Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Title: Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Position Type: Professional Tech Full time

College: System Office

Division: Office of the Chancellor

Department: CCCS Marketing & Communications

Campus: Lowry Campus

Location: Denver

Salary Range: $140,000 - $154,000

Who We Are:

The Colorado Community College System is the state’s largest provider of higher education and workforce training, consisting of 13 colleges and over 35 locations across the state, educating approximately 130,000 postsecondary students annually. In addition, we train more than 4,000 Coloradans each year through customized employer training programs and coordinate delivery of career and technical education (CTE) programs to over 165,000 K-12 learners annually. Our mission is to provide accessible, responsive learning environments where students can achieve their educational, professional and personal goals in an atmosphere that embraces academic excellence, diversity and innovation. We are an organization that encourages individuals to bring their whole selves to work.

Job Summary:

In this role you will serve as a senior advisor to the Chancellor and executive leadership on market opportunity, enterprise positioning, reputation, communications, audience engagement, and growth. The CMCO provides enterprise leadership for the Colorado Community College System's market strategy, brand, marketing, communications, reputation, and market-development capabilities. The CMCO is responsible for building and leading an integrated Marketing & Communications function that enables CCCS to understand its markets and audiences, articulate its value, grow enrollment and partnerships, strengthen institutional reputation, communicate enterprise transformation, and measure whether those efforts are producing meaningful results. You will also lead enterprise and transformation communications, public and media relations, executive communications, reputation strategy, and regional market development. This role stewards the CCCS enterprise brand and narrative while respecting and strengthening the distinctive identities, relationships, and local presence of the 13 colleges.

Note: Three days per week in our Lowry office is required for meetings with other System Office staff.

This position is currently funded for three years through 10/31/2029, although it is being reviewed for ongoing funding.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Establish and lead an enterprise marketing strategy aligned with CCCS strategic priorities, enrollment objectives, economic-mobility goals, and statewide impact.
• Use market and audience intelligence to identify priority populations, geographies, audiences, and opportunities for enterprise investment and growth.
• Lead integrated learner-acquisition and enrollment-marketing strategy across paid, earned, owned, digital, social, and direct channels.
• Equip Board members, presidents, executive leaders, employees, and other appropriate ambassadors with concise and credible tools for communicating CCCS strategy, value, priorities, and impact.
• Direct statewide and national media strategy, proactive public relations, strategic storytelling, earned media, issues monitoring, and major enterprise announcements.
• Serve as a senior communications advisor to the Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor, presidents, and other senior leaders on significant reputational, media, and communications matters.
• Establish and lead the enterprise communications architecture through which employees and leaders remain informed about CCCS strategy, priorities, decisions, progress, and major transformation initiatives.
• Establish and lead a statewide Regional Market Development strategy informed by enterprise market and audience intelligence. Deploy Regional Market Development capacity according to market opportunity and measurable growth potential.
• This position directly supervises two employees and manages a total staff team of five.

Competencies/KSAs:

• Understanding of higher education, workforce development, economic mobility, and/or Colorado's education and talent ecosystem.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and influence outcomes in complex, decentralized, or multi-stakeholder environments.
• Enterprise-minded: Able to see opportunities across institutional and functional boundaries and build shared capability without diminishing legitimate local strength.
• Market-oriented: Begins with audience needs, behavior, opportunity, and evidence.
• Strategic and operational: Capable of establishing enterprise direction while ensuring strategies translate into measurable execution.
• Audience-centered: Understands that effective marketing and communications begin with what audiences need to understand, value, and do.
• Evidence-driven: Uses market intelligence, analytics, outcomes, and feedback to guide decisions and investment.
• Collaborative with clear accountability: Builds strong relationships while maintaining clarity about decision rights, ownership, and outcomes.
• Credible under pressure: Exercises sound judgment, transparency, and calm leadership during high-risk, high-visibility, or rapidly evolving situations.
• An exceptional communicator: Able to make complex strategy understandable, meaningful, and repeatable.
• A builder: Energized by creating new enterprise capability, developing talent, establishing operating disciplines, and turning strategy into sustainable organizational infrastructure.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in marketing, communications, public relations, business, journalism, or a related field; OR equivalent related professional experience (year-for-year substitution for the degree).
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in marketing, communications, brand strategy, public relations, or market development that includes the following:
  
  • Leading complex, multi-channel marketing and communications strategies tied to measurable organizational outcomes (e.g., enrollment, revenue, conversion, retention).
  • Direct responsibility for managing program/department budgets and oversight of vendors/agencies.
  • Demonstrated use of market research, audience insights, analytics, and CRM/marketing automation to inform strategy and measure performance.
  • Experience advising senior leaders or executive teams on complex, sensitive, or high-visibility communications.

Additional Information/Benefits:

Work Location/Travel Expectations:

• CCCS offices at 9101 E Lowry Blvd., Denver, CO 80230.
• Occasional travel within the State of Colorado for business purposes is required. Some national travel may also be required.
• Three days a week will be required in the office per week.
• Alternative work arrangements, including flexible schedules and hybrid-remote work may be available. All work must be completed in the state of Colorado.

Note: per the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, an applicant may redact information from their resume, cover letter, and/or transcripts that identifies their age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. If your position requires us to review an official transcript, without redacting, we will request one as part of our conditional offer process. In order to evaluate work experience against established requirements for positions, we are still requesting dates of service (month and year) for positions in the applicant’s work history.

Department contact: Nikki Cimino: jobs@cccs.edu

Hiring Pay Rate
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to internal equity and directly applicable experience, education, and training.