Executive Director Institutional Communication, External Affairs

Reporting to the Vice President for Public Affairs and Institutional Communication and working in close partnership with the Provost's Office, you will advise on and build communications plans and frameworks that advance institutional priorities, manage reputational risk, and cascade information to the broad BU community. Boston University's award-winning External Affairs division seeks an Executive Director of Institutional Communications to lead the University's institutional communications strategy and serve as a senior advisor on messaging, organizational change, and campus engagement.

Boston University's award-winning External Affairs division seeks an Executive Director of Institutional Communications to lead the University's institutional communications strategy and serve as a senior advisor on messaging, organizational change, and campus engagement. This is a role for a communicator who does their best work in complexity: helping a large, decentralized research university explain itself clearly to the people who make it run. Reporting to the Vice President for Public Affairs and Institutional Communication and working in close partnership with the Provost's Office, you will advise on and build communications plans and frameworks that advance institutional priorities, manage reputational risk, and cascade information to the broad BU community. 

 

You will serve as an advisor to university and school and college leadership, and you will lead a team of three communications professionals to execute on strategy. As the University navigates change and transformation, you will develop strategic communications plan to help the community understand what is happening, why, and how it connects with the University's mission and priorities. Boston University is a leading private research and teaching institution with more than 38,000 students, 11,000 faculty and staff, 300 programs of study, and 130 research centers and institutes. Our scholars are at the forefront of innovation, successfully competing for more than $574 million in sponsored research awards last year. Our students come from all 50 states and more than 140 countries, and nearly 20 percent of our undergraduates are first-generation college students.

 

What You'll Own:

 

• Leadership and partnership Lead, mentor, and manage a team of three professionals focused on the strategy and execution of the institutional narrative and communications.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with communicators across schools, colleges, and administrative units.
• Serve as a strategic communications partner to leadership and communications staff in the Provost's Office and to school and college communicators.
• Change management and organizational communications.
• Lead communication strategy for major institutional initiatives, leadership transitions, and organizational change efforts.
• Develop messaging frameworks and communication plans that help faculty and staff understand the context, rationale, and implications of institutional change.
• Advise leaders on effective communication approaches during periods of transition or uncertainty. 
• Design communication strategies that promote transparency, trust, and alignment across the campus community. 
• Establish governance standards for internal communication channels and tone.
• Alignment during sensitive and high-stakes moments.
• Partner with teams across External Affairs and the wider campus to keep internal audiences. informed and aligned when the stakes are high.
• Develop proactive communication plans that advance accurate and contextual information and improve transparency within the campus community.
• Ensure internal messaging and external positioning stay aligned across the institution. 

 

This position is hybrid and requires three days per week on campus at 985 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA. Tuesday and Wednesday are required in-office days. The third in-office day is determined in consultation with the manager. Boston University offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package that includes tuition remission for employees and eligible dependents, retirement contributions, health and dental coverage, and paid time off.

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree.
• Ten or more years of progressive leadership experience in internal, corporate, or strategic communications.
• Demonstrated experience advising senior executives and leading executive messaging.
• Demonstrated success managing communications through organizational change. 
• Experience working within complex, decentralized organizations.

 

Preferred:

 

• Advanced degree in communications, business administration, higher education administration, or a related field.
• Experience in higher education communications or institutional messaging.
• Strong emotional intelligence and a track record of collaborative influence across diverse stakeholder groups.

 

Required Experience