The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business seeks a visionary, enterprise-level strategist to serve as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMCO). Operating under the bold brand mantra, "Not business school as usual," the CMCO will step into a high-visibility, enterprise-wide role.
This opportunity comes at a moment of historic momentum for the school as Darden welcomes its 10th dean, Yael Grushka-Cockayne. The School is celebrating record enrollments; the growth of UVA Darden DC Metro in Rosslyn, Virginia; a triumphant $632 million campaign; the execution of an ambitious master plan; and a sustained position as the No. 1 global public Full-Time MBA program.
As a core member of the Dean’s senior leadership team, the CMCO will shape, protect and project the global narrative of this premier business school, ensuring its faculty thought leadership, academic excellence and transformational impact are powerfully articulated on the world stage. Darden’s footprint is global — anchored by its residential Grounds in Charlottesville, its newer Grounds in Rosslyn with views of the nation’s capital and strategic representation in Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India.
Reporting directly to the Dean, this position will lead a high-performing team of experienced professionals.
The Darden Marketing Hub of Excellence
The CMCO leads a centralized Marketing Hub of Excellence — a high-performance “hub” designed to: optimize resources; scale creative assets; and deploy leading-edge marketing technologies, including generative AI tools and automated workflows. The CMCO provides the strategic vision, enterprise leadership and governance required to manage and elevate this premium global brand. Moving beyond traditional functional leadership, the CMCO sits at the intersection of institutional strategy, program growth and enterprise leadership.
In alignment with the UVA brand, the leader sets the School’s global brand standards that govern School units and the Darden School Foundation. The CMCO also provides direction for data analytics, creative, media buying and user experience methodologies, providing Darden leaders with excellent and scalable tools to drive enrollment and engagement.
The role works closely with senior leaders of the School and Foundation and the marketing and communication faculty to build a shared understanding of the School's long-term reputation and growth goals and actions aligned with the strategic plan.
Portfolio Responsibilities
The Global Communications & Reputation Portfolio
The CMCO is the primary architect of Darden’s global reputation, establishing a sophisticated messaging architecture that resonates internationally and maintains institutional alignment.
-
Global Reputation & Positioning: Elevate Darden’s intellectual capital and brand equity worldwide; strategically position the School within the highly competitive peer set and global rankings.
-
Executive & Strategic Messaging: Craft the foundational narrative for the School and its affiliated fundraising efforts. Oversee executive communications and global thought leadership platforms for the Dean and other key leaders. Provide media training and ensure internal alignment.
-
Editorial & Media Transformation: Lead a high-profile strategic initiative to merge Darden’s flagship print magazine and two distinct digital publications into a single, AI-enabled world-class media asset. Oversee the editorial direction, content strategy and digital architecture of this new omni-channel platform, transforming it into the definitive global vehicle for the School’s news, thought leadership and faculty research.
-
Digital & Social Ecosystem: Champion a cutting-edge content strategy that leverages multi-platform social media management, high-impact video production, and influencer and content strategies tailored to diverse global audiences.
-
Public Relations & Stakeholder Engagement: Drive proactive, international public relations and media strategy. Partner with Advancement and Alumni Services to inspire philanthropic investment and lifelong affinity among a global network of 20,000 alumni across 90 countries.
-
Crisis & Change Management: Serve as the strategic architect for global issues management and crisis communications. Safeguard institutional equity across different regulatory and media environments.
The Marketing & Growth Engine Portfolio
The CMCO owns the international brand experience and degree program marketing funnel, deploying sophisticated, data-driven strategies to catalyze global growth and enrollment.
-
Global Brand & Creative Strategy: Champion the visual identity and overarching brand experience of Darden, ensuring absolute consistency and premium positioning across all marketing efforts.
-
Enrollment Marketing Engine: Lead a high-velocity, full-funnel marketing machine for degree programs that is powered by predictive data analytics, AI-driven lead scoring, and dynamic personalization to maximize quality lead generation. Direct cutting-edge digital advertising and optimize national and international recruitment and retention marketing to secure top-tier global talent.
-
Digital Experience & Web Presence: Oversee the evolution of Darden’s digital ecosystem in the age of AI. Drive a sophisticated web and mobile strategy rooted in advanced UX/accessibility and high-performing, multi-region SEO strategy.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will be an inspiring leader of people, a culturally adept diplomat, and a sharp, metrics-driven strategist who thrives in a collaborative academic environment.
Required Education and Experience
-
Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of relevant professional experience required. Experience must include 5+ years of formal managerial experience.
-
Advanced degree (MBA, Master's in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, International Relations, or a related field) is highly preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
-
Global Leadership Breadth: A proven track record of senior leadership experience directing integrated marketing and communications portfolios within higher education, professional services, corporate environments, or highly complex, multinational global organizations.
-
C-Suite-Level Experience: Demonstrated experience counseling and collaborating with executive boards, trustees, and C-suite leaders on high-stakes branding and reputation matters.
-
Operational Excellence: Proven success establishing shared services models, internal agencies, or centers of excellence that scale operations through technology, standard operating procedures, and clear ROI metrics.
-
Reputation & Advisory Acumen: Exceptional emotional intelligence, cross-cultural competence and judgment, with a track record of serving as a trusted advisor to chief executives in navigating complex international reputation matters, global media and change management.
-
People Leadership & Talent Development: Proven ability to build, lead, and inspire high-performing, multidisciplinary teams by fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, continuous learning, and professional growth.
About the Darden School of Business
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible leaders through unparalleled, transformational learning experiences.
Darden offers top-ranked graduate degree programs, including the Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA and Ph.D., as well as Executive Education & Lifelong Learning delivered by the Darden School Foundation. Darden’s faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and consistently ranked No. 1 in the world for bringing out the best in learners.
Driven by innovation and a bold vision reflected in the brand mantra “Not business school as usual,” Darden serves a global network of students, alumni, faculty and partners through world-class degree programs and lifelong learning.
Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area, with strategic representation in Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India. Its Charlottesville learning hub includes The Forum Hotel operated by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and the Tahija Arboretum and LaCross Botanical Gardens. UVA Darden DC Metro is located in Rosslyn, Virginia, in a skyrise with 360-degree views of the capital region. Darden’s global community includes approximately 1,250 degree-seeking students, 4,000 Executive Education participants, 20,000 alumni across 90 countries and millions of online learners.
This is a pivotal moment for Darden at a time when the school is experiencing great momentum. Darden has reached record enrollments, recently launched a part-time MBA and expanded its Executive MBA at its Washington, D.C., Metro grounds. With record rankings as the No. 1 global public Full-time MBA program, record-setting success with $632M in philanthropic impact in its recently concluded capital campaign and record scholarship resources available to top talent, Darden continues to innovate in a competitive global admissions landscape.
About the Darden School Foundation
The Darden School Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that advances Darden's mission by fostering philanthropic support, stewarding the School's endowment, and overseeing its world-renowned Executive Education programs and The Forum Hotel.
This position will remain open until filled. This is an exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all hires (if required) prior to employment. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. For this role, the University will not sponsor or consider candidates requiring sponsorship for employment visas now or in the future. For questions about the application process, please contact Daniel Strong, Senior Recruiter at [email protected].
Please apply online, and search for R0084951. Complete an application online with the following documents:
Upload all materials into the resume submission field; multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.
Internal applicants: Search and apply for jobs on the UVA Internal Careers website
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Education: Bachelor's degree required.
Experience: 10+ years relevant professional experience, to include 5+ years of formal managerial experience required.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
