ROLE SPECIFICATION. The American College of Greece Athens, Greece. Director of Marketing

Transcription

1 ROLE SPECIFICATION The American College of Greece Athens, Greece Director of Marketing The American College of Greece. The American College of Greece (ACG), founded in 1875, is the oldest and largest comprehensive American educational institution in Europe. The mission of ACG is to add distinctive value to the lives of students as well as Greece, American education, Hellenic heritage, and the global community through transformative teaching, scholarship and service. Our vision is to establish ACG as the premier institution of its kind in southeastern Europe. An independent, non-profit institution, overseen by a distinguished board of trustees, ACG encompasses three educational divisions: PIERCE College (PIERCE), enrolling 800 students (50% female/50% male) from metropolitan Athens in grades seven to twelve DEREE College (DEREE), enrolling 2,500 undergraduates from 55 countries in 21 majors as well as approximately 100 graduate students in masters degree programs in the arts and sciences and non-degree students in a variety of professional studies and certificate programs ALBA Graduate Business School (ALBA), serving 400 students in MBA and specialized masters degree programs and a Ph.D. program in finance (with the University of Reading, UK) as well as non-degree students through executive and professional education programs - (ALBA, an independent institution founded in 1992, affiliated formally with ACG in 2012) Leveraging its historic strength in undergraduate business education, its recent affiliation with ALBA and its significant resources in the arts and sciences, ACG has identified the integration of liberal arts and business as a primary educational theme. The education programs of PIERCE and DEREE are housed on a magnificent, 64- acre, mountainside campus overlooking Athens. The campus is certified as a United States Olympic Committee international training center. ALBA is located in ACG s downtown campus in the heart of Athens. Collectively, ACG boasts 35,000 alumni serving around the world in virtually every field of human endeavor. While 1

2 functioning in the challenged Greek economic environment, ACG is financially strong and positioned for significant growth and development in the near and longer-term. POSITION OVERVIEW and NEAR-TERM PRIORITIES. The Director of Marketing is responsible for setting the institutional marketing strategy for The American College of Greece, including all of the College s programs and departments. The Director has administrative oversight of the Media Relations, Graphic Identity, and Institutional Identity teams and of those programs and initiatives that interpret the mission of the College to its multiple constituencies, both internal and external, within Greece and internationally. With the appointment of a new ACG president in 2008 as well as the challenging economic, political and social landscape of Greece, ACG has initiated substantial change in recent years. Given this operating context, the Director of Marketing will be expected to attend to the following priorities in the near-term: Reviewing and revising as needed the College s major marketing strategies related to institutional positioning generally and enrollment specifically. Prior to 2008, ACG maintained an intentionally low Profile. Between 2008 and the present and working with the Lowe Athens, advertising agency, the College has initiated several campaigns including print, TV, digital and other forms of communication. These activities have been based on marketing research done by the Parthenon Group in and selected more recent data gathering. The Director of Marketing will be expected to review the strategies, activities and results to date and to fashion appropriate strategies going forward. Boosting the College s enrollment of academically qualified students as well as supporting a major fundraising effort over the next four years will be significant priorities driving the marketing strategy. Reviewing and revising as needed the College s major communication strategies. Societal communication patterns are evolving rapidly. In response to these changing patterns as well as the current operating context with fiscal constraints, the College has developed new communication vehicles and deemphasized some traditional vehicles (e.g. print magazines). The Director of Marketing will lead the ongoing shaping of the College s communication plan seeking to strike the optimal balance in various markets: Greek opinion leaders, parents and students; Greek diaspora; US higher education students and institutions; regional etc. Optimizing the ALBA collaboration. ALBA Graduate School of Business at The American College of Greece represents a new strategic alliance for ACG as of In this alliance ALBA retains its independent, organizational status but is intended to function as an integral part of ACG. There are significant possibilities for mutually beneficial collaboration between ALBA 2

