Assistant Director of Strategic Communications - Athletics - UTK

This position develops and disseminates information concerning the University of Tennessee Athletics programs and communicates information to local and national media and other groups such as alumni, letterwinners, faculty, students and fans. This position also serves as the lead for social media & creative strategy for multiple sports, focused primarily on the generation and publishing of digital content for both external audiences, current student-athletes and prospective student-athletes.

• Serve as the primary strategic communications contact for multiple Tennessee athletic programs (to be determined based on candidate’s experience, personality and fit), serving as liaison between the athletics department and media, general public, and university community.
• Responsible for developing and executing a publicity strategy for assigned sport(s). Must collaborate closely with local, regional and national media outlets - as well as Tennessee’s VFL Films and 151 Creative staffs - to pitch and execute story ideas promoting teams and individual student-athletes and staff members.
• Responsible for the scheduling of media availabilities and press conferences for assigned sports.
• Work with other athletics department creative units (VFL Films, 151 Creative) to ideate, executive and publish cutting-edge content that enhances respective sports' unique brand through bold storytelling and visual elements.
• Work closely with members of the respective coaching staffs to develop external and recruiting messaging, advance digital recruiting strategies, generate recruiting content and when assigned, involved in recruiting visits.
• Serve as liaison between sport programs and creative staffs to ensure cohesiveness and timeliness in content production.
• Initiate and attend creative meetings to distribute and pitch content plans to creative units – VFL Films, 151 Creative, Fan Experience.
• Develop & manage content calendar and serve as publisher for select social media accounts.
• Manage strategic communications logistics associated with their teams' respective athletic events. For competition events away from home, travel with the team and execute responsibilities at the competition site.
• Must be willing to work/travel on nights and weekends and should be available to work home football games when the fall sports schedule allows.
• Other duties as assigned, such as assisting colleagues at other sports' competition events when their availability allows (while not currently planned, sport-specific responsibilities may change from year to year).

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, Sport Management (or a related field).
• Experience: Experience in digital content, creative, or athletic communications with a track record of innovation that showcases management of a sizeable and/or highly active digital inventory. Must be able to obtain Bachelor's degree by time of hire.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
• Ability to think strategically and possess basic public relations sensibilities.
• Ability to lead a team in a collaborative manner.
• Possess strong writing and verbal communications skills.
• Certain technical knowledge is required, including proficiency in social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as demonstrated experience with software such as the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Ability and willingness to work within and abide by NCAA, SEC and institutional compliance rules.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Master’s Degree in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, Sport Management (or a related field).
• Experience: Experience collaborating in a Division I or professional sports environment, including as a publisher of a team social media account. Experience involving the recruitment of prospective student-athletes.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
• Ability to create compelling and engaging, live social media content.
• Advanced operational knowledge of PC and Apple computers.
• Basic video-editing skills and basic HTML coding ability.

Work Location

• Knoxville, TN
• Onsite

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: 09

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of 3 Professional References

About Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Athletics Mission, Vision & Core Values

Mission: To lead the way forward in all aspects of college sports

Vision: Deliver an unparalleled student-athlete experience fueled by the relentless pursuit of comprehensive excellence; be bold and innovative in our approach to recruiting and developing well-rounded graduates, championship-driven competitors and world-changing leaders.

Core Values: Vols lead through…
» Academic Success
» Inclusive Preeminence
» Honesty and Integrity
» Competitive Excellence
» Holistic Health and Well-Being
» The Power of Vol Nation