Reference # MG-15799
Founded in 1922, Ivey Business School at Western University is one of the most highly respected post-secondary institutions in Canada, and widely considered to be the country’s premier business school.
On behalf of Ivey Business School, we are recruiting an Executive Director, Marketing and Communications. This role is the Marketing and Communications lead within the business school and a member of the Senior Operations team reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer (Dean’s Office). There are approximately 12 staff positions reporting into this role.
Though all communications emanating from the school have marketing and branding implications, a critical element of this role is to have a positive impact on the recruiting of participants to the school’s programs. The incumbent will work closely with Ivey’s degree programs and Executive Education teams, in Canada and internationally, to attract high-quality inquiries, applicants and students/participants for its programs.
In addition to program recruiting, promoting the impact and achievements of Ivey’s world-class faculty, staff, students, and alumni is foundational to Ivey’s mission. Working with Ivey’s Centres and Institutes and individual faculty, the Marketing and Communication team supports the School’s goal of creating and advancing thought leadership and demonstrating its impact in the real-world. Through engagement in program activities and alumni relations, the Marketing and Communication team shares the impact that
the School’s activities have on the individuals, organizations and societies that are connected to the Ivey
Business School.
Corporate communications will play a critical element in the implementation of Ivey’s new strategy and the celebration of Ivey’s 100-year anniversary.
The Executive Director, Marketing & Communications at Ivey Business School will:
Develop an overall marketing and communication strategy for Ivey with a focus on creating and advancing a unified brand position and message. This includes working with all programs and groups in the school to ensure that their communication and recruiting plans integrate with the overall Ivey brand positioning and school strategy.
Work closely with program recruitment leadership to build integrated marketing and recruitment plans to generate an appropriate number of high-quality, program recruiting leads to meet each program’s strategic enrolment goals. Allocate centralized budget resources across the program’s marketing and recruitment plans to meet these goals.
Build and execute communication plans that support and advance Ivey’s communication priorities with both internal and external stakeholders. These plans must be well integrated with both strategic school messaging and specific tactical activities. This includes working proactively and reactively with media and providing a school-level voice on all of Ivey’s social media and digital platforms.
Provide the Dean and senior administration with communication support including internal and external announcements, speeches and speaking notes, communication briefs, presentations, invitations, crisis planning and management, newsletters, planning for Ivey Advisory Board meetings etc.
Lead the execution of all marketing and communications projects at Ivey ensuring the effective use of resources and integration of central Ivey branding objectives, including the selection and management of preferred external marketing vendors.
Liaise with Western University’s Communication team, keeping them informed of announcements, events or incidents which may have an impact on the University’s communication planning.
Oversee all of Ivey’s external facing digital communication platforms including web sites, external email campaigns and social media accounts. Digital communication platform selection, design, development, implementation, and training are centralized in this team for the entire school.
Depending on the project and priority, manage Marketing and Communications internal resources such as photography, videography, graphic design, copywriting, project management, web development.
Manage the selection and implementation of technology platforms to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing, recruiting and communication plans. This includes setting performance standards and benchmarking Ivey’s performance against past performance and other schools.
Support the integration of Marketing and Communication with IT Services including shared staff resources of web developers and project leadership for school-wide initiatives like Salesforce.com.
Provide access to media training for faculty and public facing staff as well as social media monitoring, training and best practices.
Monitor and enforce the Ivey visual identity standards, including the development and maintenance of brand standards documentation and approval for use and licensing of the Ivey registered marks. Ivey Trading Company, Ivey’s retail store for branded merchandise, is also led by the Marketing and Communication team.
Keep engaged in external facing projects in order to ensure Ivey brand standards and messaging are consistent across Ivey centres and institutes and departments who may be working with external vendors.
Ensure Ivey compliance with Western University’s brand standards.
Ideal Candidate Skills & Experience:
University degree, preferably in business and/or marketing.
Minimum of 15 years of directly relevant experience in a marketing, sales, communications, and media relations.
Proven track record in strategic marketing and communications planning, recruiting/sales management, brand management, agency relationship management, central budget management, internal client management, creative and copy direction and feedback, and strong digital media knowledge and management.
Experience should include successful team leadership of diverse professional experts and demonstrated achievement of team goals and shared vision in that environment. Experience in building, mentoring, and coaching a team of marketing and communications specialists.
Advanced experience working with a variety of traditional and modern marketing and communications functions and tactical platforms.
Extensive experience developing and executing digital marketing campaigns across a variety of platforms including social media audience creation and engagement.
Experience working with the press and other related media outlets.
Thorough knowledge of marketing principles; brand, product and service management; sales and business development; along with a demonstrated track record of success and performance.
Excellent strategic planning capabilities with an ability to identify and respond to changing market dynamics, translating them into actionable strategies to achieve business objectives.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including effective presentation abilities.
Superior interpersonal skills that will enhance the effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders including media, business executives, alumni, faculty and senior staff.
Exceptional organization skills with ability to function effectively on several tasks and maintain attention to detail. He/she must display superior situational analysis, judgment and decision-making skills.
Proactive problem solver with the ability to resolve problems with minimal direction.
Excellent follow-up and on-going communication skills to ensure that internal and external stakeholders are clear on deliverables, roles and responsibilities.
Displays confidence and comfort providing feedback and suggestions to improve project management and project deliverables.
Maintains a high-level of competence in a variety of technology applications and productivity tools, e.g., Salesforce.com, Basecamp, Zendesk, Meltwater, etc.
Recognized ability to handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately and with discretion.
To express interest in this opportunity please apply by submitting your cover letter and CV by at the link below:
https://meridiarecruitment.ca/Career/15799
For more information about this exciting opportunity please contact Mark Gillis, Senior Consultant, at mgillis@kbrs.ca. If you require accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please let Mark know.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
Ivey Business School invites applications from all qualified individuals. Ivey is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace, and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds.