Located in a historic neighborhood in the nation's capital, Georgetown offers rigorous academic programs, a global perspective, exciting ways to take advantage of Washington, D.C., and a commitment to social justice. Our community is a tight knit group of remarkable individuals interested in intellectual inquiry and making a difference in the world.
Requirements
Job Overview
The Assistant Director of Public Affairs reports to the Vice President for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor to the President. The Office of Public Affairs reports directly to the President and is organized into the following units: Strategic Communications (Media Relations, Editorial Services, Internal Communications, Creative Services, Social Media and Content Strategy); University Safety; Protocol and Events; and Business Policy. The Athletics Department reports to the Office of Public Affairs via a dotted line.
The individual broadly supports the Office of Public Affairs as the Vice President seeks to represent and promote Georgetown University to a variety of constituents, identify emerging issues, contribute to University initiatives, and support academic priorities. Furthermore, the incumbent works closely with the Office of Strategic Communications to plan and execute University-wide communications, including broadcast emails, social media, and crisis management.
This position provides high-level strategic thinking to the Office of Public Affairs. The Assistant Director is responsible for conducting comprehensive research and analysis of emerging issues for Senior University Leadership, monitoring various media sources, and briefing the Vice President on important developments around the university. S/he is responsible for compiling and drafting memos and presentations for the University Board of Directors. S/he serves in leadership positions on university working groups on a variety of topics, including visual identity, athletics, campus planning, community engagement and others at the discretion of the Vice President.
In addition, this individual effectively manages the day-to-day and long-term activities of the office. The Assistant Director coordinates closely with all members of the Public Affairs team (7 direct reports and over 15 staff members) on behalf of the Vice President and briefs the Vice President accordingly to support his work with the Public Affairs staff and University Leadership, ensuring his ability to respond to demands within the University.
S/he will also manage the administrative operations of the Office of Public Affairs, including the Office of Strategic Communications, providing a full range of managerial and organizational support, including budget oversight, managing a complex scheduling process, managing student interns, organizing travel, coordinating hiring for various offices, managing subscriptions and University contracts, and filing expenses reports, among other duties as assigned.
This position requires professionalism, confidentiality internally and externally, discretion, knowledge of university operations and appropriate business etiquette, ability to converse with the university's top administrators and their staff members, collegiality, collaboration, the ability to prioritize and juggle multiple tasks, good judgment, and excellent communication skills.
This position is a crucial link, both direct and indirect, with Public Affairs colleagues, and other University staff, faculty, and students. The Assistant Director of Public Affairs conducts a wide range of activities with various internal and external University constituencies. Poor judgment and/or decisions by the incumbent could result in problems that have a negative impact on the university's performance, Vice President's performance, or on the ability of the Office of Public Affairs to work with other university departments. This position must handle staff matters with discretion and tact, including written documents that may include highly sensitive material. The ability to efficiently and broadly support the Office of Public Affairs and interact appropriately and discreetly with various stakeholder groups is essential to the department's success.
Work Interactions
The Assistant Director of Public Affairs will report to the Vice President for Public Affairs and also work closely with the Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications, the Associate Vice President for Public Affairs and Business Policy, and the Senior Advisor to the President. The Assistant Director will also have regular contact with the other individuals in the larger Public Affairs enterprise at the University, along with the President's Office, the Chief Operating Officer's Office, General Counsel's Office, Provost's Office, Office of Advancement, and Student Affairs. Incumbent will have regular contact with students and will represent the Office of Public Affairs at events on and off campus.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree
1-3 years' experience in external relations/public affairs, preferably in a university setting
Excellent oral and written communications skills.
Must have strong organizational skills, the ability to prioritize effectively, work multiple tasks at one time, and meet deadlines for a wide variety of assignments.
Must be able to assimilate data, produce research with attention to detail, work with students, communicate effectively and work efficiently and flexibly, both independently and as part of a team.
Must exercise careful judgment and discretion with respect to strategic and confidential material.
Work Mode Designation
This position has been designated as Hybrid 3 Days. Please note that work mode designations are regularly reviewed in order to meet the evolving needs of the University. Such review may necessitate a change to a position's mode of work designation. Complete details about Georgetown University's mode of work designations for staff and AAP positions can be found on the Department of Human Resources website: https://hr.georgetown.edu/mode-of-work-designation .
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Submission Guidelines:
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Need Assistance:
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Need some assistance with the application process? Please call 202-687-2500. For more information about the suite of benefits, professional development and community involvement opportunities that make up Georgetown's commitment to its employees, please visit the Georgetown Works website .
EEO Statement:
Georgetown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law .
Benefits:
Georgetown University offers a wide variety of comprehensive and competitive benefits. Benefits packages include comprehensive health, dental and vision plans, disability and life insurance coverage, retirement savings programs, tuition assistance, voluntary insurance options (including group legal, accident, and critical illness), and much more. Whatever your need, the Office of Faculty and Staff Benefits will be standing by to support you. You can learn more about the benefits offered to eligible faculty and staff at https://benefits.georgetown.edu or view the online interactive benefits guide for more information.