Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications, Operations

Position Summary:
The Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications Operations serves as the operational deputy to the Director of Marketing & Communications. This position translates institutional priorities into coordinated work by leading department operations, project and capacity management, staff supervision, and cross-functional implementation.
The Associate Director works across creative, content, media relations, social media, executive and internal communications, photography, video, and web. The role requires design and production experience sufficient to review work and provide creative feedback.
Job Description:
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
35% - Department Operations and Project Portfolio Management
Leads department operations and project portfolio management by moving department work from request through completion in alignment with institutional priorities, department capacity, and established decision-making processes.
Manages intake, scoping, prioritization, assignment, schedules, review, and project closeout.
Maintains the department portfolio, production calendar, workload view, and status reporting.
Assigns and rebalances work within established priorities; negotiates routine scope and timelines and elevates institutional priority or resource conflicts to the Director.
Identifies risks, dependencies, capacity constraints, and stalled decisions and coordinates resolution.
25% - People Management, Team Coordination and Accountability
Supervises designated creative and production staff and coordinates team accountability, workload management, and professional development in support of a collaborative department culture.
Sets expectations, conducts evaluations and regular check-ins, provides coaching and development, and addresses performance concerns.
Balances workload, coordinates coverage and handoffs, and clarifies roles and responsibilities.
Facilitates team meetings, project reviews, conflict resolution, and coordination of interns, freelancers, and temporary support.
20% - Strategy Implementation and Cross-Functional Delivery
Organizes cross-functional implementation of marketing and communications strategies established by the Director and relevant functional leads by translating priorities into coordinated work plans, deliverables, timelines, and review processes.
Develops integrated work plans with clear objectives, deliverables, owners, milestones, and review points.
Coordinates contributions across content, creative, web, media relations, social media, photography, video, in conjunction with executive and internal communications.
Keeps work aligned as priorities or scope change and provides the Director with concise status and resource recommendations.
Maintains functional leads' authority for discipline-specific strategy and quality decisions.
10% - Stakeholder and Creative Production Coordination
Coordinates routine stakeholder relationships and creative production processes by clarifying scope, timelines, approvals, production requirements, and handoffs with campus partners and department contributors.
Clarifies project scope, roles, timelines, approvals, and deliverables with campus partners and communicates material changes.
Reviews concepts and production files for alignment with the project brief, audience, channel, and production requirements.
Uses Adobe Creative Cloud as needed to review files, troubleshoot workflow, or make limited production adjustments.
Provides constructive creative feedback in coordination with the Designer/Brand Manager and other functional leads.
10% - Administration, Vendors and Process Improvement
Manages administrative systems, vendor coordination, purchasing workflows, and process improvements that support timely, accountable department delivery.
Coordinates vendors, estimates, purchasing, contracts, proofs, invoices, and production schedules.
Monitors operational expenditures and supports budget and resource planning.
Evaluates workflow performance and maintains practical processes, documentation, and continuity plans.
Required Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in marketing, communications, design, business administration, project management, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
4 or more years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, communications, creative services, project management, or a related environment.
Experience leading operations for a multidisciplinary in-house marketing, communications, or creative team.
Demonstrated success managing concurrent, cross-functional projects from intake through delivery.
Working proficiency with Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, sufficient to review files and provide informed creative feedback.
Experience with project- or work-management systems and process improvement.
Strong judgment, organization, facilitation, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and student success, as well as experience working with broadly diverse communities.
Preferred Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:
Experience managing vendors, contracts, purchasing, print production, and budgets.
Knowledge of integrated marketing and communications workflows across print, digital, web, social, photography, video, media relations, and executive communications.
Demonstrated ability to use approved artificial intelligence tools responsibly and effectively to support planning, content or creative development, workflow improvement, or decision-making within the position’s area of responsibility. Ability to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs and to apply institutional policies and professional judgment when using AI-enabled tools.
Experience using data to assess workload, resource use, and delivery performance.
Experience in higher education, nonprofit, or public-sector communications.
Familiarity with Fort Lewis College, its mission, and its institutional culture.
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Reports To / Supervisory Responsibility:
Reports to the Director of Marketing & Communications and serves as the Director's operational deputy.
Supervises designated creative and production staff and assigned student employees or interns.
May represent the Director in defined operational matters; institutional strategy, major resource decisions, reputational matters, and final escalation authority remain with the Director.
Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee can expect while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Full-time, 12-month, exempt position; typical schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with occasional evening, weekend, and travel requirements.
Work is primarily office-based and requires extended computer use. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, stand, sit; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard reach, stoop kneel to install computer equipment
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work
Light to moderate lifting is required
Travel:
5% of travel can be expected for annual conferences as budget allows.
FLSA Status/ Position Type/Expected Hours of Work/ and Salary Range:
Exempt or Non-Exempt (Consider using the FLSA Exemption Test Worksheet)
Full Time, 1.0 FTE
Permanent
Full Year
Typical Work hours, M-F 8-5, occasional weekends
Compensation
The salary range is $67,500 to $71,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package.
Application Process
A complete application packet includes:
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