Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

James Madison University • Harrisonburg, VA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

James Madison University, a Division I member of the NCAA and Sun Belt Conference, is accepting applications for an Assistant Director of Athletic Communications to coordinate communications, media relations and sports information strategies for select JMU Athletics programs with a focus on digital, social and creative media to increase the public’s awareness of the experience and achievements of student-athletes at JMU. The assistant director guides the overall brand promotion and protection of JMU Athletics within the construct of a cohesive team environment with specific attention to assigned sport programs.

Requirements

• Significant professional experience in an intercollegiate or professional sports team’s communications office
• Knowledge of various web software programs, game operations and various NCAA Live Stats (Genius) and Stat Crew statistical programs.
• Must possess good writing and editing ability and knowledge of AP writing style.
• Desktop publishing and creative design experience is required and this experience with Adobe products (InDesign, Photoshop) would be beneficial.
• Must be highly motivated, task-oriented, be able to multitask and be able to manage a work schedule that includes some weekend work.

Nice To Haves

• Experience as direct communications representative for a revenue-generating sport (i.e. football or basketball).
• Varied experience with and knowledge of multiple sports.
• Supervision or oversight of students or other employees in collegiate athletics setting.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate all communication strategies for specifically tasked sport programs (3-4) to maximize coverage of the student-athlete experience at JMU.
• Use social media, creative technology and other digital tools to communicate information about student-athletes and assigned programs, serving as a publicist to tell their stories.
• Work collaboratively within a team environment under the direction of staff leader to build cohesive communication methods and support needs across all departmental sport programs and offices.
• Deploy traditional media relations methods such as statistics, media notes, press releases, record-keeping and more to document sport achievements and history.
• Foster positive relationships with external media partners while identifying opportunities to maximize coverage and proactively position JMU Athletics among local, regional and national media outlets.
• Supervise the communications student intern program for recruitment, development and day-to-day communication.
• Oversee game day staffing of student and wage employees for respective primary sports

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed