The Role Was Built Wrong From the Start

Some job descriptions aren’t really job descriptions.

They’re lists of everything a team hasn’t had the people, time, budget, or structure to handle well.

That was my main takeaway after reviewing 42 recent higher education job postings tied to advancement communications, development communications, campaign communications, donor communications, alumni communications, and stewardship communications.

Earlier this week, I shared a LinkedIn post naming the seven structural problems that stood out most clearly.

But the bigger issue isn’t just that some job descriptions are weak. It’s what they reveal:

An advancement communications design problem.

A job posting doesn’t tell the whole story. It can’t show every internal relationship, informal path of influence, or bit of support someone may have once they’re in the role. But it does show what an institution is asking the role to carry.

And across these postings, the pattern was very clear: institutions are asking for strategy, but often designing for production.

Writing, editing, and content creation appeared in 41 of the 42 postings I reviewed. Strategic communications planning appeared in 30. Project management or editorial planning appeared in 29. Multichannel content appeared in 28. Campaign communications appeared in 16. Website management or digital platforms appeared in 15.

None of those responsibilities are wrong on their own.

The problem is the pile-up.

A little writing. A little strategy. A little web. A little event support. A little stewardship. A little campaign messaging. A little project management. A little design. A little “other duties as assigned,” which can hide a lot.

When all of that lands on one role without clear priorities, the urgent work is almost always going to win (and keep winning).

The proposal due tomorrow. The event remarks needed by Friday. The web update. The gift announcement. The email that has to go today. The campaign language someone needs for a meeting that starts in two hours.

Meanwhile, the work that would make the whole system better keeps getting pushed back: clearer audience strategy, stronger message discipline, better gift officer support, cleaner workflows, campaign readiness, and a healthier working relationship between Advancement and Central MarCom.

That’s how a role with a strategy title becomes a production desk. And when that happens, the person in the role often gets blamed for the wrong problem. They’re not strategic enough. They’re not fast enough. They’re not proactive enough. They can’t keep up.

Sometimes that may be true. But often, the simpler answer is this:

The role was built wrong from the start.

Advancement communications can no longer afford to be "just a content function."

It sits closer to donor strategy, campaign planning, gift officer support, alumni engagement, stewardship, and institutional storytelling than many job descriptions seem to recognize.

This shows up clearly in campaign work. Campaign comms needs access to the strategy early enough to shape the message, not just clean it up once it’s overdue.

It also shows up in the relationship between Advancement and Central MarCom. The work overlaps, but it’s not the same. If no one has defined how the two groups should work together, everyone feels that in mixed messages, slow approvals, duplicated work, and missed chances. These are big organizational costs that often don't get called out the way they should.

Hiring one more person won’t fix that if the role itself is carrying too much.

A great hire can help. But even a great hire can only do so much inside a poorly designed role.

So before posting the next advancement communications job, leaders should slow down and realistically ask what problem they’re really trying to solve.

Do they need a writer? A strategist? A campaign communications lead? A project manager? A better bridge to central MarCom? A clearer reporting line? A better team structure?

Or are they trying to pack every unmet need into one job description?

A job description shouldn’t be a storage bin for everything Advancement needs help with. It should be a clear choice about the work, the authority, the support, and the conditions needed for someone to succeed.

The next advancement communications hire may be important. But the design of the role may matter even more.

The job posting comes later.

The design comes first.

Dan