The University of Virginia seeks applications for a Director of Communications to join the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The Communications Director will develop and execute the overall communications strategy for the Provost’s Office with an emphasis on elevating awareness of the Provost’s programmatic priorities and key initiatives of the Vice Provost areas.

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost sponsors programs and initiatives for faculty, students, and academic administrators. The Director of Communications will report to the Chief of Staff to the Provost. For more information on the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, please visit https://provost.virginia.edu/.

One of the University’s top priorities is to create a living, learning, and work environment that supports—and challenges—our academic community. To achieve its mission, the University must be a place in which all faculty, students, and staff are active participants in its work, where those groups historically excluded from participation in University life are present in numbers that prevent isolation of the spirit and of the mind, and where each individual is conscious of how they contribute to the creation and dissemination of knowledge that enhances the well-being of our community, our state, our nation, and the world. For more information on Diversity and Inclusion within the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, please visit: https://provost.virginia.edu/diversity-inclusion.

The successful candidate will:

• Advise Provost’s Office leadership on the public relations implications of potential policy and program decisions.
• Establish a consistent identity for Provost’s Office communications and develop and assess annual communications plans.
• Incorporate Inclusive Excellence principles in their communications planning and execution.
• Collaborate with University colleagues to increase awareness of academic priorities and achievements among decision-makers in local, state and federal governmental bodies and agencies; leaders at peer institutions; and journalists who cover higher education.
• Foster community among the communications professionals embedded in units across the Provost Organization at large, providing leadership and support to ensure that their communications amplify key messages, align with University brand standards, and are sequenced and targeted to avoid competition with each other.
• Collaborate with communications leads in the offices of the President, the EVP & COO, the EVP for Health Affairs, and Student Affairs.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the Provost’s Office and the offices of University Communications and Advancement Communications, ensuring that Provost priorities and achievements are communicated externally by the news office and to U.Va. constituencies through “UVAToday,” “Envision” and other house channels.
• Serve as the primary liaison to communications leads in the schools, libraries and other academic units with which the Provost’s Office has routine interaction.
• Collaborate with the Provost’s Office web team on web content, identity and branding.
• Administer the University’s Mass Digital Communications Policy (IRM-006), in coordination with the Provost, when the communication pertains to academic matters.
• Support crisis communications under the direction of University Communications.
• Write and edit articles, reports, white papers, news releases, backgrounders, publications, and briefing materials.
• Provide editorial support to the Provost for personal communications such as talking points, remarks, presentations, opinion essays and letters.
• Respond with kindness, candor and good humor when faced with difficult or ambiguous situations and swiftly changing priorities.

Qualifications:

Required

• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Bachelor’s degree with at least eight years of experience, or a master’s degree in public relations, communications or journalism with six years of experience.
• Experience envisioning, developing and implementing a successful and comprehensive strategic communications plan based on an organization's goals and priorities.
• Experience working with a team of colleagues who are not direct reports, building consensus and strong collaborative partnerships across complex organizations.
• Commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment.

Preferred

• Experience in higher education or non-profit public relations and communications.
• Experience in executive communications support such as remarks, presentations, white papers, and opinion essays.
• Knowledge of media relations, stakeholder communications, and social media strategy.
• Experience using an inclusive excellence framework to advance an organization's goals in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Experience supervising freelance and staff writers, designers, photographers, videographers, and social media professionals.

This position is located in Charlottesville, VA; a hybrid work schedule is possible.

The anticipated start date is January 1, 2023. Salary is commensurate with education and experience. This is an Exempt level, benefited position. For more information about benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits.

Review of applicants will begin November 14, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

To Apply:

Please apply through Workday, and search for R0041531. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching ‘Find Jobs.’ Complete an application online with the following documents:

• Cover letter describing how this position fits into candidate’s career path.
• Resume or CV
• One writing sample of no more than three pages, preceded by an accompanying explanation of the context in which it was written, the target audience, and the intended outcome.

Please merge all documents into a single PDF in the order listed above and upload it into the resume submission field. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Ashley Cochran, Senior Recruiter, Academic Lead at alc6dk@virginia.edu.

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

COVID Vaccination Requirement and Guidelines

Please visit the UVA COVID-19 Job Requirements and Guidelines webpage prior to applying for current information regarding vaccination requirements and guidelines for employment at UVA.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.