New Haven, Connecticut
Posted: 10-Feb-26
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Internal Number: 132298WD
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Salary Range
$90,000.00 - $165,750.00Overview
The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) is a key member of the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA)’s Executive Leadership Team. Reporting to the Deputy Director and Director of Public Engagement the CCO provides strategic leadership for the development and execution of a comprehensive communications strategy that advances the YCBA’s mission and amplifies its impact. The CCO directs an integrated team responsible for shaping the museum’s public profile, enhancing its visibility and audience engagement across marketing, communications, and design.
The CCO oversees the conception and delivery of campaigns that amplify the reputation of the YCBA’s exhibitions, programs, and publications, ensuring consistent messaging across print, digital, and social platforms. A visible and enthusiastic advocate for the YCBA, the CCO serves as its spokesperson to the media and broader public, leading all press and media relations, including press previews, media tours, and other public-facing events. They also manage emergency and crisis communications, guiding the museum through sensitive situations. The CCO plays a central role in building long-term relationships with writers, editors, designers, peer cultural institutions, corporate sponsors, government agencies, and other partners to extend the museum’s reach.
The CCO directs the creation of visual and written materials that define and advance the YCBA’s brand. Collaborating with internal teams and external designers, editors, and partners, they ensure a unified and welcoming institutional voice in marketing, exhibitions, publications, and digital initiatives. They provide editorial leadership across platforms-from interpretive texts and social media posts to newsletters and reports-maintaining clarity, consistency, and quality in all museum communication. They translate complex scholarly and curatorial material into accessible, compelling stories that enhance engagement and strengthen the museum’s public profile.
As a member of senior leadership, the CCO contributes to shaping the YCBA’s strategic direction, ensuring that communications initiatives support the museum’s long-term goals. They manage at least four staff members, along with student workers and interns. They are responsible for the department’s budget and calendar, and supervise external vendors and freelancers, including designers, editors, writers, translators, and videographers. The role collaborates closely with the University’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications, as well as communications colleagues across campus, to ensure alignment and support shared institutional objectives.
The successful candidate will bring significant communications and marketing leadership experience, a strong understanding of how marketing drives institutional visibility, and a proven record of partnering with major PR agencies on strategic, high-impact campaigns.
Required Skills and Abilities
1.Teamwork / Communication: Strong collaborative skills; ability to work cross-departmentally to achieve shared goals. Exceptional writing and editing skills for a variety of formats and audiences; commitment to clear, accessible, and compelling storytelling.
2. Leadership: Proven experience guiding teams, inspiring excellence, and managing complex projects from concept to execution.
3. Innovation: Openness to new ideas and their implementation; ability to adapt to changing circumstances and play a key role in creating an inclusive museum environment.
4. Strategic Thinking: Ability to plan long-term communications strategies that build awareness, deepen engagement, and support institutional growth.
5. Visual Literacy: Understanding of visual communication principles and the ability to lead design and branding efforts across media.
Principal Responsibilities
1. Provide vision, leadership, and counsel for the unit’s communication, marketing, and branding. Lead short- and long-term communication planning for insights into audiences, channels, and culture to elevate awareness and understanding of the school and its faculty and support its mission, goals, and objectives. Ensure that strategic communications emanate from, amplify, and actively assist with implementing the strategic plan. 2. Serve as a member of the Leadership Team, cultivating strong relationships to enhance the communications objectives. Craft and disseminate the narrative and mission to various audiences in collaboration with the Leadership team. 3. Develop and implement a comprehensive media relations plan at the local, national, and global levels and across various platforms. Manage relationships with external media sources, including developing and maintaining regular contact with media representatives in multiple disciplines. Pursue media coverage creatively and aggressively. 4. Help to build communications capacity and impact for key stakeholders in the School/unit (the Dean, faculty, administration, and others) by working with them on content, developing training as needed, and preparing them for media interviews. 5. Develop and implement an integrated digital communications strategy. Set the vision and strategic plan for web design and maintenance. 6. Lead a data-driven process to identify key messages, stakeholders, and audiences and work consistently to tell stories, including translating faculty scholarship into impactful stories for the public. Develop benchmarking criteria and track and evaluate the effectiveness of communications strategies regularly. 7. Maintain the Yale brand and graphic identity standards. Create a consistent, unified message and brand and ensure consistent application and use across constituencies. 8. Lead and support a talented communications team, including web operations, graphic design, media relations, and outreach specialists. 9. Create and implement an appropriate and comprehensive crisis communication strategy. Lead responses for the School/unit, Dean, and Leadership Team in crises require 24/7 attention and intense media/public scrutiny. Articulate the School/unit’s position via personal interviews or written responses. 10. Manage relationships with key campus stakeholders with a high degree of professionalism, judgment, and understanding of stakeholder goals. Coordinate and collaborate with other communications professionals to achieve institutional goals, including, but not limited to, the Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communication. 11. Support efforts to advance the School/unit's commitment to diversity and inclusion. 12. Perform other duties as assigned. Required Education and Experience Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, Humanities, or related field and eight years of experience in public relations, journalism, television, corporate communications, or agency work or an equivalent combination of education and experience.Job Posting Date
02/09/2026Job Category
ManagerBargaining Unit
NONCompensation Grade
Administration & OperationsCompensation Grade Profile
Senior Manager; Senior Program Leader (M6)Time Type
Full timeDuration Type
Staff Fixed Duration (Fixed Term)Work Model
On-siteLocation
1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, ConnecticutBackground Check Requirements
All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.
Health Requirements
Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.
Posting Disclaimer
Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring department.
The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.
Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).
Note
Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.