Senior Principal, Development Marketing and Communications

Job Posting Title:

Senior Principal, Development Marketing and Communications

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Hiring Department:

Dell Medical School

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Oct 19, 2026

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

AUSTIN, TX

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Job Details:

Purpose

As Dell Medical School builds an integrated academic health system, this position sets the philanthropic communications strategy within institutional and fundraising priorities established by leadership. It advances donor and public understanding and demonstrates the measurable value and impact of philanthropic support through institutional communications.

Reporting to the chief marketing and communications officer, the Senior Principal, Development Marketing and Communications leads institutional philanthropic marketing and communications for Dell Medical School and serves as the principal communications adviser to the chief development officer. Within priorities established by institutional and Development leadership, the position is accountable for communications strategy, integration, editorial quality, risk management and measurable performance supporting philanthropic priorities, transformational gifts and major fundraising campaigns.

The position determines communications priorities, message architecture, channel approaches, editorial standards and measures of success; develops institutional cases for support and campaign narratives; and advises senior leaders on communications investment and reputational considerations. It provides the functional leadership and selected high-value writing needed to carry the strategy through, integrating specialized Marketing and Communications capabilities across executive communications, content, creative, media and digital channels. The position translates complex clinical, research and education priorities into compelling philanthropic propositions while working in partnership with Development and specialized Marketing and Communications teams.

Operating with full autonomy within the institutional communications scope and approved institutional and fundraising priorities, the position resolves novel, ambiguous and high-consequence communications issues with limited precedent. It balances donor interests, confidentiality, gift terms, institutional voice, public transparency, brand integrity, legal requirements, campaign timing and reputational risk. The position establishes communications standards and decision frameworks, leads sensitive and high-profile initiatives, and makes decisions that materially affect donor understanding, campaign visibility, institutional reputation and the effectiveness of philanthropic communications investments. Development retains authority for fundraising strategy, donor relationships, solicitations, gift terms and donor-specific cultivation and stewardship.

Responsibilities

Essential Job Functions

Strategic Advisory & Portfolio Planning

• Sets integrated philanthropic communications strategy supporting Development and the institution’s highest-priority philanthropic objectives, transformational gifts and major campaigns within priorities established by institutional and Development leadership.
• Serves as the principal Marketing and Communications adviser to the chief development officer and Development leaders; independently translates approved philanthropic and fundraising priorities into communications objectives, audience strategies, message architecture, channel plans, governance and implementation requirements.
• Establishes annual and multiyear communications strategies, portfolio roadmaps and editorial calendars aligned with enterprise priorities, institutional narratives, campaign phases and available Marketing and Communications capacity.
• Creates decision frameworks that integrate philanthropic priorities, audience needs, donor relationships, confidentiality, recognition obligations, public transparency, institutional voice and reputational considerations across channels.
• Determines communications portfolio priorities, sequencing, resource requirements and delivery approaches within approved institutional and fundraising priorities; recommends communications investments and capacity allocations as conditions, opportunities or risks change.
• Leads communications strategy and message architecture for major philanthropic campaigns and initiatives within fundraising strategy established by Development and institutional leadership.
• Anticipates emerging communications needs and evaluates donor, stakeholder, media, legal, brand and reputational implications; determines the appropriate response, consultation and escalation pathway.
• Determines which needs can be addressed directly and which require specialized Marketing and Communications expertise, executive review, legal counsel, University communications coordination or external capacity.
• Creates new communications approaches, standards and solutions for unprecedented Development communications challenges and exercises complete latitude for institutional communications decisions within the approved portfolio, institutional policy and delegated authority.

Integrated Development Communications and Content

• Architects and directs integrated institutional communications initiatives for donor, prospective-donor and public audiences across web, email, social media, presentations, publications, media and other institutional channels.
• Leads development of institutional cases for support, campaign message platforms and public-facing fundraising materials that translate complex clinical, scientific, research and education priorities into accurate and compelling philanthropic narratives aligned with mission, strategy and intended impact.
• Personally produces selected high-value communications and provides final editorial direction for high-risk institutional materials, including transformational gift announcements, donor-recognition content, impact stories, broad stewardship communications and executive materials.
• Establishes editorial strategy and directs production of donor newsletters, magazines, impact reports and stewardship publications for broad audiences, integrating content, design, photography, video, digital and executive contributions.
• Identifies and advances enterprise-level stories that demonstrate outcomes enabled by philanthropy and determines how those stories should be adapted across institutional channels and audiences.
• Partners with Development External Relations on annual giving and multi-audience fundraising initiatives, providing communications strategy, institutional messaging, creative direction and access to specialized services while Development retains authority for solicitation and ask-specific language.
• Develops or directs executive speeches, presentations and talking points with a broad Development purpose and coordinates with executive communications colleagues on sensitive, high-visibility or institution-wide matters.
• Defines objectives, audiences, scope, decision rights, timelines, roles, quality standards and deliverables for large or complex initiatives; resolves cross-functional barriers and holds assigned contributors accountable for timely, integrated delivery.
• Balances multiyear strategic commitments with emerging opportunities and urgent requests, makes tradeoffs among audience value, timing, capacity and institutional risk, and communicates decisions and consequences to senior stakeholders.

