Director, Multiplatform Communications and Special Projects

Department: Communications and Marketing

Classification: Public Relations & Mktg Mgr 2

Job Category: Classified Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Pay Band: 05

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The primary purpose of the Office of University Branding is to advance the good reputation of George Mason University through increasing public awareness, understanding, and advocacy of the University. The organization serves as the University's central steward of institutional brand strategies, policies, guidelines, expertise, and resources, used to promote the University's newsworthy and noteworthy educational, research, and service efforts that support the fulfillment of its mission. In addition, University Branding is the central resource for communication internally and between the University and its various publics.

About the Position:

Reporting to the Executive Director of News and Content, the Director of Multiplatform Communications and Special Projects collaborates across the Office of University Branding (OUB) and manages a small team of writers, videographers, and student interns focused on producing stories, short-form videos, and audio stories/podcasts, and engages additional writers, producers, videographers, photographers, graphic designers, and editors, as needed.

This role includes producing a monthly podcast with the President called “Access to Excellence” and requires close collaboration with OUB Creative, Digital and Social Teams, as well as graphic designers, producers, editors, media relations, and communications leads across the university.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

• Develop and manage a digital communications video and podcast strategy for OUB that maximizes team resources and encourages contributions from other units, leverages studios as needed, driving measurable engagement with the university’s key stakeholders across all platforms.

Podcast Series Development and Production Management

• Collaborate  across OUB to produce the President’s “Access to Excellence” podcast, including maintaining long-lead editorial calendar, researching and scheduling guests, drafting discussion prompts, securing studio time, requesting photo/video and graphic assets, drafting titles and story/descriptions for different platforms, editing audio, creating promotion and distribution plans, ensuring timely and optimized web publishing, tracking metrics, as well as staying on top of best practices and new trends in podcast production and promotion.

Digital Shorts Development and Production Management

• Lead the development of digital communications content, including social and short-form videos, collaborating with internal staff, OUB teams, and external vendors as needed;
• Write story treatments and descriptions, conduct pre-interviews and site visits, gather stakeholder input, attend shoots to manage interviews, and ensure key narrative or visual elements are captured;
• Work with Creative team on titles and graphic elements, ensure timely and optimized web publishing (gmu.edu, YouTube, etc.); and
• Develop and manage promotion and distribution plans in consultation with the OUB team and external units, including drafting or approving related/companion copy elements and narratives, reviewing pitches, scripts, and video edits while ensuring consistency, strong through line, timeliness for news and audience consumption cycle, and tracking metrics.

Team Collaboration 

• Work closely with news and communications teams, creative teams, web teams, social media teams, and media relations colleagues across the university to ensure a consistent pipeline across platforms of engaging videos and audio stories aligned with the university’s branding and strategic goals.

Editorial Standards Alignment 

• Ensure that all news content aligns with the university’s "ALL TOGETHER DIFFERENT" narrative and editorial standards.

Staff Management 

• Provide hands-on video and audio story development guidance, empowering the team to continuously evolve, elevate, and produce premium content while meeting aggressive deadlines; and
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation based on data and best practices.

Audience Analysis 

• Participate in team analysis of audience behavior and engagement metrics to make informed decisions, evolving content to improve user engagement.

Team Flexibility 

• Be prepared to support OUB projects, including crisis communications response as needed, to help teams meet deadlines and work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, as dictated by business priorities and/or the news cycle.

Required Qualifications:

• Education
  • College degree or the equivalent combination of education and experience;
  • 8-10 years of experience in journalism, digital media, or communications, ideally in a news or academic setting; and
  • A deep understanding of the current digital landscape, including trends in news consumption and digital media.

• Team Leadership
  • Proven ability to manage a small team of direct reports, providing editorial and production guidance, as well as be a project team lead who engages employees across other units, while fostering an all-hands-on-deck collaborative and innovative work environment.

• Project Management
  • Strong skills in managing multiple projects, including planning, coordinating, and meeting deadlines.

• Communication Skills
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to gather input from stakeholders and convey ideas clearly, especially in on-deadline or crisis scenarios.

• Strong Storytelling
  • Demonstrated ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.

• Editorial Judgment
  • Excellent editorial judgment, with the ability to make strategic decisions that align content with the university’s branding and messaging.

• Innovation
  • Ability to continuously evolve content to stay ahead of digital trends and audience preferences.

• Multiplatform Content Production
  • Extensive experience in producing digital news and podcast content across various platforms, including video and podcasts, with a focus on both short and long-form formats.

• Pre- and Post-Production Skills
  • Proven skills in writing, editing, and overseeing both pre-production (e.g., scriptwriting, and storyboarding) and post-production (e.g., video and audio editing, and sound mixing).

• Audience Behavior Analysis
  • Experience in analyzing audience engagement metrics to make data-driven decisions and optimize content.

• Flexibility
  • Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, to meet the demands of the news cycle or urgent business priorities.

• Adaptability
  • Ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and lead a team through fast-paced environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A deep understanding of the current digital landscape, including trends in news consumption and digital media.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Director, Multiplatform Communications and Special Projects at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent, Resume and Writing Samples/Portfolio for review.

Posting Open Date: September 12, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  September 28, 2024

Open Until Filled:  Yes