Aga Khan University (AKU) is a leading international university and healthcare provider committed to excellence in education, clinical care, research, and community engagement. AKU operates across three continents and six countries including Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and Afghanistan. Through an integrated network of academic faculties, teaching hospitals, research platforms and development initiatives, AKU delivers meaningful impact to diverse communities worldwide.

Position Overview

Aga Khan University invites applications for the position of Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMCO) — a senior executive leadership role reporting to the President or his designate. The CMCO will define and drive the University’s marketing and communications vision, ensuring that institutional priorities are translated into clear, credible, and high-impact market and stakeholder engagement strategies.

As a member of the senior leadership team, the CMCO will provide strategic counsel to executive leadership and lead a globally distributed function to deliver aligned, measurable, and reputation-enhancing communications outcomes.

Responsibilities or duties

Strategic Brand & Market Leadership

• Develop and steward a unified brand architecture across academic, clinical, research, and international programmes
• Define brand positioning frameworks and audience strategies across various stakeholders
• Ensure consistent institutional identity and message standards across all channels and campuses.

Institute Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement multi-year marketing and communications strategies and annual operating plans
• Establish performance frameworks, KPIs, and ROI measurement models
• Create enterprise communications governance standards and operating policies.

Executive & Reputation Advisory

• Advise the President and senior leadership on communications positioning and stakeholder sensitivity
• Lead institutional issues management and crisis communications response
• Monitor reputation risk indicators and guide proactive mitigation strategies.

Media & Public Engagement

• Build and manage senior-level media relationships across priority markets
• Direct media strategy for institutional announcements and high-visibility initiatives
• Oversee spokesperson strategy and media readiness frameworks.

Digital Strategy & Channel Performance

• Lead and execute University’s digital marketing, website, and social platform strategy
• Strengthen analytics and performance tracking across communication channels
• Drive modernization of digital engagement and outreach approaches.

Stakeholder & Internal Communications

• Design integrated internal communications frameworks across faculty, staff, and student communities
• Partner with institutional leaders to align messaging across units and functions
• Strengthen cross-campus communications coordination.

Content & Creative Direction

• Set University’s content strategy and storytelling standards
• Oversee development of flagship publications, campaigns, and multimedia assets
• Ensure message clarity, audience relevance, and quality control.

Leadership & External Representation

• Facilitate the University’s leadership in its strategic planning and institutional initiatives
• Represent AKU in relevant external forums and partnerships related to marketing and communications
• Support visibility-building collaborations and alliances.

Market Intelligence, Insights, and Innovation

• Direct brand perception, stakeholder insight, and market intelligence studies
• Integrate research findings into planning and positioning decisions
• Strengthen evidence-based communications planning
• Explore and guide the adoption of emerging technologies, including AI enabled analytics and content approaches to enhance engagement, digital modernization, insight generation and communication effectiveness.

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

Qualifications & Experience

• Advanced degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Public Affairs, or a related field
• Professional certifications in leadership, digital strategy, or brand management preferred
• Extensive senior leadership experience in strategic communications, marketing, or public affairs
• Experience in complex institutions such as higher education, healthcare, development, or mission-driven organizations strongly preferred.

Leadership & Functional Expertise

• Proven success leading enterprise-wide communications and marketing strategies across diverse stakeholders and geographies
• Demonstrated expertise in media relations, crisis communications, and reputation management
• Strong track record of building and leading high-performing, multi-location teams
• Experience advising executive leadership on communications and positioning strategy.

Capabilities & Attributes

• Excellent judgment in high-stakes and sensitive environments
• Strong influence, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Global mindset with cultural fluency and cross-regional leadership capability
• Strategic thinker with execution discipline and results orientation.

• Develop and steward a unified brand architecture across academic, clinical, research, and international programmes
• Define brand positioning frameworks and audience strategies across various stakeholders
• Ensure consistent institutional identity and message standards across all channels and campuses.
• Develop and implement multi-year marketing and communications strategies and annual operating plans
• Establish performance frameworks, KPIs, and ROI measurement models
• Create enterprise communications governance standards and operating policies.
• Advise the President and senior leadership on communications positioning and stakeholder sensitivity
• Lead institutional issues management and crisis communications response
• Monitor reputation risk indicators and guide proactive mitigation strategies.
• Build and manage senior-level media relationships across priority markets
• Direct media strategy for institutional announcements and high-visibility initiatives
• Oversee spokesperson strategy and media readiness frameworks.
• Lead and execute University’s digital marketing, website, and social platform strategy
• Strengthen analytics and performance tracking across communication channels
• Drive modernization of digital engagement and outreach approaches.
• Design integrated internal communications frameworks across faculty, staff, and student communities
• Partner with institutional leaders to align messaging across units and functions
• Strengthen cross-campus communications coordination.
• Set University’s content strategy and storytelling standards
• Oversee development of flagship publications, campaigns, and multimedia assets
• Ensure message clarity, audience relevance, and quality control.
• Facilitate the University’s leadership in its strategic planning and institutional initiatives
• Represent AKU in relevant external forums and partnerships related to marketing and communications
• Support visibility-building collaborations and alliances.
• Direct brand perception, stakeholder insight, and market intelligence studies
• Integrate research findings into planning and positioning decisions
• Strengthen evidence-based communications planning
• Explore and guide the adoption of emerging technologies, including AI enabled analytics and content approaches to enhance engagement, digital modernization, insight generation and communication effectiveness.

• Strategic leadership
• Enterprise communications impact
• Brand architecture development
• Brand positioning frameworks
• Audience strategies
• Institutional identity and message standards
• Multi-year marketing and communications strategies
• Annual operating plans
• Performance frameworks
• KPIs
• ROI measurement models
• Enterprise communications governance standards
• Operating policies
• Executive advisory
• Reputation management
• Issues management
• Crisis communications response
• Reputation risk monitoring
• Proactive mitigation strategies
• Media relations
• Media strategy
• Spokesperson strategy
• Media readiness frameworks
• Digital marketing
• Website strategy
• Social platform strategy
• Analytics and performance tracking
• Digital engagement modernization
• Internal communications frameworks
• Stakeholder alignment
• Cross-campus communications coordination
• Content strategy
• Storytelling standards
• Publication development
• Campaign development
• Multimedia asset development
• Message clarity
• Audience relevance
• Quality control
• External representation
• Strategic planning facilitation
• Market intelligence studies
• Stakeholder insight studies
• Evidence-based communications planning
• AI enabled analytics
• AI enabled content approaches
• Influence
• Negotiation
• Stakeholder engagement
• Global mindset
• Cultural fluency
• Cross-regional leadership
• Strategic thinking
• Execution discipline
• Results orientation

• Advanced degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Public Affairs, or a related field
• Professional certifications in leadership, digital strategy, or brand management preferred
• Extensive senior leadership experience in strategic communications, marketing, or public affairs
• Experience in complex institutions such as higher education, healthcare, development, or mission-driven organizations strongly preferred.
• Proven success leading enterprise-wide communications and marketing strategies across diverse stakeholders and geographies
• Demonstrated expertise in media relations, crisis communications, and reputation management
• Strong track record of building and leading high-performing, multi-location teams
• Experience advising executive leadership on communications and positioning strategy.
• Excellent judgment in high-stakes and sensitive environments
• Strong influence, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Global mindset with cultural fluency and cross-regional leadership capability
• Strategic thinker with execution discipline and results orientation.