Academic ConnectExecutive Director-Strategic Communication
Department: Media Relations
Salary: This position has a starting salary of $127,300.00. Department is willing to do salary commensurate with education and experience.
Description: The Executive Director of Strategic Communications provides senior-level leadership for the University's media relations and brand storytelling initiatives, advancing the reputation and visibility of the University of Houston through proactive, strategic communications. This role leads the UH brand newsroom that produces timely, high-impact storytelling and media engagement aligned with institutional priorities. The Executive Director plays a central role in positioning the University, its leadership, faculty and research in national, regional and local conversations by identifying emerging opportunities within the news cycle and deploying integrated communications strategies that connect the University's expertise to issues of public and societal importance.
Strategic Leadership & Team Management
- Leads and manages direct and indirect communications staff, establishing clear priorities, strengthening collaboration and streamlining work processes to maximize team effectiveness and productivity.
- Provides strategic leadership for the University's media relations, editorial and brand storytelling teams, fostering a high-performance culture centered on impactful storytelling, news relevance and audience engagement.
- Maintains AP editorial standards, brand voice and quality benchmarks across all externally facing communications.
Media Relations & Reputation Strategy
- Directs and oversees proactive media relations strategies designed to elevate the national and regional visibility of the University's leadership, faculty expertise, research initiatives and institutional priorities.
- Identifies, cultivates and maintains strong relationships with journalists, editors and producers across national, regional and local outlets, with a particular emphasis on top-tier and national media.
Brand Newsroom & Storytelling
- Oversees the UH brand newsroom model that integrates storytelling, media relations and digital publishing to amplify the University's impact and thought leadership.
- Directs the creation and distribution of news releases, feature stories, expert commentary and multimedia content that position the University within major national conversations.
- Provides editorial direction to media relations team to ensure content aligns with institutional priorities and reflects the University's brand narrative.
Strategic Communications Planning
- Monitors the national news cycle, political, public policy developments and emerging societal trends to identify opportunities for the University to contribute expertise and thought leadership.
- Advises senior leadership on strategic communications opportunities and risks tied to evolving media and political narratives; adjusts editorial strategy, as needed.
Media Ecosystem Strategy & Audience Reach
- Maintains a sophisticated understanding of the modern media ecosystem - including traditional media, digital platforms, newsletters, podcasts, social media and emerging channels - to ensure communications strategies effectively reach priority audiences with precision and impact.
- Guides the strategic placement and amplification of University stories across platforms to maximize reach, relevance and engagement.
Analytics & Operational Management
- Establishes and tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) related to media coverage, audience reach, message penetration and brand reputation.
- Leads ongoing and annual assessments of communications effectiveness, using analytics and media insights to continuously refine strategy.
Innovation & Communications Technology
- Ensures the UH media relations team remains current with evolving media trends, newsroom practices, tools and resources and storytelling formats.
MQ:
Education: Requires a thorough understanding of both theoretical and practical aspects of an analytical, technical or professional discipline; or the basic knowledge of more than one professional discipline. Knowledge of the discipline is normally obtained through a formal, directly job-related 4 year degree from a college or university or an equivalent in-depth specialized training program that is directly related to the type of work being performed.
Experience: Requires a minimum of seven (7) of directly job-related experience.
Preferred: Experience in Higher Education. Direct experience in journalism, communications or related fields. Experience leading communications strategy within a large, complex organization. Experience in higher education, public affairs, Fortune 100 brand newsrooms or agency work focused on brand narrative development. Demonstrated success securing national media coverage, positioning institutional leaders as thought leaders and reaching key audiences where they get their news. Experience developing brand editorial strategies and/or operating within a brand newsroom environment. Strong understanding of the evolving media landscape and digital storytelling platforms.
Department is willing to accept education in lieu of experience. Department is willing to accept experience in lieu of education.
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