Assistant Director - Athletic Communications

Harvard University, Faculty of Arts & Sciences; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Retirement plans

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Harvard University, Faculty of Arts & Sciences is seeking a skilled athletics communications professional to manage media relations and public communications for selected sports. The role involves promoting branding, coordinating multimedia and website content, and ensuring strong coverage for game days and events.

You will oversee student staff, coordinate digital storytelling across social platforms, and maintain historical archives of team data, rosters, and milestones to enhance Harvard

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism or related field.
• At least 3 years in athletic communications or sports media.
• Experience with social media platforms and multimedia storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Lead media relations and public relations for select sports and initiatives.
• Create and distribute content for Harvard Athletics branding and communications.
• Coordinate with website, streaming, and multimedia for game coverage.
• Supervise student workers, interns, and game-day staff.
• Archive current and historical team information with proper metadata.

Skills

Media relations

Social media management

Video editing

Web design

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree desirable

Tools

SideArm Sports

NCAA Live Stats/Stat Crew

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community thatadvances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways,inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills andexpertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcomingenvironment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences?

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart ofHarvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduateprogram (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all ofHarvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin GraduateSchool of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athleticsand the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academicdepartments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a communityunparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest rangeof liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeksto foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and sharedcommitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from allmembers of our community and prepares the next generation ofleaders through a transformative educational experience.

Job Description

Job Summary

This position plays a key role in publicizing select Varsity sportsfor the Department of Athletics, which has a 42-sport Division Iathletics program. Handles sports public relations, mediarelations, and communications and information for assigned sports.Promotes positive branding, press coverage, strategiccommunications, social media, multimedia and messaging to variousconstituents, using a variety of traditional media as well as newmedia outlets. Constituents include prospective student-athletes;game-day attendees, alumni/ae, fans, and the entire Universitycommunity. Works with select sports to ensure that appropriateAthletics storylines are created and communicated; statistics,schedules, rosters, game recaps and other information iscommunicated to the proper media outlets. Handles media interviewrequests. Assists with archiving historical records. This positiongreatly enhances both the external and internal image of theDepartment.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

1. Manages media and public relations functions forselect sports as well as key Department initiatives.

• Pro-actively communicates with media about, and solicits mediacoverage for, events and feature stories on Harvard athletes,teams, and other Department milestones/accomplishments.
• Conceives and creates content for a dynamic Department website(including web streaming and other multimedia), which serves as aprimary source of information regarding Harvard Athletics ( www.GoCrimson.com ).
• Directly responsible for publicity efforts in assigned sports.Media point-of-contact for assigned sports.
• Designs, writes and edits printed game programs, special eventpublications and press releases.
• Informs and educates athletes, coaches, administrators, andother Department of Athletics constituents about effective methodsof media interaction.
• Oversees media relations at home events and travels withvarsity teams to cover select competitions.

2. Effectively utilizes multimedia, digital, new andsocial media strategies for promoting the department and selectsports.

• Stays abreast of and proficient with emergent technologies(both hardware and software) and multimedia techniques in order topromote Department programs and maintain multimedia files. Plays aleadership role in the acquisition, editing, transfer and storageof event video and highlight files.
• Coordinates social media/ networking initiatives among thedepartment with effective strategy and foresight for informationdelivery protocols.

3. Manages student employees, volunteers, and game dayevent staff.

• Recruits, hires, trains, schedules, supervises, and evaluatesgame-day staff, volunteers, student workers. Ensures compliancewith applicable University, NCAA and Ivy League policies,procedures and regulations.
• Runs a volunteer intern program among area/ regional collegiate specializing in sport management, digital/ new media and TVproduction to coordinate high-level game-day and officestaffing.
• Manages payroll functions for game-day and office staff.Ensures that appropriate time-keeping and Human Resourcesprocedures are followed. Resolves payroll issues.
• Develops and maintain positive relationships with students,faculty, staff, and the community.

4. Actively plans and implements the historical archivingof content for assigned sports and projects.

• Directly responsible for maintenance of current and historicalteam information (rosters, statistics, records, photos, videos) inassigned sports including proper naming and meta dataassignments.

Working Conditions

• The position requires extensive evening, weekend and holidayhours and ability to handle last-minute schedule changes.
• Occasional local and regional travel is required, about 20%ofthe year.

Physical Requirements

• Job occasionally requires strenuous physical activity,including the climbing of steps and moving of heavy boxes andequipment (~50 lbs); ability to work extended stretches, bothwithin a day and over several consecutive days.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required (preferably in communications/sportmanagement/journalism/audio-visual communications or relatedfield).
• At least 3 years of work experience in athletic communications/sports media. Internships and education may count towards thisexperience.

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• Master's degree desirable.
• Seasoned user of wide range of social media platforms,including Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
• Seasoned user of SideArm Sports, NCAA Live Stats/Stat Crewsoftware and Adobe Creative Suite, including graphic design andvideo editing platforms
• Demonstrated knowledge of web design and digital storytelling,including the use of content management systems and digitalanalytics.
• Demonstrated experince with graphics design

Certificates and Licenses

• A valid driver's license is preferred.

Additional Information

• Standard Hours/Schedule: 35 hours per week
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University isunable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
• Pre-Employment Screening: Identity, Education
• Other Information:
  • All formal offers will be made by FAS HumanResources.

Work Format Details

This position has been determined by school or unit leaders thatall duties and responsibilities must be performed at a Harvard orHarvard-designated location. Certain visa types may limit worklocation. Individuals must meet work location sponsorshiprequirements prior to employment.

Salary Grade and Ranges

This position is salary grade level 056. Please visit Harvard's Salary Ranges to view thecorresponding salary range and related information.

Benefits

Harvard offers a comprehensive benefits package that is designed tosupport a healthy work-life balance and your physical, mental andfinancial wellbeing. Because here, you are what matters. Ourbenefits include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage startingon day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuitionassistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

Learn more about these and additional benefits on our Benefits & WellbeingPage .

EEO/Non-Discrimination Commitment Statement

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination. We seek talentfrom all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensureeveryone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our communityadvance Harvard's academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on thebasis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity, veteran status, religion, disability,or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in theuniversity's non-discrimination policy. Harvard's equal employment opportunity policy and non-discrimination policy help allcommunity members participate fully in work and campus life freefrom harassment and discrimination.