Chief Communications Officer

This position has been deemed critical by the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Office and is exempt from the hiring freeze.

Work Arrangement: This is a hybrid position with 3-4 days per week onsite. May require working flexible hours, including occasional work on evenings and weekends.

Budgeted Salary: The budgeted salary range for this position is $251,322 – $276,576 per annum.

Department/Program Description:

The School of Humanities and Sciences is Stanford's largest school and home to the majority of Stanford undergraduates, to a significant number of graduate students, and to foundational research across the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. With 24 departments and 25 interdisciplinary programs, H&S fuels world-class teaching, learning, and research on questions ranging from artificial intelligence and democracy to climate, public health, philosophy, and the arts. Led by Dean Debra Satz, the school is dedicated to ensuring that every Stanford student, regardless of major, engages meaningfully with the humanities, arts, and sciences, and that the school's research and ideas reach and inform audiences far beyond campus.

For more information on the school, click here.

Brief Position Summary:

The School of Humanities and Sciences seeks an experienced, dynamic communicator, skilled manager, and team-builder to serve as our Chief Communications Officer. Reporting to the Associate Dean for External Relations, who also serves as Stanford’s Associate Vice President for Development in the Office of Development, with a dotted line to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, the person in this role will manage a nimble team of communications professionals and oversee all communications strategies and activities, including executive and internal communications; media relations and issues management; marketing communications; digital strategy and social media; news, storytelling, and content creation; and brand management.

In addition to working closely with the H&S Dean and the Associate Dean for External Relations, this position will collaborate with the school’s senior associate deans, department chairs, faculty, and staff, as well as colleagues from University Communications and other key partners across campus, to coordinate strategies and activities and to leverage resources to maximize communications impact for the school.

While the current team consists of two professional communicators, we anticipate making resources available to grow and build the team over time to carry out the communications activities of the school.

The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker and a talented writer and editor who will bring to the position a collaborative leadership style, a sophisticated understanding of communications and messaging across a wide range of disciplines and audiences, and demonstrated experience working within a large, complex organization.

In This Role You Will:

• Develop and implement a strategic communications plan that addresses all stakeholders and continues to build the school's reputation and visibility on a global level through messaging for multiple audiences, promotion of research activities via media outreach and external engagement, a best-in-class digital presence, a robust internal communications and employee engagement program, and oversight of the school brand.
• Provide strategic communications advice to school leadership, faculty, and staff, including working with the Dean to help create and disseminate executive communications, such as speeches, talking points, and messaging.
• Serve as the school's primary spokesperson and direct crisis communications for emergency matters and issues with reputational impact across the school's 24 departments and 25 interdisciplinary programs.
• Devise and implement creative, compelling, and effective means of communicating the breadth and depth of faculty research, student opportunities, alumni impact, academic excellence, and the essential nature of the school and its many disciplines.
• Oversee key school messages and develop strategies for multiple audiences, channels, and constituencies, including faculty, students, alumni, university leadership, and the public.
• Manage the H&S brand to ensure consistency and accuracy in alignment with university brand and name-use guidelines.
• Direct the management and operations of public-facing communications programs, platforms, and channels—including media relations, the school website, social media, and email newsletters—to ensure strategic implementation, efficiency, and consistency with school branding and priorities.
• In collaboration with University Communications, define and execute a proactive media relations strategy that establishes the Dean, faculty leaders, and H&S as thought leaders across the humanities, arts, and sciences.
• Hire, manage, mentor, and retain a staff of professionals; engage outside contractors as needed; and manage the team's annual budget.
• Collaborate with University Communications and school leadership to align communication strategy and activities; support alignment within the school's departments, programs, and units; and establish communication and brand guidelines and best practices to help colleagues achieve goals.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

This is a 100% FTE, continuing, exempt position.

If you believe that this opportunity is a match for your knowledge, skills, and abilities, we encourage you to apply.

A resume and cover letter are required for consideration.

Thank you for considering employment opportunities with the School of Humanities and Sciences.

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional highly preferred qualifications for this position include:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Zoom, and standard office equipment.
• Previous experience managing events, from planning to execution, including management of post-event administrative and evaluative tasks.
• Experience maintaining websites, creating newsletters, and flyers.
• Experience with customer service.
• Is comfortable navigating ambiguity and managing changing priorities.
• A strong sense of proactiveness.
• Has a learner's mindset and thinks strategically and holistically about their work.

Core Duties:

• Responsible for overseeing strategic communication developing long-term initiatives to meet university/organizational objectives.

• Develop strategic direction and oversee implementation of long- and short-term communication plans with direct impact to the university.

• Devise and implement creative, compelling, and effective means of communicating the innovations, employee experience, academic excellence, and essential nature of the university and its components.

• Oversee school/unit/functional area and university key messages and develop strategies impacting multiple audiences, channels, and constituencies.

• Direct staff and provide leadership to achieve communication goals supporting the university’s mission and vision. Responsible for hiring and retaining staff, career coaching, personal development for direct reports and accountable for the performance of employees.

• Develop guidance on protocols and best practices for a communications functional area of responsibility.

• Collaborate with University Communications leadership and school/unit/functional areas to ensure strategic plans and activities are aligned with overall university outreach and communications.

• Direct crisis communication response including emergency matters as well as issues with reputational impact and training communication leads in the school/units in various situations.

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree and ten years of relevant experience or combination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Depth of experience, sound judgement, and confidence befitting a strategic leadership position.

• Advanced strategic and tactical thinking ability.

• Demonstrated ability to manage large and complex issues through diverse and competing interests.

• Advanced understanding of the communications role in institutions. Excellence in communicating at all levels and for all audiences.

• Excellent influencing, negotiating, and relationship management skills.

• Demonstrated ability to earn credibility and influence opinion leaders.

• Excels at managing, editing, writing, analyzing and synthesizing complex materials and with demonstrated ability to communicate highly technical or nuanced information in a manner easily understood under time constraints.

• Creative thinker with a desire and ability to seek and optimize opportunities.

• Proven management skills and the ability to build and sustain a best in class communications team.

• Demonstrated ability to lead communication efforts across functions and school/units towards a common goal.

• Demonstrated ability to discern a strategy to move forward and make or escalate decisions as appropriate.