Vice President for Marketing & Communications

Job no: 493963
Work type: Executive Officer
Location: Norman
Categories: Executive

POSITION: Vice President, Marketing & Communications

POSITION REPORTS TO:

The Vice President of Executive Affairs & Chief of Staff. The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is an executive officer and serves as a member of the President's leadership team.

SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Vice President of Executive Affairs and Chief of Staff, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications works closely with the President and his leadership team to develop and execute communications strategies that advance presidential priorities, support enterprise-wide initiatives, and strengthen the university's reputation. The position serves as a strategic advisor on institutional messaging, executive communications, emerging issues, and matters affecting the university's public profile. This leader oversees internal and external communications for OU's colleges, campuses, and business units, ensuring an integrated approach and a consistent, compelling expression of the university's brand.

Three years into the centralization of campus-wide marketing and communications, the Vice President provides strategic reinforcement and services across OU's Norman, Health, and Tulsa campuses, ensuring each campus's distinct mission, audiences, and priorities are represented within a cohesive university-wide strategy. This includes elevating the OU Health Campus's contributions to health professions education, biomedical research, workforce development, and the health of Oklahoma, while coordinating closely with the connected OU Health system on shared priorities and brand alignment.

With responsibility for marketing and communications for OU's three campuses, global and extracurricular programs, and Trademark & Licensing, the Vice President brings together a broad and complex portfolio under a unified strategy. Serving as a trusted thought partner and collaborative leader, the Vice President will work with an extensive network of stakeholders to align priorities, strengthen connections, and deliver clear and cohesive messaging throughout the OU ecosystem.

The Vice President also collaborates regularly with OU's Department of Athletics to integrate the Sooners athletics reputation into the brand of the entire university, while helping navigate the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics and its associated issues in Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., and in statehouses and courthouses across the country.

Overall, the Vice President will provide a commitment to creativity and excellence, which will advance the university's strategic priorities, expand public awareness, and strengthen OU's reputation and opportunities for growth in Oklahoma and beyond. The Vice President will lead the development and execution of innovative, measurable, and data-informed marketing and communications programs aligned with Lead On, University: The Next Phase, OU's refreshed strategic plan. As a trusted advisor and subject-matter expert to senior university leaders, the Vice President will play a critical role in articulating and advancing OU's mission, priorities, and impact among internal and external audiences.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Strategically position and advance OU's priorities while leading integrated marketing and communications that reflect the distinct missions, audiences, and contributions of the Norman, Health, and Tulsa campuses.
• Provide counsel and coaching on potential threats and vulnerabilities, as well as tactics to respond to, redirect, or mitigate those challenges.
• Facilitate the relationships between MarComm and the colleges/departments it supports through the still-young centralization of most all campus marketing and communications.
• Work closely with the university's Department of Athletics to predict and shape its responses to the volatile and continuously evolving world of college athletics.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the President, Chief of Staff, and university leadership on executive communications, institutional priorities, emerging issues, and opportunities to strengthen OU's reputation.
• Partner with academic leaders, Health Campus deans, researchers, and OU Health executives to elevate the university's contributions to education, research, clinical training, workforce development, and the health of Oklahoma.
• Strengthen OU's national and global visibility through compelling storytelling, strategic media relations, brand management, and coordinated communications across its colleges, campuses, athletics programs, and affiliated organizations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with local and national media outlets.
• Lead crisis and emergency communications, serve as a university spokesperson, and protect the institution's reputation during sensitive or high-profile situations.
• Shape effective internal communications that inform and connect faculty, staff, and students while reinforcing a shared university identity across all three campuses.
• Use audience insights, performance metrics, emerging technologies, and innovative marketing approaches to expand engagement and support institutional growth.
• Lead and develop a high-performing marketing and communications team of nearly 70 employees, managing an $8 million budget and aligning staffing and resources with university-wide priorities.
• Oversee university brand standards, Trademark & Licensing, and related governance, including leadership of the Trademark Administrative Committee.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, or a related field, with at least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing integrated marketing, communications, and branding strategies that strengthen institutional reputation, engage varied audiences, and produce measurable results.
• Experience advising a president, chief executive officer, or other senior leaders on executive communications, institutional priorities, sensitive issues, and crisis management.
• Exceptional judgment, communication skills, and political acumen, including experience managing media relations, navigating high-profile or sensitive situations, and serving as an organizational spokesperson.
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams, manage resources effectively, and build productive relationships across a complex organization.
• Experience working within a multicampus university, academic health center, research institution, health system, or similarly complex organization is preferred.

Advertised: 01 Sep 2026 Central Daylight Time
Applications close: 01 Jun 2027 Central Daylight Time

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