Job Description

Posting Details

Dickinson College is a premier four-year residential liberal arts institution chartered in 1783 and widely recognized as a leader in global and sustainability education. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, named a "most livable city" by Forbes and is minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping and entertainment options. Within a two-hour drive are Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; New York City is three hours away.

Dickinson College offers full-time employees a broad range of benefits, including a comprehensive medical insurance plan, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous time off, parental leave, homebuyer assistance, and tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24. Upon eligibility, the College contributes 8% of an employee's base salary to a retirement account with an additional .5% matching contribution; all money paid by the college into the employee's retirement plan is immediately and fully vested in the employee.

Below you will find the details for the position, including any supplementary documentation and questions you should review before applying for the opening. To apply for the position, please click the "Apply" for this job link button above.

Position Department

President's Office

Job Summary/Basic Function

Dickinson College has retained the Executive Search Firm, The Ward Group, to lead the search efforts. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to: info@wardgroup.com and reference "Dickinson" in the subject line.

About Dickinson College:

Founded in 1783 as the first college chartered in the newly independent United States, Dickinson College has for more than two centuries demonstrated that a rigorous liberal arts education is both enduring in value and urgently relevant to the world. Located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Dickinson enrolls approximately 2,100 students and is distinguished by an unusually deep commitment to global education, civic engagement, and sustainability. More than half of all students study abroad, and the college's pioneering Centers for Sustainability Education and Global Study and Engagement are national models.

Dickinson is home to a growing portfolio of distinctive programs, including the newly launched Burgess Institute for the Global Economy, an initiative that bridges business acumen with the critical thinking and ethical grounding that define a Dickinson education. A landmark $30 million gift from alumnus Sam Rose will soon bring to campus a world-class art gallery and the Jim Thorpe Center for the Futures of Native Peoples, a destination venue that anchors Carlisle's profound history. The college's endowment stands at approximately $750 million and continues to grow, reflecting the strength of its advancement program and the deep loyalty of its alumni community.

President John E. Jones III is a Dickinson alumnus, former chair of the Board of Trustees, and retired chief judge of the U.S. District Court (Middle District of Pennsylvania), and was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. He resigned a lifetime judicial appointment in 2021 to lead his alma mater, and has since launched Dickinson Forward, a multifaceted initiative to position the college for the future, along with the most ambitious scholarship fundraising campaign in Dickinson's history. He is a sought-after voice in national media, appearing on 60 Minutes, CNN, Bloomberg Law, and co-authoring pieces in the New York Times. Under his leadership, Dickinson's senior team is characterized by collaboration, candor, a shared sense of purpose, and a genuine enjoyment of the work.

This opportunity comes at a pivotal moment for Dickinson College as President Jones leads the institution through an ambitious next chapter-one defined by bold academic initiatives, a strengthened national profile, and a renewed commitment to ensuring that Dickinson's story is told with clarity and conviction. The Vice President for Marketing and Communications will have the opportunity to shape that story.

This position will play a central role in elevating Dickinson's institutional identity and market position, bringing sophisticated marketing leadership to an institution with genuine distinction, a president with a commanding national platform, and a senior team ready to think boldly about what comes next.

The Vice President for Marketing and Communications will provide the strategic marketing and communications leadership that enables Dickinson to fully realize its potential in the marketplace. Partnering with the President and collaborating across all areas of the institution, this leader will ensure that Dickinson's identity, academic strengths, and evolving story are expressed with consistency, creativity, and conviction to every audience the college seeks to reach.

Strategic Marketing and Brand Leadership

• Lead the college from brand study to brand architecture, establishing a clear, differentiated, and evidence-based institutional identity that conveys Dickinson's distinctive value to prospective and current students, families, alumni, donors, and the broader public.

• Define and steward the college's value proposition across all audiences and channels, ensuring that messaging reflects Dickinson's academic depth, global reach, career-connected outcomes, and the unique character of its residential community.

• Provide direction for the college's digital ecosystem, including website, social media, advertising, email, video, and emerging platforms, with attention to both strategic alignment and executional quality.

• Ensure strategic coherence across admissions, advancement, and alumni messaging, reinforcing a consistent and compelling institutional narrative across all constituent audiences.

