Are you passionate about the ability to shape the future of Thompson Rivers University’s brand as our next Executive Director of Marketing? Lead bold, research-driven strategies that inspire audiences worldwide and showcase TRU’s excellence on every stage.

Why TRU?
At Thompson Rivers University, we offer outstanding benefits—from generous vacation and leave options to employer paid comprehensive health coverage, pension plan, and professional development opportunities.

Why Kamloops?
Kamloops is one of the best cities to live in Canada! Situated in beautiful British Columbia’s southern interior, this sun-soaked city offers the perfect mix of natural beauty, affordability, and community spirit. With 2,000+ hours of sunshine each year, you can ski in the morning, bike in the afternoon, and unwind at a local winery or live music venue by evening. From hiking trails to art galleries, farmers’ markets to festivals, Kamloops offers big-city energy without the gridlock. It’s a welcoming, family-friendly community with a lower cost of living and room to grow—personally and professionally.

The Opportunity
Reporting to the Vice-President, International, the Executive Director of Marketing is the senior leader responsible for the development, governance, and execution of integrated, institution-wide marketing strategies that enhance TRU’s brand and reputation and advance the university’s mission, priorities, and long-term goals.

The Executive Director of Marketing, working closely and collaboratively with Strategic Communications, plays a pivotal role in shaping and safeguarding TRU’s brand identity, overseeing the university’s comprehensive marketing strategy, digital experience, and core creative services. The incumbent provides leadership in driving research-informed marketing initiatives executed across diverse channels, fostering meaningful, conversion-oriented engagement with TRU’s local, provincial, national, and global audiences.

The Executive Director of Marketing is a strategic and tactical partner to senior university leadership, divisional heads, faculties, and marketing professionals across campus, facilitating alignment between pan-institutional marketing priorities and area-specific objectives. The role is accountable for ensuring that marketing initiatives are cohesive, brand-aligned, and optimized for efficiency, impact, and measurable outcomes.

As a key liaison to major institutional units, including TRU World, TRU Open Learning, Enrolment Services, Advancement, and academic faculties—the Executive Director of Marketing champions the university’s brand narrative, ensuring that institutional strengths are communicated in ways that support the distinct needs of individual units while amplifying TRU’s overall market position and reputation.

The incumbent leads a full-service marketing department, providing direction and mentorship to a team of professionals in brand and identity, marketing strategy, creative services, and digital experience. The Executive Director of Marketing is accountable for fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence within the team, ensuring high-quality and consistent representation of TRU’s brand across all platforms and touchpoints.

The ideal candidate is a visionary and business-minded senior leader, with a proven record of leading complex marketing strategies, aligned with organizational goals and designed to achieve measurable and timely outcomes in a competitive and dynamic environment.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide leadership in developing and executing institution-wide, data-informed marketing strategies that align with TRU’s priorities, enhance its brand position, and drive reputation and enrolment outcomes.

• Oversee and govern the planning and delivery of comprehensive marketing initiatives, campaigns and projects that reinforce a positive image of TRU, working in close collaboration with Strategic Communications and senior leaders across the university.

• Lead and oversee TRU’s marketing portfolio, including brand and identity governance, integrated marketing strategy, creative services, and digital experience, ensuring alignment with the institution’s overall objectives.

• Champion brand continuity and storytelling across all faculties, divisions, and departments, fostering collaboration with academic and administrative leaders to ensure consistent and impactful marketing execution.

• Act as the university’s senior advisor on marketing principles, brand management, and best practices, providing strategic counsel to executive leadership, senior administrators, and campus marketing professionals.

• Govern the application and evolution of TRU’s brand and visual identity standards, ensuring consistency, market differentiation, and protection of the university’s reputation.

• Leverage market intelligence, research, and data analytics to inform high-impact marketing strategies and decision-making, ensuring responsiveness to market dynamics and emerging opportunities.

• Establish and oversee key performance indicators (KPIs) and analytics frameworks to evaluate the effectiveness and ROI of marketing strategies, campaigns, and activities.

• Lead resource planning, allocation, and optimization of the Marketing Office’s human, financial, and technological resources, ensuring operational excellence and fiscal accountability.

• Develop and manage a multi-year, results-oriented marketing operational plan and budget, aligned with institutional goals and responsive to emerging key opportunities.

• Foster a high-performance culture within the Marketing team through meaningful leadership, talent development, coaching, and mentorship, ensuring professional growth and succession planning.

• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders and shared service units (e.g., Enrolment, Advancement, Indigenous Education, Faculties) to advance integrated, pan-institutional marketing initiatives.

• Continuously monitor industry trends, technological advancements, and higher education marketing innovations, translating insights into initiatives relevant to TRU.

• Serve as the leader and advocate for the Marketing Office, representing marketing interests on senior university committees, governance bodies, and external forums.

REPORTS TO
Vice-President International

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS

• A post-secondary degree in marketing, business administration, or a related discipline. A master’s degree (MBA or related field) is a strong asset.
• A minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressive leadership experience in marketing, including significant experience at a senior level with responsibility for leading multi-disciplinary teams and managing large-scale marketing portfolios. Experience within the post-secondary sector or a comparable organization is preferred.
• Proven track record of developing and executing enterprise-wide, integrated marketing and brand strategies, with measurable impact on organizational reputation, stakeholder engagement, and/or enrolment growth.
• Extensive experience in leading and leveraging market research, audience insights, and data analytics to drive marketing decision-making and demonstrate ROI on marketing initiatives.
• Strong understanding of digital marketing strategies, technologies, and platforms, including marketing automation, digital experience optimization, and data-driven lead generation.
• Exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with executive leaders, academic and administrative units, and diverse stakeholder groups in a consultative and collegial environment.
• In-depth knowledge of governance structures and decision-making processes within complex, multi-stakeholder organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead in a resource-constrained environment, driving alignment across diverse interests and competing priorities.
• Expertise in balancing strategic vision with tactical execution, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex institutional goals into actionable, creative, and measurable marketing plans.
• Superior written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, with expertise in articulating vision, marketing insights, and value propositions to diverse audiences, including executive teams, boards, and external partners.
• Extensive experience in budget development, financial oversight, and resource optimization for complex, multi-channel marketing programs and teams.
• Demonstrated success in managing agency relationships and external vendors, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and optimizing outcomes.
• Exceptional team leadership and people management skills, with demonstrated success in leading high-performing teams, fostering professional growth, and driving a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability.