Senior Associate Vice President for Strategic Marketing and Communications

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) welcomes applications and nominations for the position of Senior Associate Vice President for Strategic Marketing & Communications (SAVP). The university’s next leader of marketing and communications will join Cal Poly Pomona at an exciting time, as a new president –  Vanya Quiñones – takes office and brings new energy and vision to an already dynamic campus. The SAVP also has the opportunity to draw on the recent external assessment of marketing and communications resources and services in coming up to speed on current state and developing their vision for CPP’s priorities going forward.

The SAVP serves as the university’s chief communications leader and brand strategist with responsibility for overall communications, marketing and branding activity for Cal Poly Pomona across all media platforms. The SAVP ensures a clear, consistent and coordinated brand narrative that advances Cal Poly Pomona’s mission of student success and polytechnic excellence to the campus community and external audiences. The SAVP leads the development and implementation of Cal Poly Pomona’s brand vision, marketing strategy and public relations campaigns to attract students, engage alumni and donors, recruit high quality faculty and staff, and demonstrate Cal Poly Pomona’s impact in the region, state and nationally. The SAVP serves as the university spokesperson.

In addition to leading the University’s central team of marketing and communications professionals, the SAVP provides strategic direction and coordinates marketing and communications produced by other academic and administrative units across the university as well as by three auxiliary organizations: Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises, which manages housing, dining, transportation and parking, and real estate; Associated Students, Incorporated, which houses student government, recreation and fitness, the Bronco Student Center, and other student-facing services; and the Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation.

As a senior staff leader of one of the 22 campuses of the California State University System, the SAVP and their team coordinate periodically with counterparts in the CSU Office of the Chancellor. The Office of the Chancellor provides support services to the campus while also serving as the campuses’ representative to the California legislature and to the California State University’s Board of Trustees.

As it awaits its new president, Cal Poly Pomona has continued to focus on strategic directions captured in a transitional extension of its prior plan.  The 2025 strategic plan published for the Cal State system, CSU Forward, also serves as a framework for planning and priorities at each campus. It enables the campuses a degree of latitude in allocating resources to the overall university goals of access, excellence, and innovation – all in service of student success. An important part of the SAVP’s leadership is to communicate how CPP aligns with and advances the overall mission of the Cal State system.

Strategic Brand Leadership: Define and evolve the university’s brand identity and messaging architecture. Develop and execute comprehensive marketing campaigns aligned with the university's mission and strategic goals. This includes overseeing brand consistency across all visual, digital, and print platforms.

Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner with communicators distributed across and embedded in the Colleges, Enrollment Management, Outreach, Recruitment and Educational Partnerships, University Advancement and Student Affairs to align brand strategy with recruitment goals and fundraising initiatives and key communications deliverables. Develop effective and credible working relationships with senior leaders and campus communicators.

Drive Reputation, Market Position, and Awareness: Lead institutional reputation strategy for industry and higher-ed leaders, prospective students and external stakeholders through integrated marketing communications campaigns that position CPP as a regional, state and national leader in polytechnic excellence through coordinated and ongoing integrated marketing/communications campaigns inclusive of all owned, earned, and paid efforts.

Crisis Communications and Issues Management: Serve as the official university spokesperson and primary advisor to senior leadership on public affairs. Advises the President and Cabinet on reputational risk and opportunity. Oversee proactive and reactive media relations to enhance the university’s regional and national earned media coverage. Oversee and enhance crisis communications protocols.

Internal and Executive Communications and Change Management: Lead internal and executive communications strategies and drives organizational transformation to unify and elevate marketing and communications practices across a decentralized academic environment.  

Content & Digital Strategy: Manage the production of high-impact, brand-aligned multimedia content, including university magazines, social media accounts, and the official website.

Team & Budget Leadership: Supervise a diverse team of communications marketing professionals while managing departmental budgets and external vendor relationships. Lead a service-oriented team environment that fosters collaboration, operational excellence, teamwork, flexibility and creativity.

Integrated Marketing Operations: Lead the content strategy and production through cross-functional teams in digital strategy, creative services, and editorial production.

Performance Analytics: Implement a data-informed culture by tracking performance outcomes, brand awareness metrics and marketing ROI to inform planning.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in marketing, communications public relations or related field or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible related experience in complex marketing and communications environments.
• Demonstrated experience in crisis management and service as institutional spokesperson.
• Strong record of effectively leading diverse, creative and professional teams.
• Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Advanced proficiency in strategic storytelling across print, digital and social platforms.
• The ability to lead through influence as well as through positional authority in a complex, multi-constituent environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree or MBA with a concentration in marketing or related discipline.
• Management level experience in higher education.
• Familiarity with higher education CRM systems, web content management systems and data analytics tools for measuring campaign effectiveness.
• Contextual understanding of legislative affairs and public policy and the significance of communicating the university’s value to the state and government officials.
• Commitment to student success, equity and inclusive excellence.
• Proven success in partnering with university advancement or development teams to support major capital campaigns.

Cal Poly Pomona has a rich history unlike that of any other institution in Southern California. The University first opened in September 1938 in San Dimas, California as a satellite campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In 1949, W. K. Kellogg, the entrepreneur who founded the Kellogg Company, deeded 813 acres of land to the state of California, which is today’s Cal Poly Pomona Campus. In 1961, 329 women joined the student body of Cal Poly SLO for the first time, and five years later, the Pomona campus separated from the SLO campus. In 1972, the university was granted university status and renamed California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Today, Cal Poly Pomona is part of the 22-campus CSU system and stands as an influential and impactful regional comprehensive state university, recently designated as an R2 institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, home to approximately 27,000 students, 2,250 faculty and staff, and that benefits from a network of more than 170,000 alumni.

