Senior Director of Digital Engagement, Marketing, and Communications

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Department: Advancement and Alumni Relations

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary starting low $150k; commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations is a comprehensive development and alumni relations enterprise with approximately 135 full-time employees. Functional areas within Advancement include fundraising and development, alumni relations, donor relations and stewardship, advancement communications, special events, gift processing, prospect research and management, gift planning, corporate and foundation relations, information systems and management, and infrastructure services.

Advancement's mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with George Mason University's alumni and constituents while aligning their philanthropic interests with the university's aspirations and priorities. The division is committed to serving the university, its alumni, and the broader community by supporting access to quality education and lifelong learning. Respect, service, integrity, collaboration, diversity, transparency, and creativity are the values that guide the division's work and culture.

About the Position:

Reporting to the Associate VP, the Senior Director leads and provides strategic and creative direction for Advancement's digital engagement, integrated marketing, creative strategy, channel planning, audience activation, written communications and digital content across web, email, social media, texting, digital fundraising, direct marketing, and emerging platforms.

The position provides leadership for digital communication planning, graphic and multimedia content development, audience segmentation, marketing operations, and performance measurement, helping ensure Advancement communications reach the right audiences through coordinated channels, compelling visual presentation, strong creative execution, and measurable results.

Responsibilities:

Digital Strategy and Digital Experience

• Audience Strategy and Digital Engagement
  
  
  
  • Develop audience segmentation strategies and digital engagement journeys for alumni, donors, prospects, volunteers, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the university;
  • Recommend targeted communication approaches that improve constituent engagement across digital channels;
  • Support personalized communications that enhance the constituent experience throughout the engagement lifecycle; and
  • Use audience insights, digital performance data, and engagement trends to refine messaging, creative presentation, channel strategy, and communication timing.
  
  
  
  

• Websites
  
  
  
  • Lead Advancement's web strategy, governance, content presentation, and digital user experience;
  • Manage and maintain the Advancement website, including content updates, campaign pages, giving pages, event pages, donor impact content, and other digital properties;
  • Provide guidance and support for alumni relations website management and other Advancement web content;
  • Ensure web content is accurate, current, accessible, visually engaging, and aligned with institutional priorities and brand standards; and
  • Guide the visual presentation, content hierarchy, graphics, calls to action, and user experience of Advancement websites and digital platforms.
  
  
  
  

• Social Media
  
  
  
  • Develop and execute the social media strategy for Advancement channels;
  • Plan, publish, and evaluate social media content in collaboration with alumni engagement, annual giving, stewardship, campaign communications, and university partners;
  • Identify opportunities to increase alumni engagement, donor education, event promotion, campaign storytelling, volunteer participation, and philanthropic engagement through social media;
  • Direct the development of social media graphics, templates, short-form video concepts, digital campaign assets, and other platform-specific visual content; and
  • Monitor channel performance and implement strategies to grow audience reach and engagement.
  
  
  
  

• Digital Marketing and Fundraising Communications
  
  
  
  • Collaborate on digital marketing efforts supporting annual giving, alumni engagement, donor relations and stewardship, campaigns, Giving Day, and other institution-wide initiatives;
  • Provide strategic guidance and support to Annual Giving for email, direct mail, texting, annual appeals, Giving Day, and other fundraising communications while recognizing Annual Giving's ownership of fundraising strategy, solicitation goals, and donor pipeline management;
  • Partner with Advancement teams to develop integrated, multi-channel communication strategies that support fundraising and engagement objectives;
  • Support campaign visibility and donor engagement through digital marketing strategies that include strong audience targeting, compelling graphic presentation, coordinated channel planning, and measurable calls to action; and
  • Review digital marketing performance and recommend adjustments to messaging, design, graphics, audience segmentation, channel use, and timing.
  
  
  
  

Graphic Design, Creative Strategy, and Multimedia Content Development

• Lead the development of graphic design, visual communications, and multimedia content that support Advancement communications, fundraising, alumni engagement, donor stewardship, campaign priorities, and special initiatives;
• Design or direct the production of graphics for email marketing, websites, social media, digital advertising, digital fundraising pages, event promotion, presentations, reports, toolkits, and other Advancement communication channels;
• Develop original visual concepts, campaign graphics, templates, and digital collateral that help translate Advancement priorities into clear, compelling, and audience-centered communications;
• Create and direct visual storytelling assets that highlight donor impact, alumni success, philanthropic priorities, campaign progress, student experience, and university achievement;
• Provide creative direction, supervision, work direction, and design feedback to staff, student employees, freelancers, agencies, photographers, videographers, and university partners;
• Set priorities, assign work, review deliverables, and ensure timely completion of graphic design, multimedia, and creative content projects;
• Ensure all graphic and multimedia materials are visually effective, accessible, accurate, brand-aligned, and appropriate for the intended audience and channel; and
• Identify opportunities to strengthen Advancement communications through improved graphic presentation, multimedia content, information design, data visualization, short-form video, and emerging creative formats.

