Executive Director of Web and Digital Communications

Executive Director of Web and Digital Communications

Description
The Director of Web and Digital Communications will lead Middlebury's institution-wide approach to web content, user experience, and governance to ensure our digital presence advances strategic priorities and reflects the strength of our brand. Reporting to the Vice President for Communications and Marketing, they will partner closely with colleagues to set a clear roadmap grounded in audience needs, accessibility, usability, and measurable outcomes and collaborate with Middlebury Information Technology Services to translate communications goals into functional web development requirements.

This is a full-time, benefits eligible, salaried position with a hiring range of $108,971 - $126,963 per year.

Core Responsibilities:

• Lead institutional web strategy and content governance by establishing a clear, institution-wide framework for decision-making, editorial standards, prioritization, and continuous improvement across the institution's public web presence.
• Set the content and user-experience vision for Middlebury.edu by partnering with editorial, design, and project management to define audiences, journeys, voice/tone, and content patterns that support brand, recruitment, and engagement goals for Middlebury.
• Co-own the functional roadmap for the institutional web presence by translating communications goals into prioritized feature needs, success metrics, and phased releases in close partnership with ITS development resources responsible for technical implementation.
• Guide information architecture and site structure evolution by leading planning for navigation, taxonomy, and content organization, coordinating stakeholder input, and ensuring changes improve clarity, findability, and institutional storytelling.
• Establish and steward accessibility standards and accountability by defining expectations, building sustainable review practices, training editors, and partnering with internal/external experts and ITS to ensure ongoing compliance and remediation pathways.
• Enable and support a distributed community of web editors through training, documentation, and governance-friendly workflows that improve quality, usability, consistency, and brand alignment across schools, departments, and programs.
• Use data to drive continuous optimization by setting KPIs, overseeing analytics and reporting practices, monitoring content performance, and recommending iterative improvements to content strategy, UX, and campaign landing experiences.
• Serves as a cross-functional leader and connector by aligning priorities across Communications and marketing teams and campus stakeholders, escalating risks and decisions appropriately, and maintaining a strong, structured partnership model with ITS for platform evolution and service delivery.

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, computer science, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience in digital communications, web strategy, or content operations.
• 10 years of progressive experience leading or significantly influencing web/digital strategy, content platforms, or large-scale institutional websites, with a track record of measurable improvements (engagement, usability, conversion, accessibility, or content quality).
• Demonstrated ability to set a content-led digital roadmap by translating audience needs, institutional goals, and brand strategy into clear requirements, priorities, and success measures, and partnering with technical teams (e.g., ITS) for functionality implementation. Strong command and understanding of editorial content development and best practices.
• Strong expertise in web governance and distributed publishing models, including editorial standards, information architecture, content lifecycle management, and training/coaching content contributors across a complex organization. Experience in applying user-centered practices (research, testing, analytics, content audits, journey mapping) to drive continuous improvement in content effectiveness and digital experience.
• Proven leadership and people management skills, including…