Cal Poly Pomona offers a transformative, world-class education – known as the CPP Polytechnic Experience (PolyX) – rooted in experiential learning, discovery, and innovation. As one of three polytechnic universities in the CSU, Cal Poly Pomona prides itself on cultivating student practitioners, integrative thinkers, and model leaders through a “Become by Doing” approach that prepares students for civic engagement and fulfilling professional and personal lives. The university is ranked the #1 polytechnic university in the nation for social mobility, and its caring and inclusive campus community is committed to honoring and supporting varied paths to success for its student body. The multidisciplinary nature of Cal Poly Pomona’s PolyX approach develops graduates who are not only ready to succeed in the professional world on day one but are also resilient, agile, and adaptable for the workforce of tomorrow. Nowhere else can students ride an Arabian horse, practice on a Steinway piano, bring a new product to market, and build a liquid-fueled rocket.

The University includes eight academic colleges (Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture, College of Business Administration, College of Education and Integrative Studies, College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, Collins College of Hospitality Management, College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, and College of Science), the University Library, and the College of Professional and Global Education, that together offer 54 bachelor’s degrees, 37 master’s degrees, and a doctorate in education. Beyond the campus, Cal Poly Pomona provides a strategic selection of academic programs across eight locations in southern California, including an agricultural training program in Escondido, and evening-hours K-12 administrative service credential at various high schools throughout greater Los Angeles.

Cal Poly Pomona is located in an idyllic foothill location in the San Gabriel Valley at the nexus of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, less than 30 miles east of Los Angeles and within an hour’s drive of beaches, mountains, and deserts. The University is accredited by the WSCUC, and many of its programs are also individually accredited by specialized boards and associations. For more information about Cal Poly Pomona, please visit www.cpp.edu/.

Cal Poly Pomona’s FY25-26 operating budget is balanced at approximately $430 million and is primarily supported by two sources: state appropriations, which account for approximately 53% of total revenue, and student tuition and fees, which account for the remaining 47%.  The budget reflects a 3% base reduction, approximately $7 million, in the state appropriation due to California’s FY25-26 state budget cut.  This operating budget excludes the self-supporting operations: Housing, Parking, and the College of Professional and Global Education (CPGE), and three auxiliary organizations: Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises, Associated Students, Incorporated, and the Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation.

Cal Poly Pomona has retained Opus Partners to support this recruitment. Craig Smith, Managing Partner, and Abigail Maynard, Managing Associate, are leading the search. Confidential inquiries and nominations should be sent to Abigail Maynard at abigail.maynard@opuspartners.net.   Applicants must submit an application with Opus and the CPP careers site for full consideration. 

The salary for this position will be $219,000 to $230,004. More information is available at: https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/careers/benefits/Documents/employee-benefits-summary.pdf  If you need medical or disability related accommodations with the pre-employment processes (applications, interviews, etc.), please contact the ADA Coordinator by email at ADACoordinator@cpp.edu.

The California State University (CSU) system is a network of twenty-three public universities providing access to a quality education through the support of California taxpayers. Part of CSU’s mission is to prepare educated, responsible individuals to contribute to California’s schools, economy, culture, and future. As an agency of the State of California, the CSU’s business operations almost exclusively reside within California.   The CSU Out-of-State Employment Policy prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside California. For more information, go to the CSU Out-of-State Employment Policy. 

Cal Poly Pomona will make a conditional offer of employment to final job candidates, pending the satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check). The conditional offer of employment may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. In determining the suitability of the candidate for the position, Cal Poly Pomona will give an individualized assessment to any information that the applicant submits for consideration regarding the criminal conviction history such as the nature, gravity and recency of the conviction, the candidate’s conduct, performance or rehabilitation efforts since the conviction and the nature of the job applied for. For more information, go to the CSU Background Check Policy.

Cal Poly Pomona hires only individuals lawfully authorized to work in the United States. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.  For more information, go to the Acceptable I-9 website. 

This position is a “designated position” in the California State University’s Conflict of Interest Code.  The successful candidate accepting this position is required to file financial interest disclosure forms subject to state regulations.  For more information, go to the CSU's Conflict of Interest Policy. 

Executive and Management Plan Personnel employees must disclose all current outside employment at the time of hire as a precondition of hire and at the following times after hire: annually in July, within 30 days of accepting outside employment, and upon their manager’s request.  For more information, go to the Outside Employment Disclosure Policy. 

The person holding this position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. See policy at the Child Abuse/Neglect Reporting policy.

In compliance with state and federal crime awareness and campus security legislation, including The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act, California Education Code section 67380, and the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), Cal Poly Pomona’s Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report are available for viewing at: https://www.cpp.edu/pdfs/annual_security_report.pdf and https://www.cpp.edu/housing/documents/fire_safety_report.pdf.

As a federal contractor, Cal Poly Pomona will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.  For more information, see the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision poster.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants with questions about access or requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact the ADA Coordinator by email at ADACoordinator@cpp.edu. For more information, go to Employment Notices.

Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, Cal Poly Pomona provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has access to the resources and support they need to thrive and succeed in a university environment and in their communities. Cal Poly Pomona complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws, and CSU’s Nondiscrimination Policy. We prohibit discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all university programs, policies, and practices. 

As a federal contractor, Cal Poly Pomona complies with the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and requests priority referral of protected veterans for our job openings.

For other important employment notices, we invite you to visit Cal Poly Pomona’s Employment Notices web page.

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