Manager - Communications

Georgia Tech; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Georgia Tech is seeking a Manager of Communications to lead a team responsible for developing and executing multi-channel communications that strengthen visibility and engagement across the Institute. The role aligns with brand priorities and uses analytics to guide decisions.

The position reports to the Director of Research Communications and requires a dedicated on-campus presence five days per week to support engagement with research leadership, faculty, and Institute Communications.

Qualifications

• Educational requirements: Bachelor's degree or equivalent in related discipline.
• 3+ years of relevant experience; 1+ years of supervisory knowledge.
• Resume/Cover letter required for consideration.
• Eight (8) or more years of progressive communications experience (preferred).
• Ability to translate complex information into clear communications; experience with federal funding agencies and research security (preferred).
• Experience supervising and developing communications professionals.
• Proficiency with project management, workflows, and SOPs.

Responsibilities

• Leads communications and marketing staff in developing and executing integrated communication strategies that support unit and Institute goals, ensuring alignment with brand standards and strategic priorities.
• Oversees the creation and delivery of content across web, social media, email, newsletters, presentations, and print, ensuring quality, consistency, and audience relevance.
• Guides storytelling efforts by collaborating with faculty, students, alumni, and partners to highlight programs, research, and impact.
• Manages website content strategy and oversees updates, accessibility, usability, and optimization in partnership with web specialists or vendors.
• Coordinates media relations activities for their unit, including drafting press releases, managing reporter inquiries, and supporting leadership with talking points and key messages.
• Monitors, analyzes, and reports on the effectiveness of communication campaigns using analytics tools, recommending adjustments based on insights and trends.
• Manages communications tools, workflows, and editorial calendars, ensuring efficient processes and timely delivery of projects.
• Provides oversight for multimedia and creative production, coordinating with creative teams or external vendors on design, photography, and video projects.
• Maintains awareness of communications trends and best practices to inform strategy and improve outcomes.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Project management

Workflow

Information management

Email marketing

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma

Education

Bachelor's degree in related discipline

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma

Job description

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Hours: Full-Time, Regular

About Us

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our strategic plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.

2. We strive for excellence.

3. We thrive on diversity.

4. We celebrate collaboration.

5. We champion innovation.

6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.

7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.

8. We act ethically.

9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Department Information

This position reports directly to the Director of Research Communications, while operating as an embedded asset within the Office of the Chief Research Operations Officer (CROO) under the Executive Vice President for Research. The role requires a dedicated on-campus presence five (5) days per week to support stakeholder engagement, communication alignment, and daily collaboration with research leadership, faculty, and Institute Communications.

Job Summary

The Manager of Communications leads a team responsible for developing and executing communications strategies that strengthen visibility, reputation, and engagement for the Institute, an assigned unit, or initiative. This role manages staff, priorities, and resources to ensure the creation and deployment of multi-channel communications, ensures alignment with the Institute brand and priorities, and uses analytics to guide decision-making. The Manager of Communications collaborates with leadership, faculty, and partners to deliver high-quality, measurable communications that advance goals and strengthen visibility.

Responsibilities

• Job Duty 1 - Leads communications and marketing staff in developing and executing integrated communication strategies that support unit and Institute goals, ensuring alignment with brand standards and strategic priorities.
• Job Duty 2 - Oversees the creation and delivery of content across web, social media, email, newsletters, presentations, and print, ensuring quality, consistency, and audience relevance.
• Job Duty 3 - Guides storytelling efforts by collaborating with faculty, students, alumni, and partners to highlight programs, research, and impact.
• Job Duty 4 - Manages website content strategy and oversees updates, accessibility, usability, and optimization in partnership with web specialists or vendors.
• Job Duty 5 - Coordinates media relations activities for their unit, including drafting press releases, managing reporter inquiries, and supporting leadership with talking points and key messages. Liaises with Institute Communications' media relations team where appropriate.
• Job Duty 6 - Monitors, analyzes, and reports on the effectiveness of communication campaigns using analytics tools, recommending adjustments based on insights and trends.
• Job Duty 7 - Manages communications tools, workflows, and editorial calendars, ensuring efficient processes and timely delivery of projects.
• Job Duty 8 - Provides oversight for multimedia and creative production, coordinating with creative teams or external vendors on design, photography, and video projects.
• Job Duty 9 - Maintains awareness of communications trends and best practices to inform strategy and improve outcomes.
• Job Duty 10 - Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Educational Requirements Bachelor's degree in related discipline or equivalent, related experience

