he Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations is responsible for the oversight of the Media Relations staff, while also leading the day-to-day publicity of athletic programs through multiple platforms, including, but not limited to: the web, social media and print. The primary responsibility of this position is to support assigned programs in strategic communications to positively impact and elevate the Mercer Athletic brand. This position will also develop and execute a long-term vision for the communications function within assigned programs.

This role will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the communication department and assigned sports social media channels while populating MercerBears.com with features and releases. Other duties include designing media guides, compiling statistics, pitching feature stories to local media and/or in-house platforms, arranging media interviews and traveling to select away events; gameday management, including tracking of statistics and staffing assignments for primary sports; assist in the gameday staffing of other athletics programs as needed; layout and content management of gameday program; and record-keeping and archiving of data for assigned sports. 

A bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Media, Public Relations, or a related field and one year of prior sports information/communication department experience is required. Candidates with a master's degree and/or prior supervisory experience are preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Excellent written, oral, and editing skills.

• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere, Spark, etc.), website content management systems, social media platforms, and Statcrew/NCAA Live Stats

• Ability to exercise creative and innovative thinking and have a firm pulse on audience demographic.

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously under tight deadlines.

• Exceptional ability to work in a networked way, emphasizing collaboration in a complex environment.

• Ability to perform detail-oriented work accurately and to communicate effectively with a diverse population.

• Clear understanding of NCAA rules and compliance.

• Ability to ask difficult questions, often in an emotionally charged situation.

• Understanding of the role of local and national media in assisting efforts in promoting teams.

EEO Statement:

AA/EEO/Veteran/Disability

Mercer University recognizes the power of a diverse community and encourages applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.