Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing (Data Science and AI Institute)

We are seeking an inaugural Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing to join the senior leadership team at Johns Hopkins University’s Data Science and AI Institute (DSAI), an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to advancing education, research, and the real-world translation of trustworthy AI and data-driven discovery. DSAI will include 110 new faculty who will join existing faculty and researchers across disciplines dedicated to the development, application, and understanding of the opportunities and challenges of data science and AI across a range of critical and emerging fields.

The Executive Director will play a pivotal role in shaping the public presence, positioning, and voice of DSAI establishing the institute as a place that shapes conversations in AI. They will build and lead DSAI’s communications, marketing, and branding team, and will work closely with DSAI’s leadership team, faculty, and staff along with senior leaders across the university. They will be responsible for creating and executing comprehensive external and internal communications and marketing strategies to advance DSAI's mission as defined by the university's Ten for One strategic plan: to create the leading academic hub for data science and artificial intelligence to drive research and teaching in every corner of the university and magnify its impact in every corner of the world.

This is a unique opportunity for a visionary strategic communications leader to help shape an entirely new interdisciplinary institute at Johns Hopkins University, America’s first research university. DSAI is currently located in its temporary home at the Johns Hopkins Mt. Washington campus (6225 Smith Ave., Baltimore, MD) and will relocate to the Homewood campus once its permanent home, now under construction, opens.

The role requires a strategic thinker with a deep and nuanced understanding of the challenges of building a respected brand within today’s complex and evolving data science and AI landscape, including consideration of the broader societal, ethical, policy, and public conversations surrounding these fields. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in managing multifaceted communications initiatives and growing and leading multidisciplinary teams.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• Work with DSAI leadership, faculty, and other university communications teams to develop a strategic communications program that positions the university as the leading academic hub for data science and artificial intelligence.
• Craft and execute long- and short-term communications and marketing plans that leverage the university’s unique constellation of assets to advance strategic priorities.
• Establish clear objectives for the communications and marketing program. Develop and track metrics to continually monitor progress towards goals, measure digital and media success, benchmark against peers, and respond to opportunities for improvement. Provide reports to leadership and stakeholders to demonstrate impact.
• Support institute and university leadership in navigating the communications opportunities and risks inherent in building an institute at the forefront of an emerging sector that presents both opportunities and challenges. Provide strategic and tactical guidance to anticipate challenges and protect and enhance the reputation of the university, institute, its people, and its work.
• Provide vision, input, and support on variety of public events for the institute that help to build DSAI’s brand, disseminate its core work, and elevate its research, educational, and translational missions.

Media Relations and Communications

• Hire and manage a team of specialists to help achieve the goals of the communications and marketing strategic plans.
• Lead DSAI’s media engagement and digital communications across multiple channels to promote the work of the institute and its associated centers and programs.
• Create an active, forward-looking media relations strategy to elevate institute leadership and faculty experts as thought leaders on key issues driving the public conversation around data science and AI.
• Develop and deploy a robust, owned-media strategy cross channels - social media, websites, video, podcasts, live events, AI platforms, complementing traditional media outreach and positioning the school as an innovative leader and an unparalleled platform for data science and AI discussions.
• Partner with counterparts in the university's Office of Communications to manage reputational issues and crisis communications for the institute, ensuring operational alignment, and effective coordination and execution for internal and external audiences.
• Serve