Director of Media Relations

Colby, KS (On-site)

Salary Not AvailableDirector/Executive8+ years expFull time

Posted 5 months ago

Top 1% of applicants do these two things.

The other 99% submit and hope. You're about to do something different.

Job Summary

A media relations leadership role focused on developing proactive strategies, pitching stories, and serving as a college spokesperson. It requires a strong track record in public or media relations, the ability to support senior leaders, and collaboration across university partners. The position emphasizes crisis support, media training, and building relationships with journalists and outlets.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Develop and implement a proactive media relations strategy aligned with institutional goals.
  • Identify, pitch, and place stories with regional, national, and international media outlets.
  • Manage incoming media inquiries; coordinate interviews, filming, and spokesperson engagement.
  • Serve as a College spokesperson and provide on-call support during crisis or sensitive situations.
  • Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with journalists and media outlets (some travel may be required)
  • Promote faculty expertise, research, editorial content, and institutional initiatives.
  • Support senior leaders, faculty and staff with media preparation, briefing materials, and talking points.
  • Oversee media events, press conferences, and journalist visits.
  • Provide media training and guidance to faculty and staff as needed.
  • Monitor media coverage, identify emerging issues, and support mitigation strategies as necessary

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent combination of education and experience
  • 8-10+ years of experience in public or media relations, with progressively increasing responsibility; agency experience helpful

Preferred

  • Demonstrated success placing national news stories and feature coverage
  • Strong media judgment, writing ability, and storytelling skills
  • Established relationships with top-tier or industry media outlets; portfolio required
  • Experience supporting senior leaders and navigating complex or sensitive issues
  • Ability to work collaboratively across diverse constituencies in a higher education environment
  • Highly organized, deadline-driven, and comfortable working evenings or weekends as needed
  • Fluency with social media as a media relations and amplification tool
  • Deep understanding of the evolving media landscape and issues impacting higher education
  • Commitment to Colby’s mission, values, and inclusive community
Colby College logo

Colby College

Founded in 1813, Colby College is the 12th oldest liberal arts college in the United States. Distinctive in its offerings, Colby provides an intimate, undergraduate-focused learning environment with a breadth of programs presenting students and faculty with unparalleled opportunities. A vibrant and fully integrated academic, residential, and cocurricular experience is sustained by a diverse and supportive community. Located in Waterville, Maine, Colby is a global institution with students representing nearly every U.S. state and approximately 70 countries.Colby’s model provides the scale and impact of larger universities coupled with intensive learning in a community committed to scholarship and discovery, multidisciplinary approaches to integrated learning, study in the liberal arts, and leading-edge programs addressing the world’s most complex challenges. Its network of partnerships with prestigious cultural, research, medical, and business institutions extends educational and scholarly collaborations, providing students with unmatched experiences leading to postgraduate success.The College’s wide variety of programs and labs provides students and the community access to unique experiences: the Colby College Museum of Art, the finest college art museum in the country, and the Lunder Institute for American Art have made the College a nationally and internationally recognized center for art scholarship; DavisConnects prepares students for lifelong success by combining a forward-thinking liberal arts education with extensive internship, research, and global opportunities for all students regardless of their personal networks and financial circumstances; and the 350,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, opened in 2020, is the most advanced and comprehensive NCAA D-III facility in the country. In fall 2021, Colby opened the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the first such institute at a liberal arts college.

Founded in 2003
Waterville, Maine, USA
2K employees (148 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
700K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
42.2%
Direct
45.3%
Referral
11.3%
Social
0.8%
Paid
0.3%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~2K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
77 (4% of company)

Recent News