Senior Director of Digital Communications

The Senior Director of Digital Communications serves as a key leader within Vanderbilt University’s Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), responsible for advancing a unified, strategic, and donor-centered communications approach within the digital space (email, web, social media). This new strategic role partners closely with internal DAR teams and the university’s Division of Communications and Marketing (MarComm) to lead the development and execution of integrated digital marketing campaigns, including DAR’s efforts in the university’s Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform. The Senior Director will guide digital strategy, lead policy and procedures development, manage priorities and resources, and ensure consistency and excellence in this space. This role combines technical expertise with marketing strategy to optimize community engagement, drive philanthropy, and enhance overall marketing effectiveness. \*Please excuse any formatting issues. This is a known systems issue we are working on fixing. **Position Summary:** The Senior Director of Digital Communications serves as a key leader within Vanderbilt University’s Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), responsible for advancing a unified, strategic, and donor-centered communications approach within the digital space (email, web, social media). This new strategic role partners closely with internal DAR teams and the university’s Division of Communications and Marketing (MarComm) to lead the development and execution of integrated digital marketing campaigns, including DAR’s efforts in the university’s Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform. The Senior Director will guide digital strategy, lead policy and procedures development, manage priorities and resources, and ensure consistency and excellence in this space. This role combines technical expertise with marketing strategy to optimize community engagement, drive philanthropy, and enhance overall marketing effectiveness. **About the Work Unit:** Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) secures the philanthropic and volunteer support required to advance Vanderbilt University’s mission. DAR leads the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individuals and organizations whose goals align with Vanderbilt’s strategic priorities. DAR strengthens lifelong engagement among alumni, families, donors, and partners. You can find more information here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/dar/ **Key Functions and Expected Performance:** - Lead DAR’s implementation of Marketing Cloud usage, including assessing technology needs, defining policies and building out processes in collaboration with DAR, IT, and MarComm partners to meet department objectives and community engagement goals - Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for DAR - Design, implement, and optimize multi-channel marketing campaigns (email, social media, web) - Create sophisticated marketing automation workflows to build journeys and improve community lifecycle management - Plan strategic and comprehensive long-term digital marketing initiatives - In collaboration with DAR’s data team, develop advanced audience segments and targeting strategies based on available data and behavior analysis - In collaboration with DAR’s creative team, build and maintain the brand for DAR’s digital presence - Build and maintain a comprehensive calendar of DAR’s digital communications efforts - Monitor, analyze, and report on campaign performance metrics; provide actionable insights and recommendations - Ensure maximum utilization of Marketing Cloud features and functionality; identify and implement platform improvements - Mentor team members and provide guidance on platform best practices - Manage integrations between Marketing Cloud and the department’s Salesforce CRM in partnership with internal DAR teams - Ensure all campaigns comply with GDPR, CCPA, CAN-SPAM, and other regulatory requirements - In partnership with the associate director of digital communications, bu…