Vice President of Communications and External Affairs

 Job Title                    Vice President of Communications and External Affairs

 Job ID                        23864

 Location                    LaGuardia Community College

 Full/Part Time           Full-Time

 Regular/Temporary  Regular

POSITION DETAILS

Founded in 1971 in Long Island City, Queens, LaGuardia Community College is one of seven community colleges of the City University of New York/CUNY. In 2019, LaGuardia served over 30,000 students in pre-college, associate degree, and continuing education programs. Major areas of study include Health Sciences, STEM, Business and Technology, and Liberal Arts. Consistent with the diversity of Queens, 56 percent of LaGuardia students are born outside of the United States. More than half are first-generation college students. Sixty-nine percent live in Queens; the rest come from Brooklyn and beyond. Virtually all LaGuardia students are ethnic minorities (88 percent), 58 percent are women, and 31 percent are over the age of 25. Forty-eight percent of LaGuardia students are Hispanic, making the college a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Sixty-six percent of LaGuardia students receive financial aid. Slightly less than half attend part-time, often because they need to work to support their families. LaGuardia ranked fifth among U.S. community colleges in economic mobility – moving low-income students into the middle class and beyond – in a 2017 Stanford University study. For more information about LaGuardia please visit www.laguardia.edu.

LaGuardia Community College is seeking an experienced communications professional to lead the college’s internal and external communications, marketing and promotion, and government and community relations.

Reporting to the president and serving as a member of his cabinet, the Vice President for Communications and External Affairs provides visionary, results-oriented leadership and engages administrators, faculty, staff, and students in designing and implementing communications and marketing strategies for the college. Goals include ensuring effective internal communication, increasing enrollment and financial support, strengthening relationships with local elected officials and community-based organizations, and enhancing the LaGuardia brand.

The Vice President leads the college’s efforts to tell the LaGuardia story to a wide external audience, including prospective students, community-based partners, media representatives, employers, and private and public funders. He/she/they designs and implements strategies to ensure that government agencies, elected officials, and community partners understand LaGuardia’s mission, appreciate its attributes, and celebrate its success.

The preferred candidate will be a creative and strategic thinker with exceptional organizational, managerial, and communication skills. The Vice President should be an accomplished leader with a high level of political acumen. Candidates should have experience in designing and implementing communications programs for large organizations. A track record of building lasting community partnerships and navigating complex environments, such as public higher education, is a plus.

In addition, the Vice President for Communications and External Affairs will have the following responsibilities:

• Lead a collaborative team of creative professionals in the Division; this includes guiding the development, utilization, assessment, and improvement of communication tools, such as the website, social media, video, electronic and print publications, podcasts, and graphic design
• Recruit, mentor, develop, supervise, and evaluate division personnel
• Provide expert communications and government relations counsel to the president, senior leaders, and stakeholders across the college to enhance awareness of the college’s mission, unique attributes, and needs
• Ensure that the college has strong relationships with the media and the ability to position the president, faculty, and staff as thought leaders
• Ensure that effective media relations enable the promotion of student achievements, college programs and services, special events, announcements, etc.
• Lead the development and implementation of integrated strategic plans for communications, marketing, and public affairs to broaden awareness and visibility of the college’s programs and priorities, drive recruitment and retention of students, promote LaGuardia’s brand and reputation, and increase public investment in and private support for the college
• Work with the leadership team, faculty, staff, and students to identify internal and external communication needs, challenges, opportunities and solutions, and develop strategies to address them
• Provide expert counsel to college leadership in response to issues and crises, and manage related media, public, and government relations
• Lead planning for the Division, including strategic planning, assessment, budgeting, and staff and resource development
• Represent the college and the Division before CUNY, state, and city officials as appropriate.
• Serve as spokesperson for the college as needed
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

This position is in CUNY's Executive Compensation Plan. All executive positions require a minimum of a Bachelor's degree and eight years' related experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Advanced degree preferred.

- Minimum of seven years of relevant experience.

- Experience managing a diverse team of development professionals and support staff.

CUNY TITLE

Vice President

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Salary commensurate with education and experience.

CUNY's benefits contribute significantly to total compensation, supporting health and wellness, financial well-being, and professional development. We offer a range of health plans, competitive retirement/pension benefits and savings plans, tuition waivers for CUNY graduate study and generous paid time off. Our staff also benefits from the extensive academic, arts, and athletic programs on our campuses and the opportunity to participate in a lively, diverse academic community in one of the greatest cities in the world.

HOW TO APPLY

Visit www.cuny.edu, access the employment page, log in or create a new user account, and search for this vacancy using the Job ID or Title. Select "Apply Now" and provide the requested information. 

Candidates must attach a resume, cover letter, and three professional references (name, title, organization, and contact information).

CLOSING DATE

Open until filled. Review of resumes will begin April 1, 2022.

JOB SEARCH CATEGORY

CUNY Job Posting: Executive

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among our protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.