University of Denver

DU is the oldest and largest private, independent university in the Rocky Mountain Region, welcoming approximately 5700 undergraduate and 8000 graduate students to campus either in-person or virtually each year. Our students complete a rigorous, comprehensive core curriculum in addition to a deep, hands-on immersion in their technical curricula. DU is a research university with high research activity and an exceptional commitment to its students.

Denver, the Mile-High City, consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the United States. Denver’s economy is rapidly growing with strengths in the aerospace, healthcare, financial tech, telecommunications, and IT-software sectors. Our region features a dry climate with 300 days of sunshine annually and surprisingly mild winters. The nearby Rocky Mountains provide beautiful views and abundant recreational opportunities year-round. The city of Denver is home to several major league sports teams, inclusive neighborhoods, and strong cultural and food scenes.

MCE is a leader in innovative and effective approaches for promoting learning, information literacy, healthy lifestyle, and civic participation throughout the lifespan. Transcending traditional ideas about education, schooling, and meaningful community engagement we embrace a new, comprehensive vision of learning as a lifelong activity that involves the whole person and can occur through a variety of methods, anywhere and at any time. We promote educational change and social equity in addition to providing leadership for the improvement of education, mental health, libraries, and information services and systems.

Department Summary

The University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education (MCE) invites applications for the position of Associate Director of Marketing & Communications.

The Morgridge College of Education’s vision is to train global leaders who employ innovative and effective approaches to advance learning throughout the lifespan, educational change, and social equity. Our programs prepare ethical, collaborative practitioners who can apply principles to promote learning and development with various clients and communities. We are looking for a candidate who can lead efforts to promote MCE and recruit quality graduate level students to our programs. This is a full-time, benefitted position.

Position Summary

The University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education (MCE) invites applications for an Associate Director of Marketing and Communications. MCE is a leader in innovative and effective approaches for promoting learning throughout the lifespan. Transcending traditional ideas about education and schooling, we embrace a new, comprehensive vision of learning as a lifelong activity that involves the whole person and can occur through a variety of methods, anywhere and at any time. We promote educational change and social equity in addition to providing leadership for the improvement of education, mental health, and information services and systems.

This position provides marketing leadership over short and long-range marketing and communication planning for the Dean’s Office as well as the larger MCE enrollment and marketing division. This position will oversee daily operations and activities of MCE’s internal and external marketing and communication efforts, in collaboration with other college and institutional partners including MCE Admissions, Advancement, and University Marketing and Communications. The Associate Director will be responsible for optimizing digital marketing strategies, updating the MCE website, creating strategies and utilizing social media, designing and creating printed materials, and overseeing means to effectively share information and build engagement with prospective and current students, staff, faculty, alumni, donors and other community members. The Associate Director will consult with MCE faculty and staff to model, integrate, and continuously improve college communication processes to reflect best practices related to inclusivity. Managing a small team of student, part-time, and full-time staff, the Associate Director will also capitalize on complex analyses including return on investment, interpreting web analytics, and/or researching target audiences and building in opportunities for continuous improvement and flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances.

Essential Functions

Provide college-level marketing and communications leadership. Maintain divisional communications plan and style guide in tandem with university communication goals. Responsibilities include:

• In partnership with MCE leadership, develop and execute strategic marketing, communication and outreach plans for MCE and its programs for both internal and external audiences.
• Support and commit to the ideals of inclusivity and display cultural competencies in all communications
• Oversee all MCE e-communications related to marketing and public relations and printed publications.
• Manage assessment and respond to data accordingly.
• Oversee MCE social media accounts
• Collaborate with external marketing firms to optimize strategies.
• Partner with University Communications and Marketing to increase the reputation of MCE and sustain/increase faculty reputation using all communications vehicles.
• In partnership with the Deans leadership team manage communications for the college.
• Provide assistance for general speaking points for MCE dean’s office, faculty, and staff.
• Work with MCE Director of Development and Director of Alumni Engagement to support advancement including collaboration on promotion of alumni events, appeals, and donor engagement.
• Manage corresponding budget.
• Manage and evaluate college strategic planning efforts related to marketing & communications

Provide management of marketing, branding and positioning efforts for the Deans Office as well as MCE, in collaboration with MCE Leadership and University Marketing and Communications. Strategize with the Dean’s leadership team on the positioning of MCE relative to DU and to our peer institutions and implement our branding standards accordingly. Responsibilities include:

• Maintain the MCE visual identity guidelines in conjunction with university guidelines.
• Manage and sustain sub-branding for the deans office and for 5 MCE departments.
• Assist the dean with communication to and with all audiences, including board of trustees, students, alumni, etc.
• Serve as an agency partner and manage workflows with departmental colleagues who seek marketing and communications support.
• Manage assessment of all marketing efforts by closely tracking campaigns and responding to data.
• Oversee use of software tools, such as Google Analytics.
• Stay abreast of trending technology.
• Provide partnership with MCE admissions staff regarding graduate recruitment communications.
• Oversee digital marketing activities, including paid advertising and search engine optimization.
• Partner with MCE faculty, staff and administration on MCE events, responsibilities include:
• Ensure that the annual deans office events meet the strategic goals of the college.
• Oversee audience targeting and all promotional activities.
• Ensure that featured guests/presenters are well cared for and oversee vendor relations.
• Manage contract processes when requested.
• Oversee execution of event logistics.

Serve as senior strategist to the Deans Leadership Team, which includes the following:

• Proactively anticipate marketing issues or opportunities for MCE and present them accordingly.
• Optimize admissions marketing strategy using Slate enrollment CRM
• Help assess MCE special projects and maintain a dashboard of key divisional information/data for the dean’s management team to review.
• Represent the MCE and marketing unit across the campus or at external functions.
• Supervise and manage team, including marketing, communications, and technology personnel.
• Execute strategic planning initiatives including MCE’s current strategic plan.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated excellent writing and editing skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite.
• Proficiency with admissions CRM, preferably Slate
• Demonstrated promotion planning skills with knowledge of advertising and promotion management, including direct marketing and digital advertising.
• Experience and comfort using and managing analytics to drive marketing and communication innovation, combined with the ability to generate creative ideas and also lead execution for these ideas.
• Project management skills.
• Ability to identify and implement process improvements.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions.
• Ability to integrate disparate and fragmented content and processes across departments.
• Excellent collaborator including the ability to work with peers, subordinates, and senior leaders in achieving objectives.
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with technical and non-technical colleagues to successfully execute projects in support of marketing, communication and event planning goals.
• Demonstrated ability to manage internal teams, contractors, and/or consultants.
• Demonstrated experience managing and/or working with graphic designers.
• Ability to be a thought-partner with the assistant dean and the deans management team in terms of overall strategy development for promoting a liberal arts education.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree from accredited school in the field of marketing, communication, journalism, liberal arts and/or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5 years of marketing and/or communications and/or related experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience working with a wide range of populations and constituents.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in a related field.
• 6-7 years of marketing and/or communications and/or related experience.
• Digital marketing certifications and/or demonstrated proficiency in digital marketing practices.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, higher education marketing team and/or higher education marketing firm setting.
• Print publication and/or writing and/or editing experience.
• Online writing and/or editing and/or publishing experience.
• Event planning and/or event promotion experience.
• Familiarity with Slate CRM
• Experience supervising or managing personnel.

Working Environment

1. Standard office environment.
2. Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
3. Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

1. Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
2. Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs.

Work Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.

Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) February 5, 2026.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 11.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $70,000-$80,000

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.