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Assistant Director of Strategic Communication and Staff Engagement, UM Housing
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University of Montana (UM), Helena College, and UM Western
Missoula, MT (In Person)
Full-Time
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Job Description
The University of Montana invites applications for an Assistant Director of Strategic Communication and Staff Engagement for UM Housing . This role leads Housing's communication, training, onboarding, and staff engagement systems to ensure a consistent, student-centered residential experience. You will align messaging across students, families, staff, and campus partners while building internal communication and training frameworks that promote clarity, coordination, and consistency across a complex 24/7 operation. Serve as the central steward of Housing's residential experience narrative by developing and executing a student-centered communication and marketing strategy aligned with departmental priorities, residential curriculum, and operational goals. Design and oversee lifecycle-based communication strategies (application through move-out) using systems such as StarRez, ensuring consistency, clarity, accessibility, and coordination of major communications across students, families, staff, and campus partners. Design, implement, and maintain department-wide internal communication systems and standards (e.g., Teams, SharePoint, calendars, newsletters) to ensure transparent, coordinated messaging, support organizational change, and strengthen cross-functional alignment. Provide strategic oversight of onboarding, training, and professional development frameworks, ensuring alignment across roles, maintaining tracking of required training and certifications, and supporting scalable, role-specific development strategies. Lead assessment and analytics efforts to evaluate communication effectiveness, staff engagement, and student experience messaging, translating findings into actionable insights in partnership with Systems & Data staff. Develop and manage protocols for timely, accurate critical incident and urgent communications, coordinating with campus partners to ensure consistent messaging across a 24/7 operational environment. Serve as project manager for communication-intensive initiatives (e.g., system rollouts, new residence openings, marketing updates), maintaining cross-functional alignment, tracking, reporting, and issue monitoring. Provide supervision and strategic leadership for the Training & Communication Specialist and assigned student staff, ensuring priorities, professional development, and deliverables align with departmental Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience Minimum two (2) years of professional experience in communications, marketing, public relations, staff training, student engagement, or a related field Experience developing and implementing communication campaigns, marketing initiatives, training programs, engagement activities, or events Proficiency with digital communication platforms and tools, including CMS, social media, email systems, and Microsoft 365 or similar collaboration tools Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills with the ability to translate complex information into clear, accessible, and audience-appropriate messaging Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously while maintaining accuracy, attention to detail, and collaboration across diverse teams Experience using data and engagement metrics to inform communications, training, reporting, and continuous improvement efforts, with flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and extended hours as needed Preferred Qualifications Experience in higher education, student affairs, housing, or related environments, including collaboration with centralized marketing and communications teams Experience designing and implementing internal communication systems, engagement strategies, and multi-channel communication or marketing initiatives Experience leading training, onboarding, and professional development programs, with supervisory or team leadership experience Strong project management experience coordinating cross-functional initiatives, including use of CRM or communication systems (e.g., StarRez or similar platforms) Experience managing digital communications and content, including websites, social media, branding, Adobe Creative Suite, accessibility standards (WCAG), and data-informed reporting and dashboards Position is full-time, 1.0 MUS Contract and includes a comprehensive and competitive benefits package including insurance package, mandatory retirement plan, partial tuition waiver, and wellness program. Screening of applications will begin after the closing date ; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.