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Jobs at University Communications

Staff Positions

Assistant Producer, Videographer and Editor

Position Profile

Major Administrative Unit: University Communications
Department: Marketing, Public Relations and Digital Strategy
Division: Integrated Communications and Strategic Partnerships
Job Title: Assistant Producer
Job Classification: Television Producer/Director I, APA 13

Overview

The Assistant Producer is a visual storyteller who helps create content to tell MSU’s stories that shape the reputation of MSU through excellence and impact, build trust and confidence in MSU, support values and goals around safety, RVSM and DEI and help drive affinity and connection among our Spartan community. Assists the team and occasionally leads to produce, write, create, research, shoot and/or edit video and create visual content for online digital distribution channels to help achieve the goals of University Communications and Michigan State University.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

Researches, produces, writes, shoots and/or edits visual content to be used in MSU’s online digital channels, social media channels, executive communications, national advertising and support media outreach.

  • Ideates, concepts, manages and creates strategic visual storytelling content that builds affinity and esteem for MSU, including developing and driving production of unique multicomponent and multichannel content ideas
  • Works with producer(s) and confers with faculty, staff, alumni and students to assist in the design and development of strategic digital content
  • Designs lighting setup and captures audio necessary to produce breakthrough and competitive digital content to deliver communications objectives
  • Delivers and customizes video content in varying formats and for multiple audiences tailored for specific channels
  • Helps maintain archiving system and contributes to ongoing file management for all institutional programming and related content
  • Ensures content adheres to campus-wide accessibility standards
  • Assists in providing instruction in digital content production and design to student interns
  • Identifies, researches and recommends emerging digital and visual trends that align with and advance the university brand and create exceptional audience experiences
  • Travels as needed for production
  • If possible, helps contribute to visual storytelling through photography
 

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

The job requires: knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in television production or telecommunications; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in studio and remote television production, editing and the use of related television equipment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

 

Desired Qualifications

Four to six years of progressively responsible or expansive professional experience in video production; Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop and related graphics proficiency required at a national broadcast standards level; significant production experience in studio and remote locations; and experience producing HD programming; knowledge of digital still photography; ability to work independently and to write and edit scripts and to interview subjects for appearance on television; expertise in the selection, use and maintenance of the equipment and techniques necessary to produce nationally competitive, high-quality digital programming.

 

Required Application Materials

To assure full consideration, please apply online at careers.msu.edu by April 11. The posting is No. 836198.

Applications must include:

  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • 3 Professional References
  • Personal portfolio and any other related content of previous experience. Can include personal website, video links, video files, photography, motion graphics.
 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability or protected veteran status.

About MSU/East Lansing

Michigan State University is situated on a beautiful, park-like campus, close to major metropolitan centers, with outlying research facilities and natural areas and a proud land-grant heritage. The campus is located in East Lansing and adjacent to the capital city of Lansing, with a diverse population of approximately 450,000. Local communities have excellent school systems and place a high value on education. The campus has nearly 5,500 faculty and academic staff, more than 6,300 support staff, and more than 50,000 students. MSU is an equal-opportunity employer committed to supporting and actively increasing diversity in all areas of campus. MSU is proactive in exploring opportunities for employment of dual-career couples, both inside and outside the university. Information about MSU’s dual-career support can be found at http://miwin.msu.edu.

 

Communications Manager

Position Profile

Major Administrative Unit: University Communications
Division: Media and Public Information
Job Title: Communications Manager
Job Classification: Communications Manager II, APA 14

Overview

The Communications Manager is a part of the Executive Communications team within University Communications. The position prepares talking points, briefing materials, remarks, statements, scripts, messaging and other communications materials for Board of Trustee members. This position also prepares Board members for media interviews in conjunction with university messaging and providing internal communications support in coordination with a variety of university units and stakeholders. This position works closely with the Board Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Board of Trustees and University Communications leadership on communications materials and topics, including crisis and issues related activities; supports logistics and preparation for key events; and helps maintain trustee website and prepare web content, video scripts and other written products. This position is responsible for maintaining comprehensive knowledge of diverse issues and requires continuous coordination with multiple departments, units and activities across MSU to maintain an advanced level of situational awareness. The position will report to the Director of Executive and Internal Communications with frequent guidance provided by the Vice President for Media and Public Information/University Spokesperson and Director of Executive and Internal Communications. The position will work closely with all areas of University Communications to stay up to speed on issues management and the ongoing promotion and marketing of the university and key programs.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

  • Supports external and internal communication from the MSU Board of Trustees in conjunction with university messaging and in coordination with a variety of university units and stakeholders
  • Prepares talking points, remarks, statements, scripts, presentations, messaging and other communications materials for Board members
  • Develops communications plans for key projects
  • Coordinates special events and prepares honorary resolutions, when needed
  • Manages Board website and prepares website content; coordinates content with other key sites as needed
  • Contributes to and/or develops written materials and content communicating board activities
  • Plans and coordinates photo opportunities and videos to inform the public and key stakeholders on Board projects and positions
  • Supports Board members in their communications with diverse range of constituents and media
  • Assists with responses to the Board email account
  • Contributes to editing other material within University Communications and BOT Office
  • Monitors media coverage of the Board and assists with corrections and clarifications as needed
  • Provides updated media and social media reports to Board when needed

