Associate Director for Faculty and Research Communications

Advertising

Summary:

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is a premier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationally recognized for patient care and education. Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer.

Unit:School Of Medicine MBU

Department: Dean's Office - Web & Communications

Duties & Responsibilities:

The VCU School of Medicine communications team is seeking an experienced strategic communicator to lead communications for two mission critical areas of the school:
The Office of Faculty Affairs and the Office of Research. Reporting to the director for internal communications as part of our award-winning communications team, this new position will serve as a trusted partner to faculty and research leadership to develop and execute communications strategies that inform, engage and connect key audiences across the School of Medicine.

With the Office of Faculty Affairs, this role will provide an essential link between the school and our T&R and clinical faculty, creating clear, timely and accessible messaging to ensure our more than 1,110 faculty members are informed about academic policies and processes, school and university initiatives, key deadlines, faculty development opportunities, and other faculty-related priorities, including the T&R faculty compensation plan.

Additionally, this position will work with the rest of the SOM communications team to elevate faculty achievements across the school by proactively seeking, curating and sharing stories of faculty excellence and honors.

This position will also serve as the primary communicator for the school’s Office of Research. A complex and extensive research enterprise that partners across departments, schools and the VCU Health System, SOM researchers received more than $316iverM in sponsored programs d-awards in FY25 — more than half of the university’s overall total. This position will collaborate closely with the school’s Office of Research to support and elevate the school’s reputation as a premier destination for innovative research and interdisciplinary collaboration.

This role will serve as the day-to-day lead for strategic communications serving internal research teams and sponsored programs across departments. This position will amplify school research accomplishments while also creating and executing clear, timely and actionable messaging regarding research support, funding deadlines and other relevant updates for investigators and research staff.

• Partner with faculty and research leadership to advise on messaging, timing and channel selection for internal initiatives
• Create clear, concise and timely messaging to T&R and clinical faculty, research staff and students, tailoring delivery strategies across communications channels and audiences to ensure effectiveness
• Manage multiple communications priorities and projects simultaneously (including the school’s T&R faculty compensation plan), balancing short-term requests with longer-term communications goals.
• Translate complex academic material (e.g., related to faculty, research, school/university policies and procedures) into clear and effective content for its respective audiences
• Identify and promote faculty/research achievements and honors for both internal and external stakeholders
• Build relationships with the school’s faculty and research staff to better understand their work and communication priorities
• Collaborate with the school’s communication team to produce compelling, effective deliverables and creative assets related to faculty and research communications
• Stay informed on local and national trends…