Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Description

Position Summary

The Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMCO) serves as a strategic partner to the CEO and a member of ISTE+ASCD’s executive leadership team. The CMCO is responsible for telling our story, increasing brand awareness, overseeing product marketing efforts, and overseeing journalism and thought-leadership content creation, including flagship editorial platforms.

The CMCO will establish and lead the new Marketing & Communications Division. They will ensure seamless execution of product marketing, official communications, and digital content creation. These efforts advance ISTE+ASCD’s mission and strategic priorities. The CMCO operates at both strategic and operational levels, translating organizational goals into cohesive narratives, campaigns, and engagement strategies. These support growth, reputation, and impact.

The CMCO establishes success metrics and designs systems to continually track and share performance and outcomes aligned to those metrics. As a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team, this role provides counsel on brand positioning, stakeholder engagement, and communications strategy. The CMCO ensures ISTE+ASCD’s voice is consistent, credible, and aligned with its commitment to equitable, transformational learning experiences.

Key Responsibilities

Division Leadership & Enterprise Strategy

• Establish and lead the Marketing & Communications Division, defining its mission, structure, and performance expectations.
• Serve as the owner of enterprise marketing, communications, and brand strategy.
• Align marketing and communications priorities with organizational strategy, revenue goals, and long-term growth objectives.
• Act as a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team on brand, audience, positioning, and reputational considerations.
• Translate organizational strategy into marketing and communications plans that drive awareness, engagement, and value creation.

Marketing Strategy, Operations & Performance

• Lead end-to-end marketing strategy across product marketing, creative services, UX strategy, content production, inbound and outbound marketing, and marketing operations.
• Establish benchmarks, KPIs, and analytics frameworks to measure effectiveness, ROI, and contribution to organizational goals.
• Oversee integrated marketing strategies that support membership growth, event participation, product adoption, and partner engagement.
• Allocate financial and human resources to ensure cost-effective execution and strong performance outcomes.
• Oversee external agencies and vendors to ensure high-quality delivery aligned to strategy and budget.
• Oversee division budgets, resource allocation, and vendor relationships.

Brand, Communications & Thought Leadership

• Serve as the “storyteller in chief” to ensure the message about who we are and what we stand for is clearly articulated to the community.
• Oversee the implementation of the ISTE+ASCD brand, ensuring consistency, integrity, and alignment across all channels, platforms, and experiences.
• Lead corporate, executive, and external communications, including public relations, media relations, crisis communications, and reputation management.
• Oversee the creation of our news and thought-leadership products (including EdSurge and EL Magazine).
• Position ISTE+ASCD and its leadership as trusted voices and thought leaders in education, edtech, and learning innovation.
• Oversee messaging frameworks, narrative development, executive communications, and key organizational announcements.
• Lead crisis preparedness and response planning in coordination with executive leadership.

Audience Engagement & Digital Strategy

• Direct integrated digital engagement strategies across web, email, social, content platforms, and campaigns.
• Use audience insights, market intelligence, and data analytics to inform strategy, optimize performance, and guide investment decisions.
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure cohesive go-to-market execution for products, services, and initiatives.
• Ensure digital and marketing experiences reflect accessibility, equity, and user-centered design principles.

Team Leadership, Culture & Capability Building

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing Marketing & Communications organization.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, workflows, and decision-making structures to support execution at scale.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Develop internal marketing and communications capability across the organization through partnership and consultation.

PRIORITY WILL BE PROVIDED TO CANDIDATES LIVING IN THE DC METRO AREA (MD, DC, or Northern VA); you will be REQUIRED to come into the Arlington, VA office one day per week.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Advanced degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Education, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in marketing, communications, or brand strategy.
• Demonstrated success leading integrated marketing and communications functions with enterprise-level responsibility.
• Experience in education, edtech, nonprofit, or membership-based organizations is strongly preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Enterprise-level strategic thinking with strong execution discipline.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with executive presence.
• Deep expertise in marketing strategy, brand management, communications, and digital engagement.
• Strong data literacy with experience using analytics to guide decision-making.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders.
• Financial and operational acumen, including budget and vendor management.

Leadership Qualities

• Clear, steady leadership style that brings structure to complexity.
• High emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust across diverse teams.
• Commitment to equity, access, and inclusive representation in storytelling.
• Ability to balance creativity with accountability and operational rigor.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and integrity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience overseeing editorial, journalistic, or media-based thought-leadership platforms.
• Experience leading marketing and communications through organizational transformation.
• Familiarity with global educator audiences and professional learning ecosystems.
• Experience supporting revenue growth through integrated marketing strategies.
• Comfort operating in a matrixed, evolving organization.

Work Environment

• Normal demands associated with a fast-paced office environment.
• Daily contact with external customers, vendors, colleagues, associates, supervisors, or staff at all levels of the organization.

Physical Demands

• Ability to work at a computer for extended periods of time.
• Occasional business travel will be required.
• Participation at ASCD/ISTE events may involve long workdays and may include moving, packing, and unpacking materials, setting up tables or chairs, and walking long distances.

Learn more here