Development Partnership and Scope Coordination

• Serves as the lead Marketing and Communications partner to the chief development officer, Development leaders, gift officers, Development writers, Development External Relations and other advancement colleagues.
• Builds trusted advisory relationships and maintains expert understanding of philanthropic priorities, campaign plans, donor audiences, operating cycles, communications risk and interdependencies across Development and Marketing and Communications.
• Interprets and applies the shared division of responsibilities: Development leads communications intended to cultivate, solicit or steward a specific donor or opportunity; the principal leads communications intended to reach broader audiences through institutional communications channels.
• Establishes shared workflows, governance and review processes with Development and Marketing and Communications leadership, including ownership, decision rights, approval requirements, quality standards, escalation thresholds and issue-resolution protocols.
• Ensures Development validates philanthropic priorities, funding information, donor facts, gift terms, recognition requirements and solicitation content while Marketing and Communications maintains institutional messaging, brand, editorial quality, public positioning and channel standards.
• Protects donor confidentiality and determines review, timing and release requirements for gift announcements, donor recognition and other sensitive or high-profile communications in coordination with authorized partners.
• Coordinates with Development External Relations on event-related communications; Development External Relations retains ownership of invitations, programs and attendee communications, while the principal leads broader institutional messaging and executive materials and coordinates specialized creative services as agreed.
• Identifies matters requiring executive, legal, privacy, University communications or other institutional review; frames the issue, presents options and consequences, and facilitates timely resolution without transferring routine portfolio decisions upward.

MarComm Integration & Project Leadership

• Serves as the primary strategic and operating connection between Development and the core Marketing and Communications organization.
• Activates and provides functional direction to specialists in media relations, strategic content, internal communications, executive communications, brand, social media, digital engagement, design, photography, video, web development and marketing automation based on initiative complexity and risk, while respecting the functional authority of specialized Marketing and Communications leaders.
• Creates strategic and creative briefs, establishes integration points and quality expectations, provides Development context, resolves conflicting inputs and integrates specialist contributions into cohesive campaigns and communications products.
• Provides functional leadership throughout cross-disciplinary delivery, makes communications scope and sequencing decisions, reviews work, requires revisions to meet agreed standards and resolves delivery issues in partnership with specialized Marketing and Communications leaders and functional managers.
• Integrates Development content and campaigns with institutional editorial calendars, brand initiatives, media opportunities, executive communications and digital priorities to prevent conflicting messages, duplicated effort or avoidable audience fatigue.
• Determines when visibility, risk or enterprise impact requires escalation, specialized review or a coordinated institutional response and leads the communications workstream through resolution.

Digital Engagement Marketing Automation and Performance

• Establishes Development-related web and digital content strategy, governance and experience standards so content remains timely, accurate, audience-centered, accessible, secure and aligned with institutional voice and brand.
• Partners with digital engagement and marketing automation colleagues to architect digital giving campaigns, email programs, audience journeys and related experiences across channels and campaign phases.
• Works within Development-established audience, segmentation, donor-data, consent, solicitation and gift-designation decisions while independently determining the institutional communications strategy, messaging, channel orchestration, creative direction and editorial standards supporting those decisions.
• Establishes briefs, business requirements, review responsibilities, testing protocols, quality controls and reporting expectations for Development marketing automation and digital communications.
• Defines performance measures and uses analytics, audience insights, testing and stakeholder feedback to evaluate effectiveness, identify root causes and change strategies, content, channels or resource deployment.
• Develops performance analyses and investment recommendations that enable Development and Marketing and Communications leaders to assess reach, engagement, conversion, audience experience and return on communications resources.
• Evaluates emerging technologies, platforms and practices, including generative AI and automation; determines appropriate use cases, guardrails and pilot requirements and recommends adoption when benefits justify operational, privacy, brand and reputational risk.

Other duties as identified by department

Supervision

No direct reports.

Decision Making Responsibility

Operates with full autonomy and complete latitude for independent judgment within the institutional philanthropic communications portfolio, approved institutional and fundraising priorities, and delegated communications policy and resource authority.

Independently establishes the communications strategy supporting approved institutional and fundraising priorities and determines communications portfolio priorities, message platforms, channel approaches, editorial standards, delivery governance, quality requirements and measures of success. Directs assigned cross-functional work, provides selected high-value writing, evaluates and requires revision of deliverables, selects among competing communications approaches, and resolves novel or sensitive communications issues. Recommends communications resource allocation and escalates matters requiring executive, legal, contractual, fundraising, gift-term, donor-relationship or broader institutional approval.

