Description

Bard Graduate Center (BGC) invites applications for a Senior Director of Marketing and Communications. This is a full-time, on-site appointment, at our campus on West 86th Street in New York City.

Bard Graduate Center (BGC) is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City. Through its M.A. and Ph.D. programs, Gallery exhibitions, public programs, publications, research initiatives, and Study Collection, BGC advances the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture and prepares the next generation of scholars, curators, educators, and museum professionals.

As BGC enters its next phase of growth, the institution seeks to strengthen its position as both a leading academic center and a compelling public cultural destination. The core focus of the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications is to connect BGC’s academic and public work under a clear institutional identity; expand awareness and engagement beyond existing audiences; increase graduate students’ engagement, Gallery attendance, and participation in programs; support earned and contributed revenue; and build scalable systems for reaching audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Communications and Marketing is BGC’s communications leader. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director develops and implements an integrated, institution-wide strategy for Gallery exhibitions, Academic Programs and recruitment, Public Humanities + Research, Publications, the Study Collection, and supports alumni engagement and development.

The Director is responsible for institutional positioning and brand consistency across BGC platforms, editorial direction, audience development, media relations, digital strategy, and creative production, as well as tracking and analyzing audience engagement. The role is strategic and hands-on: the Director sets priorities that align with broader institutional goals, writes and edits at a high level, leads staff and external partners, and ensures that campaigns are delivered effectively and on time.

During the first year, the Director will assess the strategies, systems, audience data, digital platforms, vendor relationships, and institutional knowledge developed over the previous eight years; preserve what is working; identify gaps and opportunities; and establish a measurable, multi-year communications and marketing plan.

Core Responsibilities:

Strategy, Leadership, and Institutional Positioning

•    Lead annual and multi-year communications and marketing strategy aligned with BGC’s mission, academic priorities, exhibition and program calendar, enrollment goals, audience-growth objectives, and revenue needs.
•    Create an integrated communications timeline and plan that establishes priorities across departments, anticipates major campaigns, and allocates staff and financial resources effectively.
•    Define existing and target audiences, campaign objectives, key performance indicators, and reporting practices; use results and data to guide investment and improve institutional decision-making.
•    Advise the Director, Deputy Director, Chief Advancement Officer, senior leadership, faculty, and curators on messaging, public positioning, executive communications, and reputation management.
•    Develop and maintain rapid-response communications protocols, including approval pathways, stakeholder communications, message templates, and oversight of media response efforts.

Integrated Marketing, Audience Development, and Revenue

•    Develop and execute coordinated campaigns for exhibitions, graduate recruitment, public programs, publications, fellowships, prizes, alumni initiatives, fundraising, and institutional announcements across paid, shared, and owned channels.
•    Lead year-round recruitment marketing for BGC’s M.A. and Ph.D. programs in close partnership with Academic Programs, from awareness and open-house conversion through application deadlines and admitted-student engagement.
•    Build strategies to increase attendance, participation, publication sales, philanthropic engagement, and repeat visitation to BGC Gallery; identify partnerships and cross-promotional opportunities that extend BGC’s reach.
•    Partner with Advancement on Giving Day, annual appeals, the Iris Awards, patron programs, donor communications, sponsorship visibility, and other engagement and revenue-generating initiatives.

Brand, Editorial, Creative, and Media Relations

•    Set and maintain BGC’s institutional voice, messaging framework, editorial standards, and style guidelines, translating complex scholarship into clear, compelling, and audience-appropriate communications.
•    Write, edit, and oversee leadership messages, press materials, web and campaign copy, newsletters, invitations, talking points, and other high-level institutional communications.
•    Direct the content and production calendar for BGC’s website, email program, social media channels, advertising, print collateral, environmental graphics, photography, and video.
•    Oversee the production of all marketing materials in partnership with BGC’s consulting art director, ensuring quality and consistency across print, digital, exhibition, event, and visitor-facing applications.
•    Serve as BGC’s lead partner to the PR consultant team, setting media priorities and coordinating press strategy, releases, previews, photography, interviews, press kits, media training, press previews, and responses to emerging opportunities.

