Director, Brand, Marketing and Research

At the University of Waterloo, we create and promote a culture where everyone can reach their full potential. As an employee, you get support & opportunities that empower you to advance your career. Explore how we can bring big ideas to life, together. The University is a welcoming workplace for those of all abilities, interests, and expertise. As part of our workforce, you can do what you do best, every day.

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Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.

 The internal posting deadline for this position is Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 11:59PM. 

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

University of Waterloo is a leading global innovation hub that drives economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 41,000 students, we are home to the world's largest co-op education talent pipeline, to game-changing research and technology, and to an unmatched entrepreneurial culture. Together, these create partnerships and solutions to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

At the university, the Marketing and Communications function is responsible for enhancing and protecting the university’s reputation. The marketing function specifically leads through advertising and promotion, while developing governance, protocol and templates to uphold consistent, unified and effective marketing activities across campus.

The Director, Brand, Marketing and Research leads the University’s institutional brand, marketing strategy, and market research agenda. The role defines and advances a clear, differentiated brand and ensures marketing strategies are insight-driven, integrated, and aligned to institutional priorities. Serving as the University’s senior lead for brand, marketing, and market research, the Director establishes frameworks and governance to enable consistent execution across a decentralized environment. The role is accountable for supporting effective marketing outcomes, improved engagement, and consistent execution of institutional brand and marketing activities.

Key Accountabilities

Brand and Marketing Strategy

• Leads the development and coordination of the University's enterprise brand architecture, positioning strategy, audience framework, and institutional marketing strategy to establish a differentiated market position and advance institutional priorities.

• Establishes institutional marketing priorities, performance measures, and strategic direction, translating University objectives into integrated marketing strategies that advance recruitment, reputation, partnerships, advancement, and community engagement outcomes.

• Provides strategic counsel to senior leaders and partners on brand, marketing, and market dynamics to inform planning and decision-making.

• Ensures strategies are aligned with institutional goals and designed to deliver measurable impact.

Brand Governance and Institutional Standards

• Establishes and supports institutional brand governance, standards, frameworks, and role clarity to guide brand strategy, messaging, visual identity, and marketing activities across the University.

• Ensures consistent and appropriate application of brand across Faculties and Administrative units.

• Provides guidance on brand application, messaging, and reputational risk management.

• Supports the implementation of the university’s visual identity, licensing and trademark frameworks, brand toolkits, and institutional wayfinding and map standards.

Marketing and Brand Leadership

• Leads the institutional advertising, paid media, and channel strategy (including digital platforms and owned channels) to maximize audience reach, engagement and return on investment.

• Works closely with Recruitment Marketing, Digital Experience, Creative Studio, and institutional partners to align brand strategy, marketing priorities, audience insight, and campaign planning with institutional objectives and operational needs.

• Ensures enterprise-wide integration of marketing planning with campus partners across the University in alignment with institutional priorities.

• Leads the evolution of institutional marketing capabilities, practices and technologies to improve effectiveness, efficiency and audience engagement.

Measurement, Insights, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversees the market research and insights function, including brand tracking, audience research, performance analysis and trends analysis (sector, competitors, etc.).

• Develops institutional frameworks for measuring brand health, marketing effectiveness and audience engagement.

• Leads testing of brand, creative and key-message effectiveness with priority audiences to inform strategic refinement and continuous improvement.

• Integrates research, data, and insights into marketing and institutional decision-making.

Functional and People Leadership

• Leads, develops and evaluates managers and professional staff within the Brand, Marketing and Research portfolio.

• Establishes team priorities, allocates work and resources, and ensures alignment with institutional marketing and brand objectives.

• Provides functional leadership for brand and marketing practice across the university by developing shared frameworks, guidance and tools that improve consistency, quality and strategic discipline.

• Promotes audience-first, insight-led and outcomes-based marketing practice across the function, helping campus partners strengthen local planning while reducing duplication and fragmentation.

• Provides advisory support to faculties and academic support units on brand application, positioning, audience strategy and use of shared marketing frameworks, tools and measures.

• Supports initiatives that strengthen institutional marketing capability, improve coordination and enable the effective use of shared resources.

Resource Stewardship and External Relationships

• Oversees budgets, research investments, and external supplier relationships relevant to the portfolio, ensuring sound stewardship, clear prioritization and value from external support.

• Establishes priorities and allocation of resources across the portfolio to support institutional objectives and maximize impact.

• Represents the university with agencies, research partners and other external collaborators where institutional brand, market insight or marketing strategy expertise is required.

• Ensures external agencies, research partners and media suppliers are engaged through clear briefs, governance expectations and performance measures.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Undergraduate degree in marketing, communications, business, or a related field.

• Graduate degree is considered an asset.

Experience

• 7-9 years of progressive experience in brand strategy, marketing, or communications or a related field.

• 3-5 years’ experience leading, managing, and developing staff within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

• Demonstrated experience delivering enterprise-level brand, marketing, and research strategy across multiple audiences, markets or channels.

• Experience applying market research and audience insights to inform strategy and decision-making.

• Experience working effectively across decentralized or matrixed environments and partnering with recruitment operations, academic units and senior leaders.

• Experience managing budgets and external partners in support of marketing delivery.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Strong expertise in brand strategy, positioning, and governance.

• Advanced knowledge of integrated marketing, advertising, and campaign planning.

• Ability to translate complex institutional priorities into clear, compelling marketing strategies.

• Strong analytical capability and ability to translate research into strategic insight

• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence diverse stakeholders.

• Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation, and executive influencing skills.

• Strong understanding of data-driven marketing and performance measurement.

• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change and influence adoption of enterprise standards and practices.

• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic priorities, operational requirements and stakeholder interests in a complex environment.

• Demonstrated political acuity, diplomacy, and sound judgment when navigating complex organizational, stakeholder, and reputational considerations.

• Strong relationship-management capability across senior leadership and distributed communications environments.

• Understanding of higher education or similarly complex organizations is an asset.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion.  As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.