Responsibilities

• Lead regional and local media engagement efforts for William & Mary, working directly with university leadership, the President’s Executive Leadership Team, Cabinet. and the Office of Public Safety, promoting William & Mary and William & Mary’s national preeminence by pitching stories and promoting university staff and faculty as experts to news outlets while advancing the university’s reputation through integrated earned, digital, and emerging media strategies.
• Direct and manage media response and pitches, with focus on local and regional media.
• Serve as a senior liaison between media organizations, university leadership and campus partners (academic units and the provosts office, for example).
• Write and build a strategy for media plans for major university announcements or events.
• Manage institutional processes for media access, including film requests for campus.
• Monitor media coverage and identify themes, opportunities and risks, working closely with the Executive Director to build strategy.
• Coordinate media placements and prepare experts for interviews, with focus on local and regional media.
• Lead University Communication’s media workspace efforts during emergency or campus-wide incidents.
• Oversee media tracking and analysis to support the Media Relations and broader University Communications team’s efforts and strategies.
• Work closely with the University Advancement Research & Analytics team.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or a related field or equivalent combination of education or experience.
• Significant, progressively responsible experience in media relations, strategic communications, issue management or related work (typically 7 to 10 years).
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Excellent understanding of all primary media channels, including broadcast, digital and print.
• Experience serving as a media spokesperson for a complex organization.
• Ability to write and edit quickly and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the latest Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
• Knowledge of AP style and proficiency in social media usage and analytics.

Preferred

• Experience managing media monitoring platforms like Critical Mention, Meltwater, etc.
• Experience with emerging media channels, including podcasts and/or online publications.
• Previous experience in higher ed, government or other complex organization(s).