• Use market research, competitive intelligence, and performance analytics to continuously refine brand strategy and adapt to shifts in the higher education landscape.

Enrollment Marketing and Student Recruitment

• Collaborate closely with the Vice President for Enrollment Management as a peer partner, contributing marketing expertise to a shared strategy that spans the full recruitment funnel from prospect identification and awareness through yield and matriculation.

• Develop and execute integrated enrollment marketing campaigns across digital, print, experiential, and paid media channels, with disciplined attention to audience segmentation and performance optimization.

• Bring expertise and innovation in student recruitment marketing strategies, including message development, channel selection, and data-informed campaign management, in service of goals that enrollment and marketing leadership develop together.

• Collaborate on visit experience messaging, publications, digital touchpoints, and communications cadence for prospective students and their families.

• Track campaign performance against clear metrics and refine strategies based on real-time data and enrollment outcomes.

Advancement and Alumni Engagement

• Partner closely with the Vice President for College Advancement to support fundraising priorities, campaign initiatives, and alumni engagement through integrated marketing and communications strategy.

• Shape and elevate advancement communications that connect Dickinson's programs, people, and mission to the interests and values of donors, alumni, and parents.

• Oversee multi-channel communications and content that strengthens relationships with Dickinson's 27,000-member alumni community and reinforces the college's case for support.

Institutional Communications and Reputation

• Lead the development and stewardship of Dickinson's institutional voice, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment across communications with internal and external audiences.

• Manage internal communications across the college, helping faculty, staff, students, and leadership remain informed and connected to institutional priorities and initiatives.

• Serve as a trusted communications advisor to President Jones and the senior team, supporting high-visibility communications, thought leadership, and institutional messaging.

• Oversee proactive and strategic media engagement, building on Dickinson's established relationships with national, regional, and higher education media to amplify institutional visibility and earned media presence.

• Provide counsel on reputational strategy and issues management, navigating complex communications moments while maintaining public trust.

• Monitor trends in higher education and the media landscape that influence institutional perception, ensuring senior leadership remains informed and prepared.

Leadership and Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop an integrated team of approximately 14 professionals in marketing, communications, creative services, and oversight of Dickinson Outfitters (campus store).

• Provide clear strategic direction while trusting and empowering team members to lead in their areas of expertise, recognizing that the VPMC's effectiveness depends on the full capability of the division.

• Invest meaningfully in the professional growth of team members, building on the existing strong institutional knowledge and collaborative culture.

• Manage budgets, vendor relationships, and external agencies with fiscal discipline and strategic intent.

Professional and Personal Profile:

• Appreciation for the mission and culture of a residential liberal arts institution and the ability to engage thoughtfully with its academic community. Dickinson welcomes candidates from a range of professional backgrounds who bring relevant marketing leadership experience.

• Demonstrated success leading integrated marketing and communications strategies in competitive, audience-driven environments, with particular strength in brand development, institutional positioning, and multi-channel campaign leadership.

• Proven experience advising senior executives and governing boards, with the judgment and confidence to provide candid, constructive counsel.

• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams, with a visible, accessible, and emotionally intelligent management style that empowers others and builds on existing strengths.

• A trusted teammate with strong interpersonal skills who builds genuine collaborative relationships across a complex, mission-driven community.

• Track record of translating research and data into compelling institutional narratives and effective marketing strategies.

• Deep understanding of contemporary marketing strategy, including digital engagement, audience segmentation, and data analytics.

• Demonstrated experience applying emerging technologies to marketing and communications, including proficiency in how tools such as AI are reshaping content, search, and audience engagement.

• Exceptional writing and communications skills, including the ability to shape executive voice, institutional messaging, and audience-specific communications.

• High energy, sound judgment, intellectual curiosity, a sense of humor, and a genuine enthusiasm for this work and the community it serves.

• Graduate degree in a relevant field, or equivalent professional experience.

For more information please contact:

Mike Morris at mmorris@wardgroup.com

Julie Ried at jried@wardgroup.com

781.938.4000

EEO/Diversity Statement:

The College is committed to building a representative and diverse faculty, staff, and student body. We encourage applications from all qualified persons.

Job Tags

Full time, Work at office, Immediate start, Flexible hours, Shift work

Similar Jobs