Senior Media Relations & Communications Strategist

The Regents of the University of California on behalf of their Los Angeles Campus; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Regents of the University of California on behalf of their Los Angeles Campus seeks a Senior Writer and Public Information Officer (PIO) to craft proactive media relations programs for UCLA Samueli. Working with the CMO and Assistant Dean, you will develop pitches, manage media lists, and position faculty experts as go-to sources for national outlets.

You'll translate complex research into engaging stories, write speeches and op-eds, and oversee social media messaging to raise the school's

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-time professional experience in daily print journalism and media relations.
• Experience pitching stories to journalists and producing compelling content for print and digital media.
• Experience in PR agency, in-house communications or nonprofit environments.
• Strong relationships with mainstream science and tech reporters (Los Angeles area preferred).
• Superior newsroom writing (AP style) and editing skills; ability to translate research for general audiences.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a strategic media-relations plan for UCLA Samueli with minimal supervision.
• Create and maintain general and topic-specific media lists; identify news-worthy pitches.
• Collaborate with traditional and digital journalists to generate story ideas for faculty and students.
• Position faculty experts as go-to sources for target outlets and manage proactive PR programs.
• Draft speeches, talking points for leadership engagements, and support communications materials.
• Oversee social media messaging to raise brand visibility across channels.
• Coordinate with communications team for speaker bureaus and external interviews.
• Monitor media coverage and report on PR metrics and ROI.

Skills

Media relations

AP Style writing

Story pitching

Journalism experience

Social media management

Content writing/editing

Event management

ROI metrics

Team collaboration

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor's Degree in journalism, communications or related field

Tools

Media monitoring platform

Job description

The Regents of the University of California on behalf of their Los Angeles Campus seeks a Senior Writer and Public Information Officer (PIO) to craft proactive media relations programs for UCLA Samueli. Working with the CMO and Assistant Dean, you will develop pitches, manage media lists, and position faculty experts as go-to sources for national outlets.

You'll translate complex research into engaging stories, write speeches and op-eds, and oversee social media messaging to raise the school's