Job Details

Director - Communications and Media Relations

Position Number: 6222333
Location: Cheney, WA
Position Type: Public Relations, Marketing and Communications

Director - Communications and Media Relations

About Eastern Washington University:

Eastern Washington University, a regional, comprehensive public university with an enrollment of over 10,000 students, is one of six state-funded four-year institutions of higher education in Washington, each governed by its own board of trustees. As the regions polytechnic, we are recognized for our distinctive approach to hands-on learning that leads to in-demand careers. EWUs 300-acre main campus is located in Cheney, a community of 12,000 residents 16 miles southwest of Washingtons second largest city, Spokane. Eastern also offers programs in downtown Spokane at the innovative, energy-efficient Catalyst building, the SIERR building which is a hub for research, development and advancement of health sciences, and at Riverpoint, a campus shared with Washington State University. In addition, EWU programs can be found at select locations throughout the state, aligned with the needs of the community. Eastern contributes to the vitality of the region and the state through its wide array of bachelors and masters degrees in over 100 fields of study, as well as applied doctorates in physical therapy and educational leadership, offering accessible pathways to career success and personal development to students of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

Eastern Washington University has been recognized for its commitment to helping undergraduate students learn, grow and succeed by Colleges of Distinction, a nationally trusted resource guide for college-bound students. The honor recognizes Eastern as a 24-25 College of Distinction (CoD).

Money magazine recently named EWU as one of its Best Colleges in America 2024.

Tribal Land Acknowledgement
Eastern Washington University resides within the traditional homelands of the Spokane People and other tribes who are connected through their shared history of this region. This land holds their cultural DNA and it is their Ancestors who are here and bring forth the knowledge of this place-the knowledge that comes from the land.

Job Summary:

Eastern Washington University (EWU) is currently seeking skilled and team-oriented applicants for the following position: Director of Communications and Media Relations. This key position, located within the Advancement division and reporting to the Associate Vice President for University Relations, serves as the universitys chief communications and public information officer as well as its primary media relations contact. The Director plays a crucial role in communicating EWUs mission, vision, and values, working within an environment that highly values cross-divisional collaboration. Responsibilities include overseeing community and media relations, managing crisis communications, and developing content across multiple platforms. The Director also supports various units within the Advancement division. In addition, the Director contributes to advancing the universitys mission and strategic priorities, enhancing visibility and awareness both within the university and throughout the broader community and region. This involves coordinating efforts and crafting messages for diverse internal and external audiences. The Director also acts as an advisor to the Vice President of Advancement, the President, the Cabinet, Deans, and other senior leaders.

The salary for this position is $80,631 (minimum) up to $112,887. Where the hired candidate will begin within this range is dependent on education, experience, and skills. In addition to salary, the university offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, life and disability insurance and retirement. In addition, EWU offers generous vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays per year and fringe benefits, such as tuition waiver for employees and eligible family members, discounted EWU sports tickets, full access to our campus workout facilities at a minimum fee and free transportation through STA buses. For additional information regarding insurance benefits please see our Benefits page: https://inside.ewu.edu/hr/benefits/insurance/ .

EWU expands opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelors degree in Marketing, Communications, or Journalism required.
Minimum of ten (10) years writing/editing experience required (with ability to organize and prioritize work assignments), preferably with a media or public relations focus.
Experience writing communications using original or innovative techniques or styles to include articles, newsletters or other business-related, special interest pieces.
Leadership experience, including mentoring, coaching and/or developing employees.
Strong ability to communicate effectively and professionally, both verbally and in writing.
Strong interpersonal skills required, including maintaining positive relationships and excellent customer service skills.
Ability to read, analyze and interpret data and understand and communicate complex and diverse information, and effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of department heads, clients, and the general public.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of situations exercising flexibility and sound judgement in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated ability to apply a responsive and flexible approach that is supportive to the needs of, including universal access, of our students, faculty, staff and the public.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with media tracking programs and analytics.
Understanding of higher education and/or government.
Graduate degree.

Other Skills and Abilities:

Proficient knowledge of MS Office programs including Outlook, Word and Excel.
Ability to adapt to changes and prioritize and manage competing demands.
Ability to work effectively and collaboratively in a diverse work group.
Ability to make practical and timely decisions and explain reasoning for decisions.
Strong work ethic required, including the ability to complete duties on time, consistently arrive at work on time as scheduled, and ability to work flexible hours and overtime as needed.

