Associate Athletic Director for Sports Information and Communication

Colby College; Benton (ME); On-site; USD 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Colby College seeks an seasoned executive to lead the Athletics Communications department. You will direct external communications, media relations, and digital content, while supervising staff and coordinating with coaches and campus partners.

You will guide crisis messaging, storytelling, and branding across NESCAC and NCAA frameworks, including statistical reporting and social media strategy. Evening/weekend work is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership in athletics communications.
• Outstanding oral and written communications skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends on a regular basis.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor communications staff including the Assistant Athletic Director and broadcast directors.
• Serve as primary media and communications contact for varsity programs and oversee live coverage.
• Represent Colby on conference and national committees and crisis communications.
• Coordinate storytelling opportunities and manage web/media interview needs.
• Oversee brand identity, logos, and compliance in statistics reporting.

Skills

Leadership experience

Oral and written communication

Multitask in fast-paced env

Collaboration

Evenings/weekends availability

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Photoshop

Adobe Express

InDesign

Job description

Job Description

Department: Athletics Communications

Pay Rate Type: Salary

Job Summary: Colby is a member of the New England Small College AthleticConference (NESCAC) and has 32 intercollegiate sports that competeat the Division III level. The department also includes the campusrecreation program and hosts a variety of club and intramuralsports. More than one-third of Colby’s 2,200 students participatein intercollegiate sports and, in total, nearly three-quarters areinvolved in fitness and recreation activities in thedepartment. With an investment of over $250 million into Athletics in the lastdecade, Colby’s state-of-the-art athletics complex makes thefacilities on Mayflower Hill a benchmark for all Division IIIinstitutions across the country. The Harold Alfond Athletics andRecreation Center is the central hub of Colby athletics. The350,000 square-foot athletics center includes basketball andvolleyball courts, an indoor track and field competition center,aquatic center with Maine’s first 50-meter pool, squash center,hockey arena, a tri-level strength and fitness center, trainingrooms, and coaching suites. Additionally, the College opened a70-acre-plus outdoor competition center that consists of eightcompetition and recreational fields that are also among the finestoutdoor venues in Division III. The College has seen dramaticimprovement in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings since theopening of the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center,elevating to the top-6% of Division III institutions in the yearlystandings. An additional distinguishing feature of Colby College’s AthleticDepartment is its Peak Performance Program, a comprehensivehigh-performing model designed to optimize student well-being andperformance. Peak Performance integrates sports medicine, strengthand conditioning, sports psychology, nutrition and sportssciences. Located in central Maine, the College has incredible access toother outdoor venues such as the Belgrade Lakes and SugarloafMountain Resort, one of the premier ski destinations on the eastcoast. The Associate Athletic Director for Sports Information &Communications serves as a senior communications strategist andadministrator for the Department of Athletics. Reporting directlyto the Deputy AD for Competitive Excellence, this executive roleassists the Deputy AD in leading all external communications, mediarelations, digital content, broadcast/media rights, crisisresponse, and brand protection for the department while providingdirect oversight and supervision to full-time Associate AD forSports Information & Communications and mediaspecialists.

The hiring range for this position is $65,000 - $70,000.

Essential Functions

• Lead and mentor communications staff—including the AssistantAthletic Director, digital content creators, and broadcastdirectors—fostering a culture of accountability andinnovation.
• Serve as the primary media and communications contact forassigned varsity programs, managing all press box / scorer’s tableoperations, statistical crews, live video streaming, webcastbroadcasts, and social media coverage for home, away, andpostseason contests.
• Represent the college and athletic department on NESCACconference communication committees, NCAA regional/nationalcommittees, and collegiate sports communicators associations.
• Assist the Deputy AD in partnering with Campus Communications,General Counsel, and senior leadership to direct crisiscommunications, sensitive issue management, and high-profilemessaging (e.g., coaching searches, roster updates).
• Assist the Deputy AD for Sports Information &Communications with Mule Weekly Recap and other primary projectsthroughout the academic year as assigned
• Assist the Deputy AD and support assigned head coaches inproactively identifying storytelling opportunities and managingtheir sport-specific web, and media interview needs.
• Assist the Deputy AD in managing department brand identity andoverseeing marks and logos
• Manage live statistical capture and ensure full compliance inreporting accurate box scores and season statistics to NESCACconference office and the NCAA within mandated deadlines.
• Utilize Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Express, InDesign) andvideo editing suites to create high-impact social media graphics,video highlights, and promotional materials.
• Maintain exemplary standards of professionalism, integrity, andcustomer-service-oriented interaction with student-athletes,coaches, visiting teams, media outlets, and campus partners acrossthe college community.
• Collaborate effectively with other Department of Athletics’team members
• Demonstrate an active understanding of and commitment tofostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce andathletic culture supporting overall college success.
• Perform additional duties as assigned; duties,responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with orwithout notice.

Position Qualifications

Education and/or experience

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred
• Require 5+ years of progressive leadership experience inathletics communications, sports information, media relations, andmarketing with preferred experience in personnel management
• Outstanding oral and written communications skills andattention to detail
• Strong self-initiative and ability to multitask in a fast-pacedenvironment with tight deadlines
• Aptitude for collaborating with others and maintaining positiveworking relationships with staff, coaches, administrators andcampus colleagues
• Must be able to work independently and exercise judgment withminimal supervision
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to delivering
• Ability to work evenings and weekends on a regular basis basedon game schedules and travel as required
• Experience with Photoshop, Adobe Express and other graphicdesign programs desired
• Valid driver’s license required and must meet the College’sFleet Safety Policy requirements

Physical/Mental Demands

The physical demands and workenvironment characteristics described herein are representative ofthose that must be met by an employee to successfully performessential functions of this position and/or may be encounteredwhile performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations maybe made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform theessential functions.

• To successfully perform the essential functions of thisposition, an employee must be able to maintain appropriateconfidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues,etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employeeswith regard to the same.
• The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines isrequired to successfully perform the essential functions of thisposition; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent taskcompletion required.
• There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, membersof the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibitstrong emotions, which will require the employee to interactprofessionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in suchsituations.
• While performing the essential duties of this position, anemployee would frequently be required to move around on grass,turf, courts, gymnasium, and training rooms.
• There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personalcomputer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage aswell as viewing a computer monitor.
• An employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 poundsand occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds to performessential position functions.
• Specific vision abilities required by this position includeclose vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• The overall work environment requires the mental ability toshift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be ableto mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate;however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loudsounds.
• Frequent travel and early morning/evening/weekend work isrequired.

Colby College supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and iscommitted to providing reasonable accommodations to enableindividuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions ofthe position.