Digital Strategy, Audience Data, and Infrastructure

•    Lead strategy and editorial oversight for the BGC website, content-management system, email marketing, social media, digital advertising, online listings, ticketing communications, and emerging platforms.
•    Establish a roadmap for improving and ultimately modernizing BGC’s website and digital infrastructure, including usability, accessibility, search, tagging, SEO, AI-driven discoverability, analytics, and content governance.
•    Strengthen audience segmentation, list hygiene, data preservation, deliverability, and measurement across Mailchimp, ticketing, web analytics, social platforms, and related systems.

Team, Budget, Vendors, and Visitor Experience

•    Lead and develop communications and visitor services staff, student workers, freelancers, and project contributors; establish clear roles, workflows, priorities, and standards.
•    Manage the communications and marketing budget and key external relationships, including the consulting art director, PR firm, web developer, photographers, videographers, digital specialists, printers, and production vendors.
•    Provide strategic oversight of the visitor journey, from discovery and ticket purchase through arrival, wayfinding, onsite experience, and post-visit engagement with management of Visitor Services team and in partnership with, Exhibitions, Public Programs, Facilities, and Security.
• Implement strategies for tracking and analyzing visitors and audience engagement over time.
•    Represent Communications and Marketing in institutional planning and at major public events; undertake occasional evening and weekend work as required.

Desired Qualifications:

•    At least seven years of experience in communications, marketing, public relations, audience development, enrollment marketing, or a related field, including supervisory and budget-management experience.
•    Demonstrated success creating integrated strategies that have measurably increased awareness, engagement, attendance, enrollment, or revenue.
•    Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to communicate scholarly, artistic, and institutional ideas clearly to multiple audiences.
•    Substantial experience with brand strategy, media relations, digital marketing, websites and content-management systems, email, social media, paid campaigns, analytics, SEO, and audience segmentation.
•    Proven ability to manage staff, agencies, consultants, vendors, complex production schedules, and multiple concurrent priorities in a lean organization.
•    Sound judgment, diplomacy, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to build trust across academic, curatorial, administrative, visitor-facing, and Advancement teams.
•    Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or substantial experience in museums, arts and culture, higher education, design, art history, or the humanities strongly preferred.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work full-time in the United States for any employer. Bard Graduate Center will not petition, pay for, or take over an existing visa.

We expect the successful candidate to be stronger in some qualifications listed above than others; we are committed to helping our future colleagues expand their skills, and hope to learn from their areas of strength.

Salary and Benefits:

Compensation: $130,000-$140,000

This salary reflects the College's good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for the position at the time of the job posting. Salary decisions are dependent on several factors including but not limited to market and organizational considerations, experience, and qualifications of a selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.

Benefits Overview:

We are pleased to offer our full-time employees an excellent benefit package which includes; multiple health insurance options; TIAA retirement plans; generous vacation, sick, and personal time; and more. To learn more about employee benefits and eligibility at Bard College, please visit https://www.bard.edu/humanresources/benefits/. 

To Apply:

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and at least three relevant writing, campaign, or portfolio samples to [email protected]

Review of applications will begin 7/27/2026 and continue until the position is filled.

Bard College is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from those who contribute to our diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental, or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information.

Bard is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.

Requirements

Desired Qualifications:

•    At least seven years of experience in communications, marketing, public relations, audience development, enrollment marketing, or a related field, including supervisory and budget-management experience.
•    Demonstrated success creating integrated strategies that have measurably increased awareness, engagement, attendance, enrollment, or revenue.
•    Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to communicate scholarly, artistic, and institutional ideas clearly to multiple audiences.
•    Substantial experience with brand strategy, media relations, digital marketing, websites and content-management systems, email, social media, paid campaigns, analytics, SEO, and audience segmentation.
•    Proven ability to manage staff, agencies, consultants, vendors, complex production schedules, and multiple concurrent priorities in a lean organization.
•    Sound judgment, diplomacy, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to build trust across academic, curatorial, administrative, visitor-facing, and Advancement teams.
•    Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or substantial experience in museums, arts and culture, higher education, design, art history, or the humanities strongly preferred.