Development retains authority over fundraising strategy, donor relationships, solicitations, gift terms and donor-specific cultivation and stewardship. Within those established priorities, this position owns the supporting institutional philanthropic communications strategy, messaging, channel approaches, editorial standards, measures of success and integrated communications delivery in partnership with Development and specialized Marketing and Communications teams. Decisions may materially affect donor understanding, campaign performance, public positioning, institutional reputation and the effectiveness of communications investments.

Marginal or Periodic Functions

• Represents Marketing and Communications in Development, institutional leadership or external forums when philanthropic communications expertise is required.
• Mentors communications colleagues and Development partners on philanthropic narrative, institutional positioning, editorial judgment and risk-aware communications practices.
• Adheres to internal controls and reporting structure.
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Expert knowledge of integrated marketing and communications strategy and philanthropic communications, including the ability to establish enterprise portfolio direction, governance, standards and measures aligned with institutional and fundraising objectives.
• Highly specialized expertise in translating complex clinical, scientific, research, education and academic priorities into accurate, differentiated and compelling philanthropic propositions for executive, donor and public audiences.
• Exceptional writing, editing, message-development and narrative-architecture skills across channels, formats and audiences, with the judgment to personally handle or direct sensitive, high-value and reputationally significant work.
• Advanced problem-solving ability in situations involving incomplete information, competing stakeholder interests, limited precedent, confidentiality, gift terms, public transparency, legal considerations, reputational risk and time-sensitive opportunities.
• Ability to operate with full autonomy within broad policy, establish new approaches and decision frameworks, make portfolio and channel decisions, and recognize matters requiring executive, legal or institutional escalation.
• Broad command of media relations, executive communications, content strategy, brand, creative, digital engagement, marketing automation, web governance, accessibility, analytics and audience experience sufficient to integrate expert contributions into a cohesive enterprise approach.
• Executive consultation and influencing skill, including the ability to advise the chief development officer and senior leaders, frame choices and consequences, challenge assumptions constructively and build alignment without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of donor confidentiality, recognition obligations, reputational considerations and review requirements associated with gifts, campaigns and philanthropic communications.
• Ability to distinguish institutional philanthropic communications from donor-specific cultivation, solicitation and stewardship and to uphold clear decision rights between Development and Marketing and Communications.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex cross-functional portfolios and initiatives, including establishing objectives, priorities, scope, governance, resource requirements, approvals, quality standards and performance measures.
• Ability to direct assigned work through functional authority, review and require revision of deliverables, resolve conflicting priorities and hold multidisciplinary contributors accountable in partnership with functional managers.
• Advanced analytical ability to interpret audience, channel and campaign performance; diagnose gaps; and recommend changes in strategy, investment, operating practice and resource deployment.
• Ability to evaluate external providers, technology options and emerging practices and to balance creative opportunity with privacy, accessibility, security, brand, operational and reputational risk.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor colleagues, establish best practices and elevate institutional capability within philanthropic communications.

Education & Experience

Required Qualifications

Requires a Bachelor's Degree in communications, marketing, public relations, journalism or a related field with at least 10 year(s) of experience in marketing, communications, public relations, content strategy or a related discipline, including substantial responsibility for enterprise, philanthropic or comparably complex institutional communications.

• Demonstrated experience leading major philanthropic or comparably complex institutional communications campaigns, including strategy development, cross-disciplinary delivery, governance, executive consultation and performance evaluation.
• Experience advising executive leaders on sensitive, high-profile or reputationally significant communications and independently framing options, risks and recommended approaches.
• Experience directing multidisciplinary work across organizational boundaries, establishing standards and decision rights, and resolving competing priorities without direct authority.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex clinical, scientific, research, education or academic priorities for philanthropic and public audiences.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

According to Executive Order No. GA-48 of the State of Texas: for all positions that research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 117.001(2), Business and Commerce Code, it is required that both candidates for employment and employees have the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in communications, marketing, public relations, journalism or a related field with at least 10 year(s) of experience in leading advancement or philanthropic communications in academic medicine, health care, higher education or another complex mission-driven institution.

• Experience developing campaign communications strategies, broad cases for support, philanthropic message platforms, gift announcements, donor publications or impact communications.
• Experience serving as a marketing and communications adviser within an organization that includes Development writers, fundraising professionals and specialized communications functions.
• Experience advising senior leaders and managing sensitive, confidential or high-profile communications involving donors, gifts or institutional priorities.
• Experience coordinating communications across multiple organizational entities, audiences, brands or approval structures.
• Experience developing communications budgets, evaluating external providers and monitoring project expenditures and deliverables.
• Experience with web content management systems, email marketing and marketing automation platforms, social media management tools, analytics platforms and project-management systems.
• Familiarity with The University of Texas at Austin and the Central Texas health care and philanthropic environment.

Licenses, Registrations or Certifications
Required: None specified.
Preferred: None specified.

Salary
$115,633+ depending on qualifications

Working Environment/Equipment

• Standard office equipment and environment
• Repetitive use of a keyboard

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important   for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers:  You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers:  As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs.