Associate Vice President, Chief Strategic Communications and Marketing Officer

Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Statement                                    

In addition to its commitment to a harassment-free educational and working environment, the College is an equal employment opportunity employer. The College is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees and complies with all applicable state and federal laws on the matter. The College does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including gender, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition or medical leave, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law. The College also prohibits the harassment of any employee on any of these bases.

Location:

Claremont, CA

Job Posting Title:

Associate Vice President, Chief Strategic Communications and Marketing Officer

Job Details and Requirement:

Please note, Claremont McKenna College has retained Berkhemer Clayton, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search. All applications, inquiries, and nominations should be directed, in confidence, to the search firm as indicated at the end of this description.

Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is an internationally renowned liberal arts institution, with a uniquely higher education mission to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. CMC pursues its mission by providing a liberal arts education built on a wide-ranging, interwoven curriculum taught by world-class faculty that fosters critical inquiry, advances research and student opportunity across a variety of experiential institutes, centers, and programs, and champions freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive dialogue so students can engage with greater curiosity and openness in order to contribute to the growth of everyone around them.

CMC is a tight-knit residential community that thrives through deep intellectual pursuits in the liberal arts; prolific faculty and student research and applied experiential learning in 11 graduate-level institutes and centers; expanded career opportunities and outcomes through the Soll Center for Student Opportunity; and commitments to free expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive dialogue in The Open Academy and the College’s signature venue for thought leadership and social engagement, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.

CMC’s pervasive track record of success derives from taking on big challenges through bold strategic initiatives with demonstrable success. This trajectory creates several exciting communication and storytelling opportunities that will be centered on key leadership areas and themes, most notably, CMC’s new Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences and iconic Robert Day Sciences Center, which will anchor the campus and be completed in summer 2025; CMC’s remarkable return on value, including social mobility for students on financial aid; and the adaptive learning model and national influence of CMC’s Open Academy, including partnerships with leaders in civic engagement and ethical policy making like the Institute for Citizens and Scholars and the Constructive Dialogue Institute; and many others.

POSITION SUMMARY:

To help continue its momentum and realize future goals, the College seeks nominations and applications for the position of Associate Vice President, Chief Strategic Communications and Marketing Officer (AVP/CSCMO). The CSCMO will be a communications and marketing expert and leader who will harness the power of consistent, coordinated, and proactive creative messaging to drive greater visibility, internal and external awareness of CMC’s unique, mission-driven characteristics, and elevate the College to newer heights in national and international distinction.

The successful candidate will bring an inclusive and facilitative leadership style that inspires, nurtures, and empowers staff, encourages open communication and collaboration throughout the College, and fosters innovation by amplifying content and consumption preferences in the age of social media and multifaceted digital platforms—with distinctive relevance to higher education. Working alongside talented and dedicated staff within communications and marketing, as well as faculty and administrative leaders across the College, this leader will help develop and implement a clear, unified vis