Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

4967

As part of the University of San Diego, a Roman Catholic University, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to advancing academic and athletic excellence and enhancing students' lives while promoting the University of San Diego.

The University of San Diego, a contemporary and engaged Contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity’s urgent challenges.

The Assistant Director for Strategic Communications assists the Director of Strategic Communications and the Associate AD for External Affairs with all strategic communication and digital efforts for USD’s 17 NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams. The Assistant Director for Strategic Communications is assigned as the primary contact for specific sports. Assignments include home game coverage and travel to select away contests, producing and editing content for the website, social media channels, writing assignments, hiring of game staff for assigned sports, and outreach to the campus, community and media outlets in order to promote the USD Athletics brand. In addition, this position will continually maintain the athletic website and social media channels which showcase the athletic programs and engage with the Torero fan base.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Integrated Marketing Communication

• Assist with digital strategy and social media initiatives.
• Tell USD Athletics story to reach local, regional, and national levels.
• Complement and support Athletics partners by providing content and statistical information for department-wide initiatives.
• Create social media graphics and website content.
• Assists with video shooting, editing and producing.
• Assist in setup, use and troubleshooting of equipment, such as audio/video equipment, in-game stats software (eg. Stat Crew, StatBroadcast), video streaming software (eg. Stretch, Catapult), audio broadcasts, etc.  
• Working knowledge of various social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) and how to best use for engagement.

Communications Operations

• Responsible for various assigned sports. 
• Hosts visiting media and sports information personnel.
• Coordinates press releases, statistics and information requests for assigned sports.
• Utilize or facilitate use of StatCrew, NCAA Genius, StatBroadcast, and/or other similar programs to input, transmit, and archive live statistics of competitions for assigned sports/events.
• Use SIDEARM Sports to maintain assigned teams’ presence on USDToreros.com, including but not limited to uploading stories, creating and updating team rosters, schedules, competition results, and player biographies.
• Constructs and maintains team, coach and player files. Maintains files on athletic department history (including photos, team statistics and records) and media relations administrative data.
• For home contests, responsible for media relations staffing, including announcers, clock operators and statisticians, and for posting all local, WCC, MPSF, NCAA and national post-game results plus other press releases to all media outlets.
• Collaborate with the West Coast Conference regarding scheduling, weekly and annual awards and special projects.
• Works with conference Network personnel and campus facilities staff in advance of broadcast to ensure smooth game-day experience.
• Develops comprehensive data reports on content performance and digital engagement.
• Other duties as assigned.

Communications Training and Development 

• Provides training and guidance to coaches for use of social media, brand responsibility and recruiting assistance.
• Assist in developing digital skills with student-assistants and work-study staff.

Special Conditions of Employment:

Effective June 1, 2023, based on CDC guidance, the University strongly encourages all campus members to stay up to date with Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.  For more regarding information USD's COVID-19 protocols, please visit sandiego.edu/onward.

• Evening and weekend work essential.
• CPR/first aid certification required within six weeks of employment
• California driver’s license required background checks.

Background check:  Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Communications or Journalism.
• At least one year of experience in Sports Communications required; two years preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of NCAA rules and regulations strongly preferred.
• Working proficiency with SIDEARM Sports, StatCrew, NCAA Genius/NCAA Manager, StatBroadcast, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign strongly preferred.

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate, orally and in writing, with local media, USD employees, and national media outlets.
• Excellent organization skills. Ability to work independently, or with others, under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Excellent writing, oral and computer skills.
• Understanding of sports and statistics.
• Excellent skills in the use of specific equipment and tools as identified below.
• Evenings and weekend work expected due to working home and away events.
• Knowledgeable with video equipment and post production software for video editing.
• Functional knowledge of video streaming and elements of a live sports video production/broadcast.
• Experience with still photography

$5,546.67 - 6,043.41; Excellent Benefits

The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including; medical, dental, vision, a retirement contribution given to you by the University, and access to on-campus Fitness Centers.  Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer.  USD: Human Resources: Benefits

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position.  Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review.  If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

Hours: 40 hours per week

Closing date: Open until filled 

Note: External job postings will be up for at least five days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.

The University of San Diego is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the campus community.

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.