Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (CMCO)

Introduction

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.

Marketing and Communications plays a critical role at AKU — shaping institutional voice, strengthening brand equity, enhancing stakeholder trust, and ensuring consistent, high-quality engagement across academic, clinical, research, and community audiences. As AKU continues to expand its reach and influence, integrated and strategic communications leadership is central to advancing institutional priorities and global visibility.

AKU is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to safeguarding and aims to adopt appropriate standards for ensuring and promoting a respectful relationship with and between all faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

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.

This role carries institution-wide scope and is accountable for strengthening and transforming AKU’s brand position, public voice, and stakeholder trust across its academic, clinical, research, and community portfolios. Additionally, the role also includes a mandate to further evolve and modernize the university’s marketing and communication capabilities.

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.

The individual will work closely with academic and healthcare leadership, faculty, and student-facing units to articulate and promote the University’s distinctive value across its teaching, research, and clinical units. The role will ensure that marketing and communications strategies authentically reflect academic excellence, innovative pedagogy, clinical quality, and patient-centered care including supporting student recruitment and engagement while strengthening healthcare positioning, institutional reputation, and stakeholder trust across the University and its healthcare network.

Role Scope & Key Responsibilities

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.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will bring deep strategic leadership experience and a strong record of enterprise communications impact.

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.

Why This Role Matters

This is a high-impact executive opportunity to shape and strengthen the voice, visibility, and reputation of a globally respected institution. The CMCO will influence how AKU is positioned, understood, and trusted across AKU’s global campuses and the individual will oversee a significant institutional communications and marketing operating budget.

To Apply

Interested candidates should provide following to Vice President Human Resources at vp.humanresources@aku.edu

• A covering letter expressing interest and suitability for the role;
• An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae;

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Applications should be submitted latest by April 19, 2026