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

  • Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Journalism, Telecommunications, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, English or related field
  • Three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in public and media relations; internal communications, composing, editing and publication production; news, broadcasting and print media; executive communications; and/or marketing, advertising and creative services; graphic design; word processing; desktop publishing; web design; presentation; spreadsheet and/or database software; public presentation or radio production; or computer programming/technology; and/or experience in a field related to area of employment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
  • Knowledge of AP writing style and editing, and Web writing
  • Must demonstrate initiative, good judgement and the ability to own projects and manage multiple tasks/assignments
  • Must be able to work effectively with team members and contacts
  • Ability to set and meet goals while working both independently and as part of a team

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience in higher education or government
  • Experience advising senior leaders and/or elected officials
  • Demonstrated ability to synthesize and summarize complex information and communicate clearly and concisely
  • Experience handling sensitive issues with care and discretion
  • Knowledge of Freedom of Information Act
  • This position requires, or will require prior to the completion of the probationary period: knowledge of basic personal computer terminology and operations, and the ability to use e-mail and the Internet
  • Creating content (talking points, media briefings, announcement plans, etc.) with tight deadlines

Required Application Materials

To assure full consideration, please apply online at careers.msu.edu by March 28. The posting is No. 849516.

Applications must include:

  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • 3 Professional References
  • Writing Sample

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability or protected veteran status.

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

About MSU/East Lansing

Michigan State University is situated on a beautiful, park-like campus, close to major metropolitan centers, with outlying research facilities and natural areas and a proud land-grant heritage. The campus is located in East Lansing and adjacent to the capital city of Lansing, with a diverse population of approximately 450,000. Local communities have excellent school systems and place a high value on education. The campus has nearly 5,500 faculty and academic staff, more than 6,300 support staff, and more than 50,000 students. MSU is an equal-opportunity employer committed to supporting and actively increasing diversity in all areas of campus. MSU is proactive in exploring opportunities for employment of dual-career couples, both inside and outside the university. Information about MSU’s dual-career support can be found at http://miwin.msu.edu.

 

Public Relations Coordinator

Position Profile

Major Administrative Unit: University Communications
Division: Media and Public Information
Job Title: Public Relations Coordinator
Job Classification: Communications Manager I, APA 12

Overview

As a PR Coordinator on MSU’s public relations team, you will have a strong interest in learning and mastering a wide array of public relations strategies and tools used to promote MSU’s news, research and academic excellence.

The PR coordinator is a critical position that will be responsible for a variety of day-to-day activities, including but not limited to: website content management; news release distribution, analytics tagging and regular reporting; updating and maintaining MSU's expert database; and managing and shaping the social media strategy for the MSU News social media accounts.

Other routine but critical matters to be handled by the PR Coordinator include, but are not limited to, drafting and compiling media distribution lists; compiling media reports, maintaining images and captions for promotion; assisting with promotional events; fulfilling media, campus, and regional requests for materials or information; and undertaking research, writing, design and/or editing projects as needed. The mix of projects will be dictated by departmental needs, timelines and skillset.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to take on special projects as assigned, including but not limited to: mining for angles/research stories; pitching local, international, national and major regional media; drafting messages and media materials, shaping and adapting stories and content for distribution through various channels and working on integrated multichannel strategies.

The PR Coordinator position offers many opportunities for growth, including management of student interns to accomplish work, and the assignment of additional responsibilies as processes and tools are mastered.

MSU’s UComms department operates in a hybrid work environment.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

PR process management

  • Work daily with/in Cision to track and code media placements, develop coverage reports, analyze performance, report insights from data and use key learnings to shape future strategies and tactics; create and distribute Media Highlights email
  • Manage news release distribution process
  • Manage website content, including design and image selection for stories
  • Master communications, project management and CMS technology platforms, such as SiteCore, Kapost, Asana, Cision, ExpertFile, Newswise, EurekAlert, AP Planner, and more
  • Build and manage media lists, ensuring they are accurate and up to date

Monitoring, Tracking + Reporting

  • Manage daily media clips tagging process in Cision
  • Create weekly media highlights email, and develop new ideas to share media clips internally and externally
  • Devleop and manage PR Team’s monthly analytics report
  • Monitor daily news to identify opportunities for PR outreach

Social Media management and planning

  • Manage the MSU News Twitter accounts, including management, planning and reporting
  • Collaborate with institutional social media team to integrate and identify opportunities for news and research storytelling

Special projects as assigned (PR writing, research, pitching and strategy support)

  • Evaluate research and other campus stories for earned news value
  • Draft materials for media, including pitches, news releases, key messages, Q&As and fact sheets
  • Create caption sheets for news releases
  • Write news releases and develop institutional-level, multichannel strategies to drive reach, content consumption and engagement of content across various channels
  • Help develop strategies to promote key research stories, elevating MSU as a leading research university with both broad and niche audiences through earned media placements
  • Develop and foster relationships with producers, reporters, editors, and media contributors and influencers across a variety of beats and categories (i.e., news, lifestyle, science, health, business, technology, etc.); actively pitch international, national and major regional media and generate coverage
  • Build relationships with a wide network of MSU faculty and staff, including communications colleagues across MSU, to serve as sources for proactive pitches and reactive media inquiries; help promote faculty experts

