Job Summary

The Spokesperson is a full-time position in the Office of Strategic Relations and Communications (SRC), handling day-to-day issues that necessitate a media response or could require public messaging later. This position reports to the Director of Issues Management and Spokesperson and assists the Director in carrying out key media communications plans and media responses for the entire campus, with a focus on Campus Operations, Infrastructure and Resilience, Local Government and Community Engagement, Sustainability and other areas of campus as assigned.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Coordinate and deliver timely and clear responses to the student, local, state, national and global media that cover the University of Colorado Boulder.
• Develop quick media strategies, response plans, talking points, official statements and social media messages, and serve as spokesperson to advance them.
• Proactively identify potential crises/issues before they arise and create strategic plans on how to address them.
• Handle day-to-day contacts, along with the Associate Director, for media requests in assigned beat areas and as assigned by the Director.
• Gather facts, data and background information in support of developing communication plans and strategies, presentations, editorials and other communication deliverables.
• Develop relationships with campus partners to understand the media relations aspects of major initiatives, announcements, issues and other matters of public interest.
• Coordinate media strategies for the university, including identifying story ideas, noting trends in higher education news, and promoting the university's profile.
• Write news releases, media advisories, CU Boulder Today newsletter stories, social media and other strategic messages for dissemination across a variety of media platforms.
• Support emergency/crisis communication and response.
• Develop university communications and responses to media inquiries in emergency/crisis situations.
• In coordination with the Director, Associate Director and Public Information Officer, manage the university's communications response to emergencies as needed.
• Receive training in emergency response communications standards.
• Serve in regular rotation as on-call weekend campus PIO.
• Perform other writing, editing and strategizing responsibilities as assigned.