Sr. Manager, Community Connections - Central Coast & Southern Central Valley

KSHB / KMCI / The EW Scripps Company•Santa Barbara, CA

2d•$105,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Sr. Manager, Community Connections serves as the primary connector between Scripps’ KSBY and KERO stations and the Central Coast and Southern Central Valley communities. The role builds trusted relationships that deepen local engagement, inform journalism, and create meaningful partnerships. It brings community voices and insights into the newsroom and helps ensure questions, concerns, and story ideas are heard and acted on thoughtfully. The position works across News, Sales, Marketing, Operations, and station leadership to translate community intelligence into opportunities for greater impact and to help the stations remain responsive and trusted parts of community life. The position is located on-site at KSBY in San Luis Obispo, California. It develops and executes a market-wide community engagement strategy, advises leadership on community needs and emerging issues, and leads cross-functional engagement efforts. The role also plans and oversees forums, town halls, public-service initiatives, educational programs, and other activities, coordinating stakeholders and logistics and measuring their effectiveness. The role generally requires 7+ years of progressively responsible relevant experience. A bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or equivalent years of relevant experience is preferred. The posted annual salary range is $105,000–$115,000 for work performed in California.

Requirements

Generally, 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in community engagement, journalism, nonprofit leadership, communications, public affairs, partnership development, government relations, or a related field.
Valid driver’s license, good driving record, and ability to provide proof of insurance meeting the company’s required insurance limits.
Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills, with the ability to establish credibility across diverse communities and organizations.
Strong community listening skills and ability to recognize emerging issues, needs, and opportunities.
Strategic thinking and sound judgment, including ability to translate community insights into meaningful action.
Strong facilitation, public speaking, writing, and presentation skills.
Ability to influence and collaborate with News, Sales, Marketing, Operations, station leadership, and external community organizations.
Strong project management and organizational skills, including ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Empathy, cultural awareness, diplomacy, discretion, and integrity when working with diverse communities and sensitive topics.
Ability to work independently, take initiative, and adapt to changing community and business needs.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, CRM or community relationship platforms, and collaboration tools.
Strong customer-service mindset, conflict-resolution skills, and sound judgment when responding to audience questions, concerns, and sensitive community issues.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or equivalent years of relevant experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain trusted relationships with civic, nonprofit, business, educational, government, and other community stakeholders to understand emerging issues, priorities, and opportunities.
Gather, analyze, and share community insights with station leadership, newsroom teams, and partners to inform decision-making, journalism, and local engagement.
Partner with News to identify story opportunities, connect journalists with trusted sources, and strengthen audience engagement across community channels.
Represent the station in the community and develop partnerships that create long-term value, trust, and local impact.
Respond to community members, partners, and stakeholders with timely, professional communication; ensure audience questions, concerns, and story tips are acknowledged, routed, and resolved appropriately.
Lead the planning and execution of forums, town halls, public-service initiatives, educational programs, and other community engagement activities.
Collaborate with News, Sales, Marketing, Operations, and station leadership to develop opportunities that strengthen audience relationships and community impact.
Oversee event logistics and stakeholder coordination, and measure effectiveness to help ensure engagement activities are inclusive, relevant, and impactful.
Develop and execute a market-wide community engagement strategy aligned with station and regional priorities.
Advise leadership on community needs, emerging issues, and opportunities to strengthen trust and local impact.
Lead and coordinate cross-functional community engagement efforts, share best practices, track outcomes, and help build engagement capabilities across teams.