Reporting to: Vice Chancellor
Level: Director
Role Summary: At Ahmedabad University, we are building a different kind of institution — one that reimagines higher education in India through the lens of liberal education, research, and societal purpose. To help us tell this story with the depth and conviction it deserves, I am looking for a Head of Strategic Communications to join my leadership team. This role will be central to shaping how Ahmedabad University engages with its community — internally with our Board, faculty, and students, and externally with industry, government, and society. It calls for a thoughtful communicator who can translate vision into narrative, and narrative into influence.
About us: Ahmedabad University is a private, non-profit University that offers students a liberal education with a focus on research-driven and project-based learning.
Strategic Communications Leadership
- Design and execute a University-wide communications strategy aligned with institutional priorities, ensuring a consistent, high-quality voice across all internal and external channels.
- Serve as a strategic communications advisor to the Vice Chancellor and senior leadership, offering counsel on institutional messaging, visibility, and reputational positioning.
- Lead the development and stewardship of the University’s brand identity and core messaging, reinforcing a unified institutional narrative that resonates across audiences.
- Oversee cross-channel communication standards, ensuring excellence, alignment, and coherence in tone, content, and delivery across all touchpoints.
Public Relations and Media Relations
- Lead the University’s media relations strategy to shape public perception and proactively position the institution on issues of academic, societal, and global relevance.
- Oversee the development of press releases, media kits, and related content, ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and alignment with institutional messaging.
- Cultivate and sustain relationships with influential national and international media to secure meaningful visibility and thought leadership opportunities.
- Manage crisis communications and sensitive issues, providing timely, transparent, and strategic responses to safeguard institutional reputation.
- Drive the University's presence in key media markets, enhancing brand awareness, academic reputation, and stakeholder trust.
- Supervise the relationship with the public relations agency, setting clear objectives, ensuring performance, and maximising media outcomes.
Executive Communication
- Develop communications for the Vice Chancellor and senior leadership. Write and edit speeches, presentations, and key messages.
- Prepare leadership for media interviews and public appearances and ensure consistent messaging from University Leadership.
- Create talking points for important institutional announcements
Content Strategy and Development
- Oversee development of high-quality content that tells the University's story.
- Ensure content quality meets the standards
- Direct creation of major university publications and reports
- Guide development of thought leadership content for faculty and leadership
- Ensure consistent editorial standards across all content
Brand Leadership
- Define and articulate the Brand Promise, Identity, and Tone of Voice, ensuring they reflect the University’s distinct positioning and long-term vision.
- Develop and maintain core brand assets to support consistent visual and narrative representation across all internal and external touchpoints.
- Champion brand consistency across schools, departments, and initiatives by establishing clear guidelines and governance protocols.
- Identify and lead programmes that enhance brand equity, leveraging academic, cultural, and institutional strengths to reinforce brand credibility.
- Collaborate closely with the Marketing team to integrate brand strategy across campaigns, digital platforms, and stakeholder communications.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Collaborate with the Marketing Director to drive a cohesive and integrated communications strategy across all platforms and audiences.
- Liaise with school-based coordinators to assess, prioritise, and support their ongoing communications and branding needs.
- Align efforts with Advancement, Admissions, and Alumni Relations teams to ensure consistency in messaging and enhance stakeholder engagement.
- Foster strong faculty partnerships to uncover, articulate, and amplify impactful research, academic achievements, and thought leadership.
- Work alongside academic leadership to shape strategic communications that reflect the vision, initiatives, and strengths of their schools and programmes.
Qualifications
- MBA/Masters in Media, Marketing and Communications or related field from a reputed institution.
- An accomplished professional with a minimum of 15 years of communications experience and having led teams that have delivered on some or all of the above activities.
- Extensive experience in providing strategic and operational advice/guidance to executives on internal and external communication matters
- Strong digital vision and capabilities
How to Apply: If you have led communications at the intersection of strategy and purpose, and are inspired by the idea of positioning Ahmedabad University among India’s finest universities, I would be delighted to hear from you. Write to [email protected] to explore this opportunity
