications project management tools (e.g. Monday.com, Asana)
Familiarity with employee communications tools (e.g., Poppulo)
Familiarity with media monitoring tools (e.g., Cision, Meltwater)
Involvement in the community and communications/marketing professional associations.