Required Experience 3+ years of relevant experience; 1+ years of supervisory knowledge

Resume/Cover letter required for consideration.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience & Domain Expertise Eight (8) or more years of progressive communications experience, preferably within a Tier 1 research university, complex academic medical center, or other large, research-intensive or highly regulated organization.

Demonstrated ability to quickly understand and translate complex federal regulations, research administration requirements, research security protocols, institutional policies, and the evolving national landscape into clear, actionable, plain-language communications for faculty, researchers, and administrators; familiarity with major federal funding agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH, DOE) and issues related to research security, international collaborations, and compliance is preferred.

Proven experience working successfully with research faculty, principal investigators, senior leadership, and other stakeholders, with the ability to navigate divergent viewpoints, build trust, facilitate consensus around institutional priorities, and establish productive working relationships across distinct administrative and academic units.

Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing communications professionals, including setting priorities, providing constructive feedback, and fostering a high-performing, collaborative team environment.

Communication Strategy, Change Management, and Issues Control Strong track record of designing and delivering strategic, audience-centered communications to support large-scale institutional initiatives, system transitions, process rollouts, compliance updates, and other organizational changes, with the ability to tailor complex information to audiences with varying levels of subject-matter expertise and use data and feedback to evaluate and refine communications strategies.

Experience monitoring emerging regulatory trends, organizational risks, and stakeholder feedback to proactively develop communications for emerging issues, sensitive situations, and other time-sensitive needs.

Proven ability to serve as a strategic liaison across matrixed units, aligning a specialized administrative unit's communications with broader EVPR and Institute Communications strategies, priorities, and standards.

Technical Skills, Systems, and Core Tools Experience using project management, workflow, and information-management tools to organize communications operations, maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), and track projects and workflows.

Proficiency in email marketing and communications platforms, including complex internal audience segmentation and newsletters.

Working knowledge of visual communications and design tools, with the ability to create, edit, or refresh visually polished internal communications materials. Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud and/or Figma is preferred.

Communication & Professional Skills Advanced written, verbal, copyediting, and proofreading skills, with a portfolio or other work samples showcasing strong multimedia storytelling or information design.

Exceptional interpersonal skills characterized by professional diplomacy, discretion, sound judgment, and the ability to handle highly confidential, sensitive, or high-risk information with integrity.

Strong negotiation, consultative, and persuasive skills, with the ability to champion communication strategies and build productive relationships across administrative and academic units.

Proposed Salary

Proposed salary range $74,966.00 - $106,000.00. Commensurate with education and experience.

Proposed Salary

Proposed Salary: $74,996 - $106,000. Commensurate with education and experience.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Abilities Advanced written, verbal, copyediting, and proofreading skills, with a portfolio or other work samples showcasing strong multimedia storytelling or information design.

Knowledge Typically possess advanced knowledge of their specific professional discipline and a thorough understanding of related work groups' operations.

Skills Experience using project management, workflow, and information-management tools to organize communications operations, maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), and track projects and workflows

USG Core Values

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia ("USG") and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

Other Information

This is a supervisory position.

This position does not have any financial responsibilities.

This position will not be required to drive.

This role is not considered a position of trust.

This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).

This position will not travel

This position does not require security clearance.

Background Check

A successful candidate must be able to pass a background check. Please visit: https://usg.policystat.com/policy/19298143/latest