Director of Marketing Strategy

Salary Range\:

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications

About SMU

SMU’s more than 12,000 diverse, high-achieving students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries to take advantage of the University’s small classes, meaningful research opportunities, leadership development, community service, international study and innovative programs.

SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools\: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Cox School of Business, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Dedman School of Law, Perkins School of Theology and Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.

SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem – paired with entrepreneurial drive – creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence.

Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU’s relationship with Dallas – the dynamic center of one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions – offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact.

SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry.

About the Department\:

As SMU continues its academic ascent, Marketing and Communications plays a central role in elevating the University’s profile and advancing its institutional priorities. Working collaboratively across campus, the team leads communications, marketing, media relations, digital and reputation-building efforts that showcase academic excellence, research, the student experience and SMU’s impact.

Through integrated planning, creative marketing and communications, proactive engagement and issues management, the team builds and protects SMU’s reputation and strengthens connections with audiences locally, nationally and globally.

About the Position\:

This role is an on-campus, in-person position.

The Director of Marketing Strategy translates University priorities into a clear, focused and executable marketing portfolio. The role leads the operating model for SMU marketing – ensuring that strategy, creative and digital teams align around the highest-impact initiatives and deploy resources to achieve measurable outcomes in reputation, enrollment and advancement.

This leader serves as the central point of integration across SMU marketing. They set the intake, prioritization, capacity planning and delivery standards for major marketing initiatives; and ensure brand governance and compliance across channels.

Reporting to the Head of Marketing, this role manages staffing, hiring, evaluation and development for a team of strategic leads who guide cross-functional teams working on projects from concept through execution. They focus on portfolio strategy and execution to prioritize, resource and deliver marketing efforts effectively.

Essential Functions\:

• Own the Marketing and Communications portfolio governance and operating cadence – including intake, prioritization, capacity planning and delivery standards – to ensure resources are aligned to the University’s highest-priority initiatives and that work is delivered effectively and on schedule.

• Lead and develop the marketing strategy team, setting performance expectations and building a culture of proactive, outcome-driven execution. Coach strategic leads to manage risk, navigate tradeoffs and confidently engage senior stakeholders on scope, prioritization and timelines.

• Continuously improve processes, tools and infrastructure that support planning and execution. Streamline workflows, reduce cycle times and improve quality through clear standards, templates, training and change management.

• Serve as a key integrator across strategy, creative, digital, multimedia and communications teams. Ensure alignment, effective collaboration and shared accountability for results.

• Lead annual and multi-year strategic initiatives, including vendor governance and performance optimization. Ensure alignment between agency partners and internal teams on clear KPIs to achieve defined goals.

• Oversee budgets and resource allocation for major initiatives, ensuring responsible financial management, accurate forecasting and alignment with institutional priorities.

• Ensure strong brand governance across the University by establishing clear standards, approval processes, and partnerships with schools and units to maintain a consistent and high-quality brand presence across physical and digital environments.

• This position may require occasional evening and weekend work in order to support SMU events.