Director of Communications

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is seeking to hire a Director of Communications, this position will be located on the Winona campus. Flexible working arrangements may be made. The Director of Communications develops, implements, evaluates and refines a comprehensive internal and external communications strategy for the university, which includes campuses in Minneapolis, Rochester and Winona as well as online. This is an opportunity for a storyteller interested in the mission of education, in our case, Lasallian Catholic education and how that education impacts individuals (students), communities, business and society. The position’s work will be grounded in the school’s Lasallian Catholic heritage, its brand promise, and aligned with the strategic plans and its goals. Reporting to the vice president for marketing and communication, the role supervises a small team (one direct report at this time and possible student intern(s)) and works closely with the entire department to deliver consistent, compelling, relevant communication through various channels. Those channels include email, newsletters, employee informational presentations, publications, web content, social media, public and media relations, community outreach, events and other tactics. Key partners are academics, admissions, advancement and student affairs as well as the president’s office. Key audiences include faculty, staff, students, alumni, benefactors, media and the general public.

Responsibilities:

• Develops communications, public relations, and media relations plans and materials that raise the awareness and reputation of the university to help attract students and engage and inspire alumni and benefactors to financially support the university, serve as brand ambassadors and share their time and talents. 
• Creates and manages internal news via newsletters, email, presentations, scriptwriting, events content support, etc. 
• Leads media and public relations pitching, responses to inquiries, as well as reputational issues and crisis management. This includes building and maintaining relationships in all three markets (Minneapolis - Rochester - Winona) and proactively pitching as well as mitigating issues via media training and counsel, key messaging, opinion pieces, news releases, talking points, faculty expert pitching and other tactics. 
• Serves as public relations counsel on crisis and reputational issues communication and, as appropriate, serves as a university spokesperson at the direction of the VP or prepares the president and other senior leaders to speak on issues. 
• Serves and plays a key role as communication lead on university emergency communication teams (e.g. weather, safety issues, issues in/around each campus such as protests, incidents, etc.)
• Manages freelancers for video, audio, print work on publications and for other channels. 
• Creates and manages content to support advancement and alumni relations including two alumni magazines, campaign content, alumni profiles, etc. Use of freelancers supports this effort. 
• Collaborates with marketing colleagues to develop and implement a content marketing plan so that advertising, the university website, social media, video/digital media, and public relations and media relations are in strategic alignment for effective multi-audience communications. 
• Creates the lion’s share of content to be used across all channels by marketing and other areas (e.g. admissions, advancement, alumni relations). 
• Performs other duties, as assigned.

Essential Skills and Functions:

• Excellent writing skills in all forms (short-form, e.g. social media to long-form storytelling such as magazine articles). Speed and quality along with strong research skills are a must.
• Accurate and flawless proofreading and editing skills (ability to follow our style guide and serve as expert resource). 
• Experience managing media relations function including crisis and reputational management. 
• Experience managing internal communications content and channels. 
• Outstanding project management skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to manage freelancers and meet budget requirements. 
• Develops and maintains good working relationships, leads through collaboration, at all levels of the organization. 
• Demonstrated success in managing, supporting, and motivating staff. 
• Observes safety guidelines and follows safety procedures established by the university. 
• Self-motivated with the ability to work effectively alone and within a team environment. 
• Support, respect, and advance the mission of Saint Mary’s University as a Lasallian Catholic university. 
• Experience creating content for various channels short-and long-form.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism or similar degree is required. 
• Experience and expertise in media and public relations, public affairs, crisis communications, issues management, social media. 
• Related work experience in higher education is preferred. 
• May consider other acceptable equivalent combinations of training and experience.

Saint Mary’s offers a comprehensive benefit package including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, flexible spending, retirement pension plan, and both undergraduate and graduate tuition remission plans.