3 and ACG/DEREE, but realizing this potential will require sensitivity to organizational culture dynamics, effective communication and imagination. The Director of Marketing will be a key player in the ongoing exchanges of proposals and perspectives that will seek to unlock the promise of this alliance, leading as soon as is feasible to a full integration of ALBA within ACG. Support for Public Affairs agenda. Many of the College s plans for the future hinge on cooperation from a variety of external constituencies, including the Greek and US governments and potentially the EU. The Director of Marketing will be an important member of the team of College administrators, including the Vice President of Public Affairs and the President, who will develop and execute strategies aimed at advancing the institution s public agenda. Improved marketing intelligence. Publicly available data on education in Greece is limited, especially in the private higher education sector. The Director of Marketing will be tasked with exploring and implementing costeffective means of gathering annual and ongoing relevant data related to the performance of the College and its competitors in the various educational sectors. This data will be utilized for both strategic and tactical planning as well as performance evaluation. SPECIFIC DUTIES 1. Plans and directs a coordinated communications and marketing strategy in support of the College s institutional strength, brand and reputation by executing strategies and annual priorities leveraging the College s strategic advantages 2. Coordinates advertising, media, communication and public relations strategy in support of the College s enrollment and development efforts 3. Manages oversight of the institutional web presence in terms of design, content and functionality, especially for external users 4. Provides counsel and advice on major public relations issues 5. Oversees the operations of the office of Media Relations and Publications 6. Provides direction for and counsel for the administration on the College s graphics and communications program and oversees an external communication program to ensure high quality standards 7. Oversees the campus media relations for print, broadcast and digital media at the national and international levels 3

4 8. Works with administrators and faculty to identify public relations needs and develops and implements programs accordingly 9. Develops a strategy and program of internal communication for the College, including the institution s crisis communication plan 10. Manages effectively the College s Marketing budget 11. Develops and tracks metrics and success criteria for all Marketing programs and activities 12. Other duties as assigned CANDIDATE PROFILE Experience The ideal candidate will present a substantial, credible profile of a minimum of 10 years experience in responsible roles in marketing and/or communications in Greece; specific experience in public relations and/or advertising agencies as well as higher education is desirable; must be bi-lingual in Greek and English. Competencies Ideal candidates will have demonstrated ability in five critical, equally weighted areas: Results orientation as demonstrated by ability to: Be energized by working towards a specific goal Focused on and works towards planned targets, overcoming obstacles, setbacks and uncertainty, using appropriate processes Identifies and uses multiple ways to achieve goals in case of obstacles; plans for contingencies Follows through on difficult situations and delivers on promises Takes actions to improve ability to deliver against existing goals Strategic orientation as demonstrated by ability to Understand own business within group and industry context Articulate evolving priorities for the business within two year horizon, including opportunities and threats Frames the right strategic questions for their area of the business 4

5 Change leadership as demonstrated by ability to: Identifies and points out specific areas for change: points out what is wrong Explains the need for change to others Takes a role in promoting change initiatives in their area Openly questions conventional or traditional ways of doing things Challenges the status quo Team leadership as demonstrated by ability to: Respects concerns and specific needs of individual team members in assigning tasks, including across gender, culture, and other diverse origins Sets norms for behaviors necessary to maintain a productive team without inhibiting individual variation and personal diversity Recruits best available high performers Relationship management and influencing as demonstrated by ability to: Ask questions, test assumptions and openly discuss issues Readily accept and use expertise and input from others Actively listen and respond to the concerns and feelings of others even when not explicitly stated Adapt communications to the specific audience; able to communicate in a way that gains buy-in from others Build informal networks internally and externally and views them as part of the value creation process. Personal Characteristics Overall, we are looking for a senior executive who has an affinity for the mission and vision of the College; is a self-starter, comfortable functioning without close supervision; has excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication, organizational and follow-through skills; possesses high energy and tolerance for ambiguity; has proven ability to work effectively in a collegial, collaborative and cross-cultural context; demonstrates personal and professional integrity and the ability to establish and to sustain relationships of trust. Communication: Interested candidates should send their resume, cover letter to: vacancies@acg.edu. Please indicate Director of Marketing in the subject line. All information will be treated as confidential. 5