Media Communications Coordinator

The Media Communications Coordinator is a cornerstone position in university communications that is responsible for/involved in several key areas:

Developing, reporting and writing content, including daily/weekly university research-related articles and posts, internal news articles and weekly newsletter content, and social media content, as well as news releases, longer-term, higher-word-count magazine pieces and other material.

Carrying out multimedia work, including shooting and editing short videos, and other related duties as assigned.

Leading longer-term projects from inception, through development and production, to on-time delivery. This is centered primarily on this position's role as editor of the university's research magazine, Florida Tech Research, though other long-term projects may arise.

As FTR editor, this person will develop the story list in concert with his/her supervisor; research, report and write the stories; work with designers and vendors on the production of the magazine; and carry the process through the mailing and distribution process via preferred vendors.

Responding to media inquiries: Among the smaller elements of this position, this involves presenting media requests to the appropriate subject-matter expert on campus (usually faculty) and scheduling an interview at workable times for the expert and the media.

If the interview will be via Zoom or a similar mode, this person may have to receive the Zoom link from the media and then share the link with the expert. For on-campus interviews, this person would meet and escort the reporter/TV crew to the expert's office and in most cases stay until the interview is done and the media can be walked back to their vehicle.

Given these research and media responsibilities, this position will work closely with faculty members to initiate and foster connections and be aware of their research and areas of expertise. Developing faculty relationships is critical.

Responsibilities

• Substantial daily, weekly and longer-term content production
• Florida Tech Research magazine production, including story development, reporting, writing, working with in-house designers and external vendors, and other related duties.
• Assisting with media inquiries, news releases and appearances
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements Include:

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, English or related field required
• Minimum 2–5 years of experience required in relevant area of expertise
• Previous experience in professional writing, journalism or multimedia communications
• Advanced time management skills, anchored by the ability to handle simultaneous projects, substantial workloads and multiple deadlines
• Well-demonstrated writing skills; thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of writing, grammar, syntax, style and punctuation; thorough knowledge of Associated Press guidelines
• Proven initiative to follow through and complete assignments independently while also able to work cooperatively and productively within a team environment
• Ability to both understand complex scientific and technical topics and their significance and to present them to lay audiences with clear, compelling, non-technical writing
• Comfort with using multimedia resources including phone and camera photography and video recording / editing
• Critical thinking and curiosity
• Interpersonal and relationship-building skills and the ability to interact with various levels of personnel and at various functions with confidence and comfort