Job Duties:

Manage all external communications as it relates to news releases, media relations and public relations efforts for Eastern Washington University.
Serve as primary university spokesperson.
Oversee the development of proactive public relations and media relations initiatives that clearly communicate and advance Easterns mission/vision in traditional and new media.
Perform media tracking and provide regular reports to leadership.
Partner with the administration, the colleges and advancement staff on internal and external messaging and communications.
Foster and maintain constructive relationships with internal staff. This includes visiting with faculty, staff, students at all of Easterns campuses on a regular basis.
Build relationships with community partners, such as the University District, to enhance EWUs brand image.
Supervise issues management and emergency communications for the university; responsible for the communication and training for EWU crisis communication protocol.
Collaborate with key campus constituents as part of Emergency Response Team.
Support the writing of key speeches, talking points and communications for university administrators that enhance the external image of the university.
Oversee the distribution of Deans List and scholarship announcements to hometown newspapers.
Supervise the development of relevant content for various campus information channels such as EWU 24/7, social media platforms and the university website.
Manage the production of major external, pillar communication pieces such as Eastern Magazine.
In partnership with university divisions and development, execute the development of alumni and donor communications pieces
Collaborate with the Marketing Director on various university initiatives, paid advertising materials and general marketing & communication issues.
Manage EWU Experts Directory, highlighting faculty and staff who are experts in diverse subjects and current affairs.
Make recommendations to the Director of Marketing and AVP of Strategic Communications & Marketing on ways to improve existing programs that enhance EWUs correspondence and communications.
Attend all EWU Board of Trustees meetings.
Consult on college, department or organizational projects.

Percent of Time: 65

Manage the performance, training requirements, and professional development of direct reports, including planning, needs assessments, design and development and evaluation of leadership skills.
Provide effective leadership, mentoring and coaching to team members in order to assist them in reaching their career goals, increase their competency and promote team depth and unity.
Communicate department direction and enable team members to perform at the highest standards.
Lead the department/staff to include delegation of work assignments, coaching and feedback, rewards and recognition, and effective communication to include timely resolution of more complex departmental issues, conflicts and/or concerns.
Recommend and make changes in staffing levels, basic structure and/or organization of the department to ensure effective completion of objectives.
Requisition new positions as needed and coordinate and participate in the interviewing, hiring and training of team as necessary with the AVP of University Relations.
Contribute as an effective project team member and complete all tasks and assignments in a timely manner.
Stay informed on trends, best practices or other strategically-valuable issues that impact the University.

Percent of Time: 30

Perform other duties as assigned for the efficient operation of the department and the organization. This includes the possibility of being assigned temporarily to other locations.

Percent of Time: 5
Conditions of Employment:

This position, during the course of university employment, will be involved in the receipt of, or accountability for, university funds or other items of value, as well as the unsupervised access with the developmentally disabled, vulnerable adults or children under the age of 16. The offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion and passing of a background check prior to beginning employment.
All new employees must comply with EWU Immunization Policy 602-02 and provide proof of immunity or vaccination to MMR before beginning work at EWU. Waivers for the immunization requirements are available for medical or sincerely held religious beliefs.
This is an Administrative Exempt position and is covered by EWU Policy 406- 01, Exempt Employment https://inside.ewu.edu/policies/knowledge-base/ewu-406-01-exempt-employment/
After starting employment, employees will complete required training. In person and Zoom training opportunities will be posted on InsideEWU and are listed on the Human Resources webpage at https://inside.ewu.edu/hr/training/.

Salary Information:

$80,631 (minimum) up to $112,887. Where the hired candidate will begin within this range is dependent on education, experience, and skills.

Posting Date: 05/08/2025
Open Until Further Notice: No
Closing Date:
Screening to Begin: As soon as possible

Special Instructions to Applicants:
Submit your application materials through our online applications portal provided below. If you are unable to submit through the applicant portal, please contact Human Resources Services at (509) 359-2381.

To apply, visit https://jobs.hr.ewu.edu/postings/13593