Vice President Institutional Advancement

Vice President Institutional Advancement

Location:                     Chaguanas

Salary:                         $27,500.00 plus allowances

Industry:                     Education

Terms:                         3 year Contract

About the Position

The Vice President, Institutional Advancement, provides strategic direction, vision, and management of the College’s overall external relations, including fundraising and capital campaigns, community and public relations, alumni relations, marketing, institutional research and consultancies, planning and general stakeholder outreach and engagement. The VP-IA is the primary strategic architect of a comprehensive program for institutional growth and diversification, constituent relationship development, marketing, branding, and communications for the College. The role will focus on events and activities to grow revenue generation and establish relationships with higher education institutions (HEIs), international organisations (IOs), regional organisations (ROs) and donors, alums, business and community leaders, and the campus community.  The VP-IA will help enhance the College’s visibility and build its strong reputation.

Reporting to the President, the VP-IA plays a vital cross-functional role in ensuring the College’s success in achieving its strategic objectives while also leading and developing a team responsible for managing the College’s marketing and advancement functions.

The VP-IA serves as an organizational leader, cultivating solid relationships across the organization with colleagues and teammates on the senior leadership team and as a coach and mentor to junior staff within the department.

The VP-IA also plays a significant role in achieving the institutional goal of establishing the school as a regional center of excellence in teaching, research, and service by 2030. To this end, they should also have knowledge and experience in shaping the organization’s strategic direction and priorities, allocating and stewarding resources, and building a highly engaged, high-performance culture.

General Accountability

The Vice President, Institutional Advancement, is the principal administrator for the College’s advancement and marketing activities. Upon appointment, the Vice President will meet with the President to discuss and establish annual performance objectives. These objectives will be based on the general responsibilities outlined in the job description, specific targets the President may appoint, and any other duties mutually agreed upon by the parties. Progress towards achieving annual performance goals and objectives will be reported during committee meetings.

Institutional Structure: The Vice President Institutional Advancement works closely with the President and the management team, which comprises vice presidents, academic deans, department chairs and program coordinators, and other directors of the College.

Key Responsibilities:

The major task-based responsibilities of the Vice President, Institutional and Advancement include:

• External Relations
• Marketing
• Communication
• Fundraising
• Grant Administration
• Institutional Branding
• Alumni Relations
• Donor Relations

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

External Relations

1. Develops a strategic development plan, alumni relations, marketing, and communications in concert with the College’s strategic direction to continuously improve institutional relations with HEIs, IOs, ROs, government, private sector, NGOs etc.
2. Establishes and implements strategic alliances and partnerships with business, corporate and social agencies that advance the College, with particular income generation and student recruitment activities.
3. Designs, leads and executes a comprehensive institutional advancement and relations plan for the College that generates contributed income from individuals, foundations and corporations; meets visibility and reputational goals; and tangibly and meaningfully engages important constituents, influencers and stakeholders.
4. Develops an overall campus branding strategy and integrate the branding strategy across all institutional communications.
5. Works with the management team to develop and implement plans to diversify and expand revenue streams for the College including research consultancies and grant funding opportunities.

Managing- Key Accountabilities

6. Oversee institutional research activities and ensure data integration into marketing and development strategies.
7. Develop effective, efficient, and innovative communication strategies to enhance the internal and external communication of the college.
8. Establish operational processes and make necessary modifications based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other pertinent data
9. Performs other related duties as assigned by the President

Development and Alumni Relations -Key Accountabilities

10. Oversee annual development and alumni relations operations, ensuring effective collaboration and maximization of philanthropic support.
11. Through partners across the College, inspire full engagement and influential alumni participation.
12. Enhance the quality of alumni programming and advance a robust alumni relations effort that provides meaningful engagement and service opportunities; expand the alumni audience.
13. In partnership with Finance, ensure ethical and appropriate financial administration of contributed income, including overseeing the donor and prospect records, gift processing and donor stewardship.

Reporting- Key Accountabilities

14. Oversees the development and preparation of all monthly reports for the President of the College and the College Board of Trustees and other reports as required
15. Recommends and administers the division’s operational budget. 
16. Prepare regular reports and presentations on external relations, fundraising and alumni engagement metrics for the senior leadership team and the Board of Trustees.

Policy Development, Implementation, and Evaluation- Key Accountabilities

17. Benchmarks policy framework for divisional units against international best practices to drive performance excellence.
18. Ensures compliance with College policies and procedures, government regulations, and accreditation requirements.
19. Evaluates compliance with divisional policies and procedures annually, and make recommendations for amendments, where necessary, to improve policy adherence and effectiveness.

