Responsibilities

• Communications Planning & Newsroom Operations: Serve as a central coordinator for campus communications activities by managing communications requests, coordinating priorities, monitoring project status, and facilitating collaboration across the Strategic Brand Communications team.
• Coordinate the CLU Newsroom editorial calendar and campus messaging schedule to ensure timely, strategic, and coordinated communications.
• Develop and coordinate communications plans supporting institutional initiatives, executive priorities, major announcements, University events, and special projects.
• Manage communications workflows and recommend process improvements that enhance collaboration, efficiency, and operational effectiveness.
• Coordinate communications activities to ensure consistency with University messaging, editorial standards, and brand guidelines.
• Editorial Planning & Content Development: Serve as a key member of the CLU Newsroom editorial team, collaborating with colleagues across the University to identify, develop, and promote stories that demonstrate California Lutheran University's mission, academic excellence, student success, alumni achievements, and community impact.
• Coordinate, research, write, edit, copy-edit, and finalize a variety of institutional communications, including newsroom articles, newsletters, executive correspondence, speeches, presentations, campus messages, video scripts, event promotional materials, website content, and other University communications.
• Coordinate, support, and provide backup to the University Editor in the development of the CLU Magazine and other institutional publications.
• Ensure editorial quality, consistency, accuracy, and adherence to University messaging and brand standards across communications.
• Executive, Internal & Crisis Communications: Support the Vice President for Strategic Brand Communications and other University leaders in developing executive communications, including speeches, presentations, executive correspondence, campus messages, and responses to selected executive communications.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, English, or a related field and five years of progressively responsible professional experience in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing communications, or a related field.

Preferred

• Master's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
• Experience in higher education or another mission-driven organization.
• Experience supporting executive communications and organizational communications.
• Experience with newsroom operations, editorial planning, or institutional publications.
• Experience supporting crisis communications.