The Development, Marketing & Communications  and Alumni Office develops and maximizes long term, mutually beneficial relationships between USP and the donor community, facilitates efficient and effective administration of and reporting on donor-funded projects/programmes, and delivers high-quality corporate communications, media liaison and public relations activities.

The Development Section communicates professionally with donors and internal constituents to ensure that donors are aware of USP’s capacity and that internal constituents are aware of the funding opportunities that exist or could be created. The DMC Office coordinates proposals for aid funding, its receipt, the responsible expenditure of said funding, and collates the quarterly reporting on its impacts. To support USP’s relationship with donors and responsible expenditure of aid funds, the Section regularly organizes donor meetings, engages in monitoring and evaluation of projects, and manages the University’s MOUs and funding agreements from the draft stage through to finalization. This stringent monitoring of the use and impact of aid funds is consistent with the University’s objectives, as laid out in the Strategic Plan.

The Marketing and Communications Section is responsible for gathering information on all the events and activities at the University and then sharing this information with the widest possible audience. This overarching goal is achieved through an effective marketing and branding strategy, consistent liaison with all USP departments (including regional campuses) to recommend marketing methods, the management of events to increase USP’s visibility, and the sourcing of corporate or donor sponsorship for those events. The Section leads on communications for the University, and is tasked with the production of well-written articles and publications (including press releases, the USP Beat, and articles), the editing of USP publications to guarantee clarity and accuracy, information gathering for substantial publication projects, oversight of the production process for all advertisements, the provision of technical advice to USP departments relating to the format and content of publications, the monitoring of adherence to corporate requirements, and the continuous improvement to all USP promotional materials. The Section maintains close connections and cooperation with the media to facilitate the aforementioned objectives.

The University Webmaster, responsible for the development and maintenance of the USP web site, is an essential part of the DMC Office. The Webmaster makes certain that the information on the web site is current, accurate, and easy to access.

The Regional Scholarships Team, which is contracted to provide high quality student services to Australian Regional Development Scholarships students, is another section of the DMC Office. The strategic oversight of the DMC Office on the RST is meant to ensure continuous improvement and the seamless expansion of the contract with Australia to also cover Emalus and Alafua campuses.

The Alumni Office, which is an integral part of the DMC Office, is responsible for managing the Alumni Database, producing merchandise, organizing Alumni programmes such as reunions and launching of Alumni chapters, both in the region and internationally.  The Alumni Office also seeks to provide opportunities for graduates in terms of career support, alumni benefits, networking with fellow graduates and friends of the University as well as engaging with the wider community.  

The final crucial component of the DMC Office's functions is to provide support to the Vice-Chancellor. This support includes speechwriting, report collation, drafting of letters, briefs and talking points, and the provision of advice on key strategies and activities under the VC's and DDMC's responsibilities as per the Strategic Plan 2013-2018. Significant additional support is provided to the VC pertaining to the establishment of the Pacific Islands Centre for Public Administration (PICPA) and CROP coordination, or the management of CROP-related issues and the administrative and strategic organization required to ensure USP's effective participation in CROP working groups.

All of the above activities support the university's vision to be "proactive, and to deliver excellence, be highly regarded locally, regionally and internationally and to provide sustainable solutions in the Pacific".

The Department is headed by Mr Jaindra K Karan since March 2010.