Director of Media Relations and Communications

The Director of Media Relations and Communications is an integral member of the Communications team at UCM. They will report to and work directly with the Assistant Vice President and Deputy Chief Communications Officer to develop, implement, and assess comprehensive communications initiatives to support American University’s strategic priorities and reputation goals. The Director will serve as a key leader on the Communications team and will have the ability to effectively manage people–three Associate Directors and a PR Specialist–projects, and lead partnerships with university leaders and UCM colleagues. The director works with the university’s schools and colleges and their communications teams, coordinating messages, audience engagement, and story promotion. The director creates and executes strategies for media engagement; develops strong relationships with reporters; engages university stakeholders to leverage and elevate university messages; trains faculty, staff, and administrators for media and public engagement; and conducts measurements of media activities.Collaborate with UCM colleagues in digital and social media, marketing, and creative services to leverage skills and assets in support of comprehensive communications efforts. Serve as a key partner and leader to the communications team, cultivating a positive and productive environment.* Bachelor's degree.* 10+ years of relevant experience.* Superior written and oral communication skills with attention to detail and accuracy.* Demonstrated ability to develop and execute communication plans with measurable impact.* Demonstrated experience writing various communications modalities, such as briefings, news releases, talking points, scripts, and general correspondence concerning the organizations initiatives, strategies, goals, and performance.* Extensive relationships with key reporters and publications.* Discretion and management experience working with executive stakeholders and handling confidential information and sensitive matters.* Ability to manage projects and programs, which includes planning, developing timelines, determining resource requirements, evaluating progress, and reporting results.* Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.* Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.* Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.* American University is an

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