Responsibilities

• Strategic Communications Leadership
• - Develop and lead a proactive university news bureau that identifies, prioritizes, and promotes stories highlighting USC's academic excellence, groundbreaking research, faculty expertise, student success, philanthropy, and institutional impact.
• - Identify and elevate timely stories that showcase the university's people, ideas, discoveries, and achievements to strengthen USC's reputation and inspire pride across the Trojan community.
• - Establish editorial priorities and oversee a strategic media content calendar to ensure timely, coordinated storytelling aligned with university priorities and major news opportunities.
• - Lead the creation and execution of integrated communications campaigns across multiple platforms, including websites, social media, digital publications, video, photography, and traditional media.
• - Stay current on emerging communications trends, technologies, and best practices to continually enhance communications effectiveness.
• Media Relations & External Engagement
• - Develop and manage a university-wide faculty experts' program and speakers' bureau to connect journalists with USC subject matter experts and position faculty as trusted thought leaders.
• - Serve as a trusted communications advisor to university leadership, providing strategic counsel on media opportunities, messaging, reputational issues, and proactive communications planning.
• - Lead media preparedness initiatives, including media training and coaching for university leadership, faculty, and subject matter experts.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or a combination of education and experience equivalent to the required degree.
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in journalism, public relations, media relations, or strategic communications.
• Management experience leading communications, journalism, or public relations teams.

Preferred

• Seven (7) or more years of communications leadership experience.
• Experience leading communications or media relations within a higher education or other complex organization.
• Experience developing strategic communications initiatives that strengthen organizational reputation and engage diverse audiences.
• Experience building or leading proactive media relations programs, newsroom operations, or editorial content strategies.
• Experience developing executive communications, thought leadership, or faculty/expert visibility initiatives.
• Experience leading integrated communications strategies across earned media, digital communications, social media, and multimedia platforms.
• Experience using media monitoring, media database, and analytics platforms (e.g., Meltwater, Muck Rack, Cision, or similar tools).

Benefits

• To support faculty and staff well-being, USC provides benefits-eligible employees with a broad range of benefits and perks to help protect their and their dependents’ health, wealth, and future. These benefits are available as part of the overall compensation and total rewards package.