1. Develops, organizes, and directs a comprehensive, data-driven, and proactive media relations strategy and program that supports the long-term goals of the Office of Public Affairs and Communications and Yale University. 2. Serve as the senior member of the media relations team responsible for managing junior members of the team; helping to motivate the team and help to instill in them best practices and a desire to see Yale excel in media coverage. 3. Play a key role in the university's crisis communications plans and responses 4. Manage a set number of departmental and unit beats and serve as the primary media contact for those beats. 5. Serve as university spokesperson as appropriate. 6. Build and maintain relationships with local, national, and international media outlets as well as individual journalists poised to tell various aspects of Yale's story, individually and through the media-relations team. Facilitate the connection between key Yale faculty and relevant journalists. 7. Create and recommend a strategic media-relations strategy for the university. 8. Prepare media briefings for important interviews, inclusive of issue framing and relevant talking points. 9. Triage the daily influx of media inquiries to Yale. 10. Write distinct media plans for specific programs, projects, or events (e.g., major new appointments, new buildings, programs, partnerships/collaborations). 11. Manage the daily monitoring of key performance indicators bearing on Yale's performance in the media; constantly adjust tactics based on this data. 12. Provide research and analysis of reporter coverage of Yale. 13. Manage the creation and distribution of media clips (frequency and audience to be established by the Associate Vice President). 14. Serve as a senior team member on the media relations team and steps in to manage all media relations employees in the absence of the Associate Vice President to high performance. 15. Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Required Skill/ability 1: Metrics-driven/results-oriented proactive media relations skills. Excellent grasp of all primary media channels, including broadcast, digital/social, and print. Solid grasp of crisis-communication fundamentals.
Required Skill/ability 2: Excellent written and verbal communications skills. Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain a high level of discretion with sensitive, confidential information.
Required Skill/ability 3: Experience with digital communications and social media. Highly developed ability to deal with all media issues, from routine to highly contentious.
Required Skill/ability 4: Proven ability to lead, inspire and motivate the team to generate proactive results as well as champion change, align people to a shared purpose. Strong organizational skills and a demonstrated ability to produce outstanding results on deadline.
Preferred Education: Experience in proactive media relations and crisis management for a large and influential organization. Experience leading media relations campaigns. Proven ability as a strategic thinker and long-range planner with ability to incorporate social, editorial, and digital communications initiatives. Experience with inspiring creativity and innovation.
Work Week: Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)
Posting Position Title: Manager, Media Relations
University Job Title: Director of University Media Relations
Preferred Education, Experience and Skills: Experience in proactive media relations and crisis management for a large and influential organization. Experience leading media relations campaigns. Proven ability as a strategic thinker and long-range planner with ability to incorporate social, editorial, and digital communications initiatives. Experience with inspiring creativity and innovation.
Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or a related field and 7 years of media/public relations experience or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
