Senior Director for Marketing and Communications

Senior Director For Marketing & Communications

For over 160 years, the University of Washington has been a hub for learning, innovation, problem solving and community building. Supporting this legacy and important public mission—with the goal of making the UW the world's greatest public university, as measured by positive impact—guides everything we do in University Advancement. Bringing together development; alumni and stakeholder engagement; marketing and communications; and advancement operations, we advance the UW's impact by developing meaningful connections that foster pride, advocacy and philanthropic support.

Alumni and Stakeholder Engagement (ASE), working in collaborative partnerships with the UW Alumni Association, UW Retirement Association and the University Book Store, fulfills its mission to advance higher education in the state of Washington and to support the UW through impactful, broad-based engagement with alumni, students, retirees and friends of the University. This starts with creating a culture of belonging within our organization that values the diverse experiences and expertise of our team members, allowing everyone to thrive and to contribute their unique talents as we strive to achieve our shared goals.

Alumni & Stakeholder Engagement has an exciting opening for a Senior Director for Marketing & Communications. This is a full-time permanent position.

The Senior Director for Marketing and Communications leads the strategy and execution of integrated marketing and communications campaigns that deepen alumni engagement, strengthen the University of Washington's reputation and advance fundraising and revenue goals. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications and serving on the senior leadership team, this role leads a multidisciplinary team spanning content, creative, digital, analytics, project management and sponsorship development.

Working within the University's integrated Advancement model, the Senior Director partners across University Advancement and campus leaders to deliver high-impact campaigns, events and experiences that strengthen lifelong connections with alumni, donors and supporters.

What You Will Do

Strategy Development (45%)

• Develop and lead integrated, multi-year marketing and communications strategies that advance alumni engagement, fundraising, revenue generation and institutional priorities.
• Lead, mentor and develop a multidisciplinary team of approximately 12 professionals across marketing, communications, content, creative, digital, analytics, project management and sponsorship development functions.
• Drive the planning and execution of complex, multi-channel campaigns and initiatives, ensuring alignment across audiences, channels and organizational goals.
• Lead the organization's sponsorship and business development strategy, serving as the senior relationship manager for key corporate partners and negotiating high-value sponsorship agreements.
• Establish strategic priorities, align resources and timelines and ensure consistency across multiple concurrent initiatives to maximize organizational impact.
• Foster a collaborative and high-performing team culture by providing clear direction, accountability and support in a highly matrixed environment.
• Establish and oversee processes, workflows and governance structures that support effective prioritization, resource allocation and execution across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Oversee departmental budgets and sponsorship revenue goals, proactively managing resources, mitigating risks and ensuring measurable outcomes.

Program Development & Management (35%)

• Oversee integrated, multi-channel campaigns supporting alumni engagement, fundraising initiatives, donor stewardship, events, volunteer programs, giving days, capital campaigns and other university priorities.
• Partner with senior leaders across University Advancement to develop alumni and donor engagement strategies and coordinated communication journeys.
• Ensure consistent brand voice, messaging and storytelling across campaigns, channels and audiences while translating complex stakeholder priorities into compelling communications.
• Leve…