Director of Athletic Communications

Lafayette College•Easton, PA

About The Position

The Director of Athletic Communications is responsible for overseeing all phases of the athletic communications office. This role serves as a spokesperson for Lafayette College athletics, supervising a talented team of creative professionals who tell the story of Lafayette Athletics. The director reports to the Executive Director for Strategic Communications within the Communications Division and is a member of the Department of Athletics leadership team. This role serves as a primary strategic communications adviser for the Director of Athletics, other members of the athletic administration, and athletic teams and their coaches, helping to maximize communications opportunities while limiting potential communications liabilities. The Director is responsible for developing and executing strategies that enhance and implement Lafayette’s brand while contributing aggressive and innovative approaches to projecting the strategic value of Lafayette’s intersection of academics and athletics to numerous audiences and constituencies. Additionally, this role also supports student-athlete recruitment and fundraising goals as a key partner across campus. Responsibilities include all publicity efforts for Lafayette’s 23-sport Division I athletic program. The Director oversees writing, editing, publications, game day operations assistance, website development and management, media relations and statistical and archival endeavors. The director of athletic communications oversees the departmental and team social media program , video production and live streaming operations, and photography. Game day presentation/run-of-show and promotions at ticketed sporting events also fall under the athletic communications purview.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, strategic communications, public relations, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred)
5-8+ years of progressive experience in strategic communications, athletic communications, media relations, digital communications and content creation
Experience working in or with higher education institutions preferred, but professional experience in an athletic organization or sport management or a similar field will be considered
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and success at building collaborative relationships and meaningful interactions with various stakeholders such as: coaches, athletic department staff, student-athletes, administrators, faculty, campus partners, alumni and the wider Lehigh Valley community
Strong leadership and interpersonal communication skills
Must possess the ability to manage multiple projects at once while operating in a fast-paced and complex work environment
Collaborative mindset with a passion for innovation, storytelling and impact

Nice To Haves

Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite and familiar with designing graphics for all relevant media platforms

Responsibilities

Oversight of Athletic Communications office staff, including the video production manager, associate director for fan engagement, two assistant directors of athletic communications, several part-time publicity assistants, a secretary, part-time game day staff and freelance photographers along with student workers.
Oversee the athletics department website and all social media platforms
Serve as a conduit between the Department of Athletics and Communications Division
Oversee all publicity efforts including writing, editing and distributing all press releases; social media management for multiple accounts across a variety of platforms; editing videos (season previews, game highlights, etc.); and designing flyers and similar materials
Oversee live broadcast streaming operation, ensuring that all team sports home events stream and that highlights and B Roll video are available for all sports for use on social media and the website
Assign and supervise student staff to assist with in-game responsibilities (play-by-play, public address, statistics, in-game updating of social media etc.)
Communicate with and solicit media for event coverage and feature stories on student-athletes, teams and other department milestones and accomplishments.
Plan and implement historical archiving, as well as maintenance of the photography database
Complete conference, regional and national award applications to recognize coaches and student-athletes from assigned teams and programs
Compile, disseminate, and maintain sports statistics for assigned teams
Travel with teams from ticketed sports and as necessary, primarily for postseason
Work collaboratively within the College’s communications division on all athletic-related news stories and events
Responsible for oversight and management of athletic communications budget.
Promote a positive image of the College through participation in community and professional organizations, representing the College at professional meetings and on community committees and establishing and maintaining working relationships with news media and other college athletic communications offices