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in journalism, telecommunications, or public relations; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in public and media relations, composing, editing and publication production, news, broadcasting, and print media, and/or marketing, advertising, and creative services; graphic design; word processing; desktop publishing; web design; presentation; spreadsheet and/or database software; public presentation; or radio production; or computer programming/technology; experience managing content for social media channels; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired Qualifications

  • One to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in public relations, journalism, marketing, advertising
  • A proven “team player” mentality ready for today’s fast-paced communications environment; flexible, collaborative, positive
  • A passion for earned media relations and a solid understanding of how PR falls within and interacts with the larger integrated communication network (paid, owned, shared)
  • A proven track record of pitching news stories to media and securing coverage in print, broadcast and online media, including social media; demonstrated ability to secure coverage in alignment with organizational and brand strategies; experience working with national media is a plus
  • Demonstrated ability to execute integrated public relations strategies and tactics (including writing, pitching, creating content, collaborating with colleagues, creative problem solving, etc.)
  • Excellent verbal and oral presentation skills
  • Demonstrated ability to build a presentation from scratch and deliver content in a compelling, confident, professional and poised manner
  • Proven ability to translate a variety of complex topics into consumer-friendly stories and media pitches
  • Strong creative writing skills and the ability to develop unique news story angles
  • Proficiency in media database software (like Cision, Meltwater, etc.)
  • Ability to work well under pressure
  • Proficient knowledge of Associated Press style
  • Strong leadership and accountability
  • Bachelor’s degree program in marketing, advertising or related field that prepared individual to communicate effectively with diverse audiences
  • One to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in public and media relations, journalism, or marketing
  • Excellent writing, research and editing skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office
  • Strong verbal communications skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Experience with visual storytelling through use of photo, video, animations, graphics, charts, etc.
  • Experience working in a fast-paced, daily-deadline environment
  • Ability to work with minimal supervision, highly productive and can manage multiple simultaneous projects
  • Proficiency in word processing/presentation software and media database platforms

Required Application Materials

To assure full consideration, please apply online at careers.msu.edu by May 16. The posting is No. 858170.

Applications must include:

  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • 3 Professional References
  • Writing Sample

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability or protected veteran status.

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

About MSU/East Lansing

Michigan State University is situated on a beautiful, park-like campus, close to major metropolitan centers, with outlying research facilities and natural areas and a proud land-grant heritage. The campus is located in East Lansing and adjacent to the capital city of Lansing, with a diverse population of approximately 450,000. Local communities have excellent school systems and place a high value on education. The campus has nearly 5,500 faculty and academic staff, more than 6,300 support staff, and more than 50,000 students. MSU is an equal-opportunity employer committed to supporting and actively increasing diversity in all areas of campus. MSU is proactive in exploring opportunities for employment of dual-career couples, both inside and outside the university. Information about MSU’s dual-career support can be found at http://miwin.msu.edu.

 

Student Positions

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Communications Intern

 

University Communications is hiring a student intern to join our team for 2023-24. The ideal candidate possesses knowledge and skills in a variety of areas such as writing and content creation, graphic design and photography. The intern must be available to work 10-15 hours during the academic year in increments of 3-5 hours, Monday through Friday.

The intern is prepared to work in a fast-paced online environment and will gain specialized experience in the emerging field of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, communications. The role reports to MSU’s DEI communications manager.

The DEI communications intern is responsible for producing engaging stories and content for MSUToday and the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, or IDI, channels.

Duties and Responsibilities  

  • Draft, schedule and publish social media posts
  • Assist in the creation or gathering of graphic design and photography
  • Assist in uploading and updating website content
  • Draft and schedule posts to social networks
  • Help garner insights on content performance
  • Research and recommend new platforms to engage students in DEI
  • Assist with DEI committees and note taking

Internship Objectives

  • Practical experience with website, email marketing and social media campaigns
  • Gain communications skills specific to developing a career in diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Shadowing, mentoring and training opportunities
  • Opportunity to participate in networking events and cross campus meetings

Required Experience/Skills 

  • Passion for DEI topics
  • Self-starter with ability to manage multiple projects
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Reliable and efficient time management skills
  • Extensive knowledge of social media
  • Ability to take direction and multi-task
  • Familiarity with Associated Press editorial style

Desired Qualifications

  • Graphic design experience in Canva
  • Experience using Sitecore, Cascade, WordPress, Drupal or other web platforms
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite
     

Required Application Materials

  • Cover Letter
  • Resume
  • Portfolio of Work and/or Writing Samples (single PDF preferred with links)

How to Apply

Please apply either online through Handshake at https://msu.joinhandshake.com/login, job number 6549385, or send the required application materials to comms.hr@msu.edu.