Minnesota Journalism Center Associate Director

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 Minnesota'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 Center's expert on Minnesota'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 Center's ongoing programs. The associate director also oversees key capacity-building projects to increase the Center's reach and effectiveness. These include the formation of the Center'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 MJC'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 Minnesota'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 Center'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 Center'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 MJC'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 Center's advisory board.

Qualifications

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 Center'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 the Department

The Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota is part of the College of Liberal Arts and is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Journalism and Mass Communication. The Hubbard School offers majors in Strategic Communication - Advertising and Public Relations, Professional Journalism, and Media and Information; and minors in Media and Information and Digital Media Studies. The Hubbard School offers an academic M.A. and Ph.D. and a Professional M.A. in Strategic Communication.

Housed in Murphy Hall, a state-of-the-art facility for teaching and research of journalism, strategic communication, and emerging media studies, the Hubbard School is home to the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, the Minnesota Journalism Center, the Hubbard Digital Studios, and the Digital Information Research Center/Sevareid Library. Hubbard facilities also include the Murphy Hall conference center, multimedia classrooms, and psychophysiological communication research labs, and a focus group room, which is used to support graduate-level experimental research. For further information, please visit the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication's website, at: https://cla.umn.edu/hsjmc

About the College of Liberal Arts
Home to the arts, social sciences and humanities disciplines and programs, the College of Liberal Arts is the largest college in the University of Minnesota and comprises 31 academic departments, and over 20 interdisciplinary research centers and administrative/support units. CLA has over 1,300 faculty and staff spanning research, teaching, advising, outreach, and administrative functions. CLA units reside in over 20 buildings on the East Bank and West Bank of the Twin Cities campus. CLA enrolls nearly 13,000 undergraduate students, more than 40% of the undergraduate enrollment on the Twin Cities campus, 1,400 graduate students, and has an annual all-funds budget of $290 million.

CLA is a destination for curious, compassionate individuals who are committed to making our increasingly interdependent and diverse global community work for everyone. That foundational commitment begins in our CLA Constitution. CLA is committed to increasing enrollment of underrepresented and under-resourced students, diversifying our faculty across all disciplines, recruiting, and retaining a diverse staff, and promoting the expression and exploration of diverse perspectives and viewpoints-so that we all gain the background knowledge and analytical skills we need to understand and respect differences.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in CLA

Working in CLA

Benefits

Working at the University

At the University of Minnesota, you'll find a flexible work environment and supportive colleagues who are interested in lifelong learning. We prioritize work-life balance, allowing you to invest in the future of your career and in your life outside of work.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefits.

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail [redacted] or call ([redacted].

Diversity

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. To learn more about diversity at the U: http://diversity.umn.edu

Employment Requirements

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

About the U of M

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America's Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).