Marketing and Communications- Key Accountabilities:

20. Provide strategic direction and oversight for a comprehensive and cohesive approach to marketing, advertising, interactive media, brand strategy, and public relations.
21. Leads and executes the College’s comprehensive, diversified, multi-channel marketing and communications strategies to optimize visibility, reputation, and other tangible investments in the College.
22. Direct and support the collection, analysis, and interpretation of market data to identify challenges and opportunities for growth and to inform and evolve marketing activity.
23. Prioritize marketing projects and allocate resources accordingly.
24. Determine and oversee marketing budget and expenditures.
25. Maintain brand strategy and standards and ensure compliance across all marketing and communications channels.
26. Collaborate with the academic and other college departments to align marketing activity with strategic business plans.

Event Management

27. Consults and provides strategy and staff support for organization departments for all COSTAATT events.
28. Manages the execution of all College events.

People Management- Key Accountabilities

29. In collaboration with the Vice President, Human Resources, develops and leads the implementation of an appropriate performance management system, including measurable KPIs, for departments within the Division.
30. Makes decisions on evaluating employee performance; hiring new employees; disciplinary actions; scheduling employee work hours coaching and counseling; training; provides recommendations on handling employee grievances and complaints; and granting time off.

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Desired Qualifications and Experience

Required

• At least ten (10) years experience as a senior-level advancement professional strongly preferred with progressive responsibility in leading external relations, marketing and public relations experience.
• Experience must demonstrate the ability to work effectively with diverse constituencies in a university or similar environment.
• An earned Doctorate from a recognized university. Training in International Relations, Economics, Business Development, Marketing, Management, or a related discipline is preferred from an accredited higher education institution.

Preferred

• Experience managing the execution of communications tactics, including a website and social media.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to interact diplomatically with all levels of an organization, its outside consultants, clients, and the community it engages.
• Experience supervising others, with proven strengths in motivating individuals to achieve their goals and fostering high morale among a team.
• Must possess exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Strong leadership skills and ability to bring together different constituencies in order to achieve goals and build consensus among constituents.

Desired Competencies

• Ability to relate to and effectively communicate develop and oversee strategic communications that can position an organization with donors, partners, and key stakeholders.
•  Ability to cultivate and maintain collegial relationships with those contacted in the course of work, communicate effectively both orally and in writing with the public and the college community and coordinate and facilitate meetings.
• Knowledge on matters of resource development, marketing, institutional effectiveness and other college-wide issues

• Ability to author grant and consultancy proposals and reporting procedures to leverage existing resources and develop new sources of revenue; while leading and modeling a culture of responsiveness and collaboration.
• Commitment to the highest ethical, professional and personal standards.
• Proficient as a fair, respectful administrative leader and skilled manager; with proven ability to manage resources, (human, financial and physical), to maximize productivity and assure the highest quality work.
• Demonstrable track record for strategic thinking and innovation
• Ability to make difficult decisions in a timely, thoughtful and evidence-based manner
• Ability to balance personal and professional commitments

Values and Principles

• A commitment to conducting college business in a professional and ethical manner that includes the College's core values of integrity, diversity, empowerment, service, learning and collaboration.

• A commitment to developing networking relationships, demonstrating  a willingness to be involved in community activities and groups

• A commitment to the student-centered mission of the College, student safety and welfare a sensitivity to campus culture and program issues.

Personal Attributes

• High degree of personal and professional integrity.
• Inclusivity and respect for diversity.
• Openness to change.
• Respect the views of others.
• Ability to inspire, lead and motivate others to achieve objectives.
• Excellent critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills.
• Consistent demonstration of a professional, courteous demeanor.

Industry Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of marketing and communications with an emphasis on college resource management.
• Information systems, data management and other applicable computer software.
• Knowledge of grant proposal writing.
• Knowledge of fundraising.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of capital project management, construction and facility supervision, and ability to implement complex tasks.
• Knowledge of higher education and higher education advancement, development, human resources, institutional effectiveness, research, assessment, and public information.
• Ability to articulate community college vision, mission and philosophy.
• Knowledge and commitment to shared governance, innovation, creative practices, solutions and collaboration.
•  Understanding of quality assurance/continuous quality improvement (CQI) practices.

KEY LIAISONS