Job Description

Position Overview:

This is a 100%-time 12 month Academic Administrative (P&A) appointment (Job Code: 9341A1/Admin Consultant/Analyst 1). The position reports directly to the Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center. This position has the possibility of remote work, although in-person work will be required some of the time. Work schedules and locations are set in arrangement with the director of the Minnesota Journalism Center.

The Minnesota Journalism Center (MJC), housed in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, links the University with the professional community of local journalists statewide through educational, research, and engagement initiatives. These efforts are designed to improve the health of Minnesotaâ™s ecosystem for local news through strengthening community relationships, facilitating information-sharing and dialogue, and creating opportunities both for students to gain greater professional experience outside the classroom as well as for researchers to conduct applied studies of journalistic and business model innovations.

The Associate Director is the lead administrative position serving the Minnesota Journalism Center and is the point person for the faculty director, providing day-to-day oversight of logistical matters. The associate director also serves as the Centerâ™s expert on Minnesotaâ™s professional journalism community and oversees efforts to seek out, foster, and maintain close relationships with key stakeholders in the professional community in Greater Minnesota in order to monitor, assess, and identify community needs to inform the Centerâ™s ongoing programs. The associate director also oversees key capacity-building projects to increase the Centerâ™s reach and effectiveness. These include the formation of the Centerâ™s advisory board, including helping to recruit new board members, as well as new external communication initiatives to raise awareness, visibility, and financial support for the Center. The ideal candidate for this position will be creative, innovative, and enjoy leading in a collaborative and results-oriented environment.

Job Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Operational Management 40%

• Operational lead and point of contact regarding the execution of MJC strategic programs.
• Coordinate efforts and priorities across the MJCâ™s three distinct areas of focus: outreach, education and research, including working closely with the MJC director, affiliate faculty, and industry stakeholders
• Identify needs in the professional journalism community and develop responsive programming to enhance the health of Minnesotaâ™s professional journalism ecosystem. 
  Example: Curating a digital resource library, organizing online skill-building workshops, or designing new professional fellowship initiatives to support early- or mid-career journalists working across different sectors of the industry.
• Strategize and make recommendations around  improving the quality and efficiency of current programs and building capacity toward expanding the Centerâ™s activities, including with respect to staffing needs and opportunities for grants and external philanthropic support.
• Develop short and long range protocols for MJC evaluation of effectiveness at serving the Centerâ™s key stakeholders. 
• Prepare and analyze budget reports of the multi-faceted funding streams of the MJC and make recommendations for program focus and effort.
• Supervise work performed by student support staff and liaise with Center affiliates and HSJMC administrative staff.
  

External Communications Coordination 40%

• Lead the development of an effective communication strategy in consultation with the Director and the HSJMC Communication Director to increase the visibility and reach of the Minnesota Journalism Center, while maintaining alignment in  branding and messaging.
• Through stakeholder engagement, conduct analyses for operational improvements and then facilitate and coordinate improvement to MJC communication materials. This includes:
  Develop external communications strategies  to advance the MJCâ™s mission through improving the reach and engagement of Center communications with appropriate community partners about MJC research projects, educational programs, and events or other outreach initiatives.
• Creation of a content calendar and workflow for external communications and oversee content creation and editing for websites, newsletter, and social media
• Develop and implement tools for measuring impact of the MJCs communications strategy to support grant-writing and strategic planning.
• Manage and lead the multimedia production of journalistic content documenting insights from ongoing interviews with local journalists and other key stakeholders.
• Formulate proposals in consultation with the MJC director for sustainable ways of expanding MJC publications of public-facing content about innovations, changes, and key developments in the local news ecosystem statewide.

Public Relations and Community Engagement 20%

• Represent the MJC internally at the University of Minnesota and with external partners and agencies (ie; foundations, news outlets) in place of the Director as needed. This role is a key front-facing point-person especially with respect to the journalism community in Minnesota.
• Develop and maintain relationships with numerous stakeholders and effectively connect the journalism community to the University of Minnesota resources, organizations and people. 
• Plan and oversee key engagement projects, including the development of the Centerâ™s advisory board.
  

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• BA/BS degree plus at least 6 years of experience, including as a professional journalist 
• Demonstrated knowledge of the local media ecosystem in Minnesota across a variety of types of organizations
• Knowledge and experience working with diverse communities.
• Ability to work across research, teaching, and engagement focus areas to address the Minnesota Journalism Centerâ™s priorities.
• Experience conducting research, training, and educational outreach for professional journalism outlets and facilitating funding partnerships.
• Experience supervising staff.
• Demonstrated expertise and leadership in community-engaged journalism methods and approaches including: partnership development; ethical considerations of university- community journalism research.
• Evidence of taking journalism professional research to practice, action and/or broader community use through creation, dissemination, and adoption of products and findings for community constituencies. 
• Experience mentoring and teaching community-engaged journalism workshops and/or courses.
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• MA or PhD in journalism or mass communication or related field.
• 10 or more years of experience as a professional journalist.
• Prior experience working as a journalist in Minnesota. 
• Recognized professional leader in the journalism field.

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

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