Digital Communications & Traffic Management

• Provide leadership, consultation, and direction for division-wide digital communications traffic, including project intake, scheduling, release calendars, approvals, deployment coordination, and message timing;
• Guide the coordination of digital communication schedules across Advancement to reduce audience fatigue, prevent competing messages, and prioritize strategic communications;
• Help establish and maintain communication governance processes and digital publishing standards, creative production timelines, and approval workflows;
• Provide direction to ensure sufficient time is built into project schedules for strategy, writing, graphic design, creative development, review, revision, production, and deployment;
• Work in partnership with Annual Giving, Strategic Advancement Systems, Advancement Communications, and Alumni Relations to coordinate digital priorities and manage timing across channels; and
• Monitor project flow, identify bottlenecks, and recommend process improvements that support timely, coordinated, and high-quality digital communications.

Digital Communications Consulting & Governance

• Serve as a strategic advisor to Advancement partners on digital communication best practices, including email, web, social media, texting, audience experience, campaign timing, and content performance;
• Develop and promote standards, processes, and governance that improve coordination, quality, consistency, accessibility, and effectiveness across Advancement digital communications;
• Provide leadership and guidance, and establish and maintain standards on digital strategy, visual communication, channel selection, message timing, audience segmentation, accessibility, brand alignment, and constituent experience;
• Advise Advancement partners on how to translate communication goals into coordinated digital plans with appropriate audiences, messages, creative assets, timelines, channels, and measures of success;
• Provide guidance and work direction to staff, student employees, vendors, and university partners to ensure digital communications and graphic materials meet established standards; and
• Identify opportunities to improve digital communication practices, strengthen creative presentation, reduce duplication, and create a more consistent experience for alumni, donors, prospects, volunteers, and other Advancement audiences.

Other duties as assigned within the scope of the role

• Track, measure, and report on analytics.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Significant experience (generally 8-10 years) developing and executing marketing and digital communication strategies;
• Experience creating digital content and graphic design collateral for websites, emails, and social media;
• Experience developing multi-channel marketing strategies;
• Experience with photography, video production, and multimedia story telling;
• Experience supervising creative professionals;
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic guidance on marketing best practices;
• Significant knowledge (generally 8-10 years) of digital communications and marketing;
• Knowledge of website management, email marketing, and accessibility standards;
• Strong knowledge of social media strategy, and best practices;
• Strong knowledge of graphic design principles, including typography, layout, visual hierarchy, composition, accessibility, brand application, and digital content presentation;
• Demonstrated knowledge of graphic design principles;
• Skill in project management;
• Skill in creating digital collateral and basic web editing;
• Skill in creating graphics using Adobe Creative Cloud;
• Skill in developing graphic concepts and visual materials for web, email, social media, digital campaigns, fundraising communications, presentations, and events;
• Ability to produce marketing collateral for segmented audiences;
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders;
• Ability to translate ideas into digital collateral;
• Ability to provide creative direction, review graphic work, and offer clear, constructive feedback to staff, vendors, freelancers, and partners; and
• Ability to guide digital communications workflows, establish standards, manage competing priorities, and lead work across multiple teams and channels.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in higher education;
• Experience in digital communications and marketing for advancement;
• Experience supporting marketing campaigns;
• Knowledge of higher education advancement, fundraising, or alumni relations communications and marketing;
• Knowledge of CRM, specifically Salesforce;
• Knowledge of comprehensive campaign communications, annual giving, donor engagement, or constituent relationship-based marketing;
• Skill in managing or directing the work of creative vendors, freelancers, photographers, videographers, agencies, or student employees;
• Ability to work within established university brand standards while developing fresh, audience-centered creative approaches; and
• Ability to support senior-level communications, high-profile initiatives, sensitive announcements, or institution-wide priorities.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Senior Director of Digital Engagement, Marketing, and Communications at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information (one of which must be a current supervisor), and provide a cover letter, resume, and portfolio of work demonstrating competency in creative design, digital engagement, and/or communications for review.

Posting Open Date: September 4, 2026

Posting Close Date: September 21, 2026

Open Until Filled: No