Director, Strategic Communications - Football

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice.

Departmental Overview

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics consists of more than 275 staff members and coaches and sponsors 30 varsity sports programs. These 30 programs include more than 850 student-athletes who participate in the various sports programs annually within the National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is April 29, 2026

Responsibilities

This position will lead strategic communications efforts for the digital ecosystem of Cal football. Will utilize existing knowledge to craft strategy around storytelling efforts and immerse themselves in the ethos of the football program both on a conference, community, college, national and international level. With a strong emphasis on brand awareness, broad-reaching messaging, recruiting and retaining student-athletes and providing entertainment to all consumers of Cal Athletics, this position is critical in supporting the storytelling for these areas. This position allows a narrowed focus of communication excellence needed for football to thrive in the existing college athletics ecosystem.

Guided by the overarching Athletics strategic plan, the employee will create and lead the planning and execution of communications related to digital content. This position will demonstrate competency in establishing relationships with key stakeholders involved with the sports they are assigned - including, but not limited to media members, governing body heads, conference resources, NCAA employees, and sport-specific influencers and content strategists. These relationships will be critical in ensuring optimal coverage, attention, brand recognition, and publicization for external audiences. This role requires collaborative work and sport-specific media plan leadership across the department, including with coaches, senior leaders and campus entities. Internally, there is an emphasis on integrating with other content creators, Athletics digital ecosystems directors, Cal Athletics fundraisers and game day entertainment. Other duties include arranging and conducting interviews, maintaining and compiling records and statistics and serving as a team historian for football.

This role will also manage one Assistant Director, Strategic & Creative Communications.

Football Team Immersion:

• Engage with all members of the football team to understand student-athletes' personalities, talents, and strengths.
• Translate these insights into compelling narratives for public consumption.
• Identify key sport influencers and target audiences to expand reach and amplify visibility strategies.

Football Media Plan Creation:

• Develop, manage, and continuously refine a comprehensive media plan.
• Define messaging cadence, communication channels, content types, audience targeting, and timing.
• Ensure consistent and strategic promotion of teams.

Storytelling Integrator:

• Collaboratively work with content creators, Athletics digital ecosystems directors, Cal Athletics fundraisers and game day entertainment employees to synchronize all communication, publicity, and engagement specific to football. Keep a firm working knowledge of the overall strategy shared by these groups that in totality make up the external engine of Cal Athletics.

Strategic Communications Project Manager:

• Serve as the main, public-facing resource for football, specific to all storytelling aspects of the position. Project manage requests, coverage, and alterations or additions to the media plan and maintain historical knowledge of each sport.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Facilitate required statistical reporting, written materials, and sport-specific releases.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of Athletics communications and engagement efforts.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of program activity and best practices.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multi-task and work effectively with frequent interruptions.
• Strong active listening skills.
• Excellent verbal communication skills in the English language.
• Excellent written communication skills in the English language.
• Proficiency in the use of computer applications relevant to job duties.
• Ability to create and execute a sport-specific storytelling strategy.
• Ability to create and follow a sport-specific media plan.
• Ability to define cadence of messaging.
• Ability to identify target audiences.
• Ability to select appropriate communication mediums.
• Ability to determine types of content.
• Ability to establish and manage schedules.
• Ability to quickly learn all facets of a sports program.
• Ability to understand personnel, trends, participants, and the national landscape.
• Ability to identify and engage critical audiences.
• Ability to thrive in a flexible, fast-paced, and dynamic work environment.
• Strong ability to create targeted content to support recruitment and retention.
• Strong digital media and content creation skills
• Experience using Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms for storytelling.
• Strong collaboration skills.
• Ability to adjust schedules, timelines, content, messaging, and mediums as needed.
• Ability to respond to immediate and high-impact needs of a sports program.
• Knowledge of the NCAA and Power 4 landscape.
• Understanding of recruiting cycles, NIL trends, and student-athlete retention drivers.
• Working knowledge of concepts and principles of news and media communications.
• Ability to maintain current knowledge of applicable rules and standards of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
• Ability to comply with all rules and standards applicable to the Berkeley campus of the University of California and affiliated organizations.
• Demonstrated leadership skills to guide the strategic direction of storytelling across multiple platforms.
• Strong time management skills.
• Strong project management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously from concept through completion.
• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $80,000 - $110,000.

• This is a full-time (40 hours/week), career position that is eligible for UC Benefits.
• This is an exempt monthly-paid position.