Media Specialist - San Diego State University Research Foundation

Overview

This position us budgeted for $18.00 - $20.00 per hour depending on qualifications and is non-negotiable.

The San Diego State University (SDSU) Institute for Transformative Education (ITE) is a change-ready strategic-thinking/planning organization that supports students to discover and develop their personal, educational, and career goals through culturally responsive mentorship and guidance. Under the Executive Director, Dr. Cynthia Park, ITE provides an invaluable service to our communities’ multicultural, socio-economically diverse, low-income, underrepresented, and underserved students.

Our goal at ITE is to extend an invitation to life to our students and to support them as they make their way through the K-career pathways. Using multiple grants and sources of funding, ITE implemented a variety of ongoing programs and initiatives to achieve that mission. ITE continues to support SDSU in building on the foundation of community engagement, high-impact practices, and cultivating compassionate leaders.

ITE is the umbrella organization that houses the Pathways Office for Careers in STEM Education, Educational Talent Search, Talent Search Mentoring, Upward Bound Classic and STAR, and Health Careers Opportunity. These are educational opportunity programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education --Office of Higher Education and Federal Work-Study, contracts with local educational school districts, and private donors to assist eligible middle and high school students to pursue and complete postsecondary programs of education. ITE comprises 35 staff members (this includes all management and support personnel) in the organization.

Under the general direction of the ITE Service Learning Director and Executive Director, and in collaboration with  ITE programs media liaisons, the Media Specialist supports the entire ITE team by sustaining ITE brand consistency through written, visual, social media, website, and any other communication mediums. Develops public relations, media relations, publicity, and membership development for ITE, Pathways, Talent Search, Upward Bound - HCO, F-SMP, and donor-funded projects. The incumbent develops and maintains a framework for the organization’s public information policy under the direction of the Executive Director.

The incumbent is involved in developing, writing, and/or editing multimedia communication materials for ITE. The incumbent is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the public receives relevant, timely, and positive information about ITE, SDSU and its programs. The incumbent leads the social media team and mentors the ITE Media Interns. Additionally, the incumbent may be assigned specific responsibilities relative to the ongoing management of communication materials on the website. 

**Please submit a cover letter at the time of application.**

Responsibilities

Communications Development - Multimedia Storytelling 20%

• Collaborate across teams, project staff, faculty, and community on the theme, design, and content of ITE websites and analytics
• Develop guidelines for communication, media, social media, and marketing for ITE staff to promote collaboration and consistent public information
• Write, edit, and proofread copy to produce standard print or electronically-based communications for targeted internal and external audiences.
• Document review and assessment to sustain ITE brand consistency.
• Create flyers, social media graphics, documents, visuals, presentations, videos, and other mediums to communicate with our target audiences across the platforms that they are using (use language translation as appropriate).
• Work cooperatively with staff and faculty to create smooth communication and cooperation between program stakeholders (school district staff, community partners, and SDSU Leadership).
• Update and organize ITE media calendar, oversee ITE programs’ calendars, and communicate ITE-wide campaigns, delegating tasks as needed.
• Mentor and guide ITE Social Media Interns
• Create email marketing campaigns for the ITE and oversee program-specific email templates and direct marketing communications

Media Relations 10%

• Promote ITE activities and programs on social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn).
• Collaborate with SDSU Strategic Communications to showcase ITE activities, events, accomplishments, and highlights.
• Serve as the key point of contact for ITE media relations.
• Keep up-to-date with emerging sensitive topics in the educational field and public affairs.
• Guide the ITE team on best practices.

Programmatic Marketing 20%

• Develop strategies to promote the image of the Institute and projects using market research data to determine the most effective techniques and approaches for reaching target audiences
• Identify the interests of various constituent groups.
• Translate research results into clear plans to reach target audiences with management team collaboration.
• Utilize marketing platforms available to promote ITE and invite participation.

Website 10%

• Maintain ITE Website per SDSU guidelines (overall organization of pages, profiles, events, and resources)
• Collaborate with all projects and initiatives to ensure accurate, relevant, and timely information is available to our audience
• Present to the Management Team a review of analytics to make strategic decisions
• Monitor, approve, and delegate website requests to ensure website data is accurate, relevant, and up-to-date
• Schedule meetings and training with SDSU Information Technology or Website support staff

Program Development & Promotion 20%

• Contribute, in collaboration with program staff, to the development of program activities such as our Team Building Retreat, Community Service Projects, Tutor Recognition, Senior Recognition, STEAM Exploration Day, Career Exploration Day, ITE Staff Appreciation and employee morale-boosting initiatives (for example, staff of the quarter promotion, birthday reminders/e-cards, team-building opportunities within the university or ITE).
• Decide collaboratively with project staff on benchmarks for media campaigns.
• Attend and actively participate in All-ITE staff meetings, planning meetings, and cross-team collaborations.
• Develop and maintain community linkages including attendance at appropriate community meetings and regular communications with parents and teachers of targeted students.
• Host weekly Media Team meetings and prepare agenda, to include program-specific updates, collaboration opportunities, event and campaign planning, and sharing of resources for Media Team members

Assessment 10%

• Schedule review of analytics for social media, website, and marketing campaigns.
• Collaborate with ITE Evaluation Research Specialist on the interpretation and use of analytics as part of the overall evaluation of ITE programs.
• Determine if media campaigns met established benchmarks.
• Reflect on how ITE media goals and objectives are being met.
• Prioritize weekly tasks based on urgency, importance, source of the request, and feasibility.
• Participate in the ongoing improvement of communications, media, website, data collection, and community outreach.

Other Duties As Assigned 5%

Qualifications

Knowledge & Abilities

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a solid foundation in grammar, spelling,
• Experience producing clear and concise materials for internal and external publications.
• Experience in goal setting, time management, organization, and planning.
• Ability to independently carry out a variety of professional complex assignments without detailed instructions.

Minimum Education & Expereince

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Previous experience in an office or administrative environment

Preferred Qualifications & Special Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Communication, Community Development, Marketing, Journalism or related field.
• Three years of progressively responsible experience
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with a variety of individuals and groups on- and off-campus.
• Ability to appropriately handle sensitive and confidential information.
• Strong interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships within the university and community and with the media.
• Foundational knowledge of general practices, methods, and procedures related to public affairs, media relations, marketing, and graphic design.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in Spanish is a plus.
• Working knowledge of protocols and institutional etiquette related to public and media relations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the practices, procedures, and activities of the attributes of the diverse populations enrolled at SDSU, explicit understanding of the unique contributions of SDSU ITE in the community, and familiarity with the demographics of our region.
• Prior experience with K-12 outreach programs such as TRIO.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION

• Candidate must reside in California and live in a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results (including a criminal record check).
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an EEO/AA/Disability/Vets/Title IX Employer.