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Job Category:
Limited
Employment Type:
Regular
Job Profile:
Communications Director (C)
Job Summary:
The Director of Marketing & Health Communications leads the Health and Wellbeing communications team within Student Affairs, bringing together the marketing and communication operations of University Health Services (UHS) and Recreation & Wellbeing (Rec Well). Reporting directly to the Chief of Staff, Student Affairs, Health & Wellbeing, this role provides strategic oversight and day-to-day leadership for a combined team of 10 professional staff and approximately 20 student employees, directly supervising 2 staff members.
This role balances team leadership with direct execution of high-priority communications initiatives. Primary focus areas include communication strategy, staff development, workload prioritization, and brand management across two distinct campus brands. The Director oversees executive messaging, internal communications, media relations, advancement support, crisis communications and public health communications—including emergency messaging for communicable disease response. Additionally, the position guides marketing strategies that drive revenue for Rec Well programs, memberships, and services.
Key Job Responsibilities:
- Develops executive communications, talking points, and leadership updates for Health & Wellbeing and Student Affairs leaders
- Serves as the primary communications contact for media inquiries and class project requests related to campus health, wellness, and recreation, partnering with University Communications as needed
- Leverages health communications team expertise to build guidelines for crisis messaging, emergency communications, and rapid-response public health announcements
- Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
- Identifies, establishes, and directs media relationships and partnerships with internal and external sources
- Assesses and streamlines merged operational workflows, approval processes, and communication channels between UHS and Rec Well
- Identifies, proposes, and implements new or revived operational policies and procedures
- Audits and directs day-to-day operational plans to align with strategic initiatives and to meet established objectives
- Develops, implements, and monitors strategic communication initiatives for designated audiences and internal stakeholders to maximize engagement and strengthen collaboration efforts
- Develops and executes marketing campaigns that support revenue-generating programs, services, facilities, and memberships within Rec Well
- Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with campus partners, student organizations, and external community groups
- Leads annual communication planning with UHS and Rec Well leadership, identifying communication priorities and developing a shared editorial calendar
- Supports advancement and fundraising efforts by developing stories, impact reports, and donor materials in collaboration with Student Affairs and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association
Department:
University Health Services, Chief of Staff
Compensation:
The minimum salary for this position is $105,000, with final salary based on experience and qualifications.
This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. Information can be found at https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/
UW is a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) programs.
Required Qualifications:
- Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, communications, public relations, health communications, or a related field.
- Experience directly supervising and managing staff, including performance management, coaching, and staff development.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex projects, prioritizing competing workloads, and planning and executing multi-channel marketing or communications campaigns.
- Exceptional ability to develop, write, edit, and deliver clear and effective communications across a range of audiences and communication channels.
- Experience leading communications initiatives in complex environments with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Professional experience in higher education, student affairs, public health, or healthcare.
- Experience supporting marketing strategies for revenue-generating programs or facilities.
- Knowledge of public health communication practices, including crisis communications or emergency health messaging.
- Experience supporting advancement, fundraising, or donor relations.
- Experience managing organizational change or large-scale internal communications initiatives.
- Knowledge of communication technologies and channels, with experience using them strategically to reach organizational goals and audiences.
- Experience advising institutional leaders or senior executives on communication strategy and messaging.
Education:
Bachelor's Degree Required
How to Apply:
To apply for this position, please click “Apply Now". You will be prompted to log in or create an account before uploading your application materials.
Please upload both a cover letter and resume. The application has only one attachment field. Upload all required documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area.
Before submitting your application, confirm that both documents have been uploaded. Applications missing either a cover letter or resume at the deadline will be marked as incomplete and will not be considered.
Finalists will be asked to provide a list of at least three (3) professional references with titles, emails, phone numbers, including at least one supervisory reference.
Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e., a citizen or national of the Unites States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.
Contact Information:
Diante Felton, dtfelton@wisc.edu, 608-265-5359
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.
Institutional Statement on Diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.
To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.
Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.