Missouri State University

1240 Director of University Communications, West Plains

POSITION IDENTIFICATION

TITLE Director of University Communications, West Plains

CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1240

GRADE 45

CLASSIFICATION Exempt
 
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Chancellor
 
MAJOR ADMINISTRATOR Chancellor
 
GENERAL FUNCTION
 
The Director of University Communications is the chief public relations officer for Missouri State University-West Plains. The Director is responsible for developing and implementing public relations programs in support of the mission of Missouri State University – West Plains; providing public relations counsel to the Chancellor and other campus officials; and supporting the University’s marketing efforts. The Director is responsible for the coordination of activities that expand and enhance the image of the campus. Those activities include the following areas: community relations, internal communications, marketing, news services, and publications.
 
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
 
Education: A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, public relations or a relevant field is required. A master’s degree is preferred. 
 
Experience: A minimum of five years experience in public relations practice, preferably with management experience is required. This experience should be in one or more of these areas of public relations: media relations, news and information, publications and sports information. Experience in a college setting is preferred. Experience in coordinating special events such as awards luncheons and facility dedications is helpful. Experience with and/or understanding of electronic media and web development is preferred.
 
Skills: Strong verbal and written communications skills are required. Demonstrated management skills in areas such as goal-setting, staff supervision and evaluation and budgeting are required. Computer literacy is required.
 
Other: Scope of the job frequently requires some travel, working evenings and/or weekends, and attending events in the evening and/or weekend.
 
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 
1. Ensures that the central administration is aware of the implications of a variety of issues from by providing public relations counsel to the Chancellor and other campus officials. 
 
2.  Develops and implements action plans to meet the campus’s public relations needs by understanding the campus’s mission and goals and identifying public relations needs associated with the mission and goals.
 
3. Ensures the quality of the University Communications department’s operation by recruiting and hiring qualified applicants, providing training in departmental operations and individual duties, assigning work projects as appropriate, supervising work activities including news releases and publications, and providing evaluation of work performances.
 
4. Plans and manages a comprehensive public information program through the media including feature stories, news releases, and public service announcements to promote academic programs, events, faculty/staff appointments and other newsworthy activities.
 
5. Supervises and monitors publications operations, including pre-production aspects of catalogs, brochures and specialized publications.
 
6. Ensures accuracy and consistency in all campus publications produced by the office by establishing standards for writing style, copy development, and design and encouraging other departments throughout the campus to comply with the same standards and guidelines.
 
7. Expands the campus’s constituency, strengthens existing affiliations, and ensures positive media exposure by coordinating and/or supporting special events for Missouri State University – West Plains, ranging from building dedications to awards programs.
 
8. Communicates the campus’s position and policies on a variety of issues to specific media and to various campus constituencies by serving as the Missouri State University – West Plains contact person with the media and as appropriate, developing position papers and background materials for the Chancellor.
 
9. Represents the Office of University Communications by chairing and serving on various campus committees.
 
10. Ensures fiscally-sound operation of the University Communications department by exercising management practices which results in operating within allocated budget.
 
11. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues and attendance at professional development conferences/workshops and related activities.
 
12. Contributes to the overall success of the campus by performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned the by the Chancellor.
 
SUPERVISION
 
The Director of University Communications reports to the Missouri State University-West Plains Chancellor and supervises the public relations specialist, graphic designer, work study student and student workers.
 
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

MARCH 2007

JOB FAMILY 4

Factor 1: Professional Knowledge, Skill, and Technical Mastery

Level 4 - 2300 Points: Knowledge of the principles, concepts, practices, methods and techniques of an administrative, managerial, or professional field such as accounting or auditing, financial management, business administration, human resources, engineering, social sciences, communications, education, law, or medicine. Knowledge permits the employee to complete assignments by applying established methods to recurring types of projects/problems susceptible to well-documented precedents or to schedule, plan, and carry out precedented projects. Alternatively, knowledge at this level might also permit the employee to carry out precedented projects requiring considerable experience in specific areas within higher education. Knowledge at this level is typically acquired through a combination of formal education and/or training and experience that includes a requirement for a college degree in a specific technical or professional specialty along with significant related work experience. Alternatively, equivalent knowledge requirements at this level include a non-technical or general Bachelor's degree requirement with substantial work experience or a non-specific Master's degree requirement with substantial work experience. Knowledge requirements generally also include a significant amount of related work experience and may include administrative or supervisory experience.

Factor 2: Supervisory Responsibility

Level 3 - 270 Points: Supervision of a limited number of (a) operative, administrative support, or paraprofessional employees who do not exercise a full range of supervisory responsibilities over other full-time employees, (b) a very small number of professional employees, or an equivalent combination of (a) and (b). The incumbent performs a full range of supervisory responsibilities including performance reviews of subordinates. The incumbent is generally responsible for training, planning, and directing the work of permanent employees, and provides major input into hiring decisions. Supervisory responsibilities consume moderate amounts of work time and may include general work planning tasks.

Factor 3: Interactions with Others

Level 4 - 500 Points: Interactions with others are somewhat unstructured. The purpose may be to influence or motivate others, to obtain information, or to control situations and resolve problems. Interactions may be with individuals or groups of co-workers, students, or the general public, may be moderately unstructured, and may involve persons who hold differing goals and objectives. Individuals at this level often act as a liaison between groups with a focus on solving particular unstructured problems. Interactions at this level require considerable interpersonal skill and the ability to resolve conflict.

Factor 4: Job Controls and Guidelines

Level 3 - 500 Points: The employee operates under general supervision expressed in terms of program goals and objectives, priorities, and deadlines. Administrative supervision is given through statements of overall program or project objectives and available resources. Administrative guidelines are relatively comprehensive and the employee need only to fill in gaps in interpretation and adapt established methods to perform recurring activities. In unforeseen situations, the employee must interpret inadequate or incomplete guidelines, develop plans, and initiate new methods to complete assignments based on those interpretations. Assignments are normally related in function, but the work requires many different processes and methods applied to an established administrative or professional field. Problems are typically the result of unusual circumstances, variations in approach, or incomplete or conflicting data. The employee must interpret and refine methods to complete assignments. Characteristic jobs at this level may involve directing single-purpose programs or performing complex, but precedented, technical or professional work.

Factor 5: Managerial Responsibility

Level 4 - 1500 Points: Work involves the primary accountability for a smaller department, program, or process. Work activities involve managerial decisions that directly affect the efficiency, costs, reputation, and service quality of the department, program, or process. Work affects a limited range of professional projects or administrative activities of the University. Work activities have a direct and substantial impact on the department. While work activities do have some effect on the efficiency and reputation of the cost center, departments, programs, or processes at this level represent a relatively minor function within the cost center. Employees in jobs at this level may have responsibility for developing budgets, distributing budgeted funds, and exercising the primary control over a relatively small budget.