Associate Director, Communications

About the Department

Enrollment representatives within Cornell’s colleges, schools, and units regularly collaborate and partner with the Enrollment Division to accomplish the University’s enrollment goals.  

The Enrollment Communications team plays a key collaborative role in advancing the university name and brand, and a significant role in shaping Cornell University enrollment.

The Opportunity

The Associate Director, Communications will interface directly with various offices within the Division of Enrollment – which includes financial aid, registrar, and undergraduate admissions – as well as other areas of the University, to develop creative and compelling ways to share important information with prospective students and influencers as well as current and former students.

In partnership with the Director of Enrollment Communications, the Associate Director, Communications will manage, plan, and implement our communications strategy for students throughout the enrollment lifecycle, including outreach to prospective students, applicants, school counselors, student supporters, enrolled students, and alumni. The Associate Director, Communications will be responsible for researching and analyzing communications technology used within the Division of Enrollment, peer and competitor trends, and audience insights; managing various time-limited and ongoing communications projects; and recommending communication strategies to connect to the division’s mission, goals, and priorities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Communications and Marketing: For assigned projects, develop and formalize project requirements/scope, set project deadlines, and conceptualize project specifications. Specific projects include but are not limited to high school counselor communications, website strategy, admissions texting strategy, internal transfer communications, and yield strategy. Based on data and analysis, propose and develop adjustments to messaging and tactics that will improve the overall user experience and help enroll and retain an increasingly high-achieving and diverse student body across academic disciplines.

• Digital Asset Updates and Maintenance: Create and edit web pages for the portfolio of sites maintained by Enrollment Communications (Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Employment, Registrar, Internal Transfer, and Enrollment Compliance). Manage new video projects for Enrollment, including research, concept & content design, casting, production support, captioning, and publishing/posting.

• Writing and Editing: Write, edit, proofread, design, improve, and maintain communications and marketing materials for the Division of Enrollment.

This position will be considered for a fully remote work location within the United States, with occasional travel to campus. However, we would be delighted to welcome applicants interested in fully onsite or hybrid work arrangements.

What We Need

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field and 3-5 years or more of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate challenges and obstacles effectively.

• Strong organizational skills with ability to multitask, prioritize, and meet deadlines.

• Strong research and analysis skills; ability to translate market research and data into actionable insights.

• Must be able to work both independently and collaboratively.  

• Ability to provide exceptional service to partners.

• Ability to learn and apply institutional brand standards consistently.

• Ability to shepherd projects from ideation to completion.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly and persuasively to a variety of stakeholders.

If you have all those things, great! We have a few more things that we would prefer you to have, but it’s ok if you don’t:

• Experience in a higher education setting.

• Experience in Slate CRM and Drupal CMS.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit the following:

1.    A resume.
2.    A writing sample in the form of an email draft (no longer than 250 words) addressed to prospective first-year students. The email should introduce them to a key aspect of the university, such as an academic program, campus resource, or student service.

Rewards and Benefits

• The position is located in Ithaca, New York. The position may allow for the flexibility to work remotel