What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Public Affairs & Internal Communications position at Rochester Institute of Technology?
9985BR
Marketing and Communications
University Communications
Job Summary
The Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communications serves as a strategic leader responsible for safeguarding and enhancing Rochester Institute of Technology's reputation. This role focuses on proactive issues management, crisis communications, and high-level internal messaging to ensure transparency, trust, and alignment across the university community.
The director monitors emerging risks, develops rapid-response strategies, and leads communications efforts during crises or reputational challenges. Additionally, the position oversees internal communications that foster engagement and clarity among faculty, staff, and students.
The Director will be responsible for identifying and tracking potential threats to the university, developing and implementing rapid communications efforts to mitigate those threats, and leading crisis communications and response efforts. The director will be responsible for real-time monitoring, messaging, response and analysis of news, issues, emergencies and crisis situations, and will plan proactively and promptly on behalf of the university.
The position directly reports to the Associate Vice President of Communications and will partner with university leadership, including the Office of the President, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, the Office of Legal Affairs, Risk Management, Public Safety, and others. This job requires a senior-level communications practitioner with demonstrated issues management and crisis communications experience. Experience in higher education is a plus.
Job Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
Establish and oversee systems and processes to identify and monitor a full range of emerging issues with the potential to negatively impact the university's reputation. Respond appropriately when necessary.
Required Qualifications:
Preferred Attributes:
Minimum Qualifications
Professional Area
Employment Category: Fulltime
Staff Job Function: Wage Band: $79100 - $132500
Hourly/Salary Minimum: $79100
Hourly/Salary Maximum: $132500
How To Apply
In order to be considered for this position, you must apply for it at: http://careers.rit.edu/staff. Click the link for search openings and in the keyword search field, enter the title of the position or the BR number.
The direct link to this posting can be found here: https://sjobs.brassring.com/
Additional Details
Rochester Institute of Technology, the 10th largest private university in the U.S., is among the world’s leading technological universities. Its 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries are enrolled in over 200 academic programs, including 7 interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs. A pioneer in experiential education, RIT was the first to offer undergraduate degree programs in biotechnology, information technology, software engineering, and microelectronic engineering. As home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the university offers unparalleled academic opportunities and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Founded in 1829, RIT has 115,000 alumni throughout the United States and around the world. RIT has been named by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Great Colleges to Work For.” RIT is a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation site, and is responsive to the needs of dual-career couples through the Upstate NY Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. For more information, visit www.rit.edu/overview/rankings-and-recognition and www.rit.edu.
As a member of the RIT community employees receive a well-balanced benefits package that offers a variety of choices and access to additional employment advantages. These benefits, combined with an employee’s pay, provide a total compensation package that can be tailored to meet your needs. More on RIT’s Benefits, Health & Wellness program can be found at: https://www.rit.edu/fa/humanresources/content/benefits-health-and-wellness
RIT does not discriminate. RIT is an equal opportunity employer that promotes and values diversity, pluralism, and inclusion. For more information or inquiries, please visit RIT/TitleIX or the U.S. Department of Education at ED.Gov
Hourly/Salary Minimum: 79100
Hourly/Salary Maximum:132500
Copyright ©2025 Jobelephant.com Inc. All rights reserved.
Posted by the FREE value-added recruitment advertising agency
jeid-e1836f313859fe459a37c93c14ed2b85
Marketing and Communications
University Communications
Job Summary
The Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communications serves as a strategic leader responsible for safeguarding and enhancing Rochester Institute of Technology's reputation. This role focuses on proactive issues management, crisis communications, and high-level internal messaging to ensure transparency, trust, and alignment across the university community.
The director monitors emerging risks, develops rapid-response strategies, and leads communications efforts during crises or reputational challenges. Additionally, the position oversees internal communications that foster engagement and clarity among faculty, staff, and students.
The Director will be responsible for identifying and tracking potential threats to the university, developing and implementing rapid communications efforts to mitigate those threats, and leading crisis communications and response efforts. The director will be responsible for real-time monitoring, messaging, response and analysis of news, issues, emergencies and crisis situations, and will plan proactively and promptly on behalf of the university.
The position directly reports to the Associate Vice President of Communications and will partner with university leadership, including the Office of the President, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, the Office of Legal Affairs, Risk Management, Public Safety, and others. This job requires a senior-level communications practitioner with demonstrated issues management and crisis communications experience. Experience in higher education is a plus.
Job Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
Establish and oversee systems and processes to identify and monitor a full range of emerging issues with the potential to negatively impact the university's reputation. Respond appropriately when necessary.
- Identify, assess, monitor, and track campus and community issues with the potential to do reputational harm.
- Develop and implement rapid-response strategies to mitigate risks and "take the temperature down" during sensitive situations.
- Serve as media relations liaison and spokesperson.
- Communications counselor on an Issues Response Team (IRT) with university-wide representation. The team meets regularly to forecast emerging issues and identify potential reputational issues before they become a crisis.
- Serve as the "Public Information Officer" on the RIT Critical Incident Management Team, which follows the FEMA-based National Incident Management System.
- Serve as the lead communicator during crises, coordinating messaging across internal and external audiences.
- Advise senior leadership and collaborate with legal, compliance, and public safety teams on response strategies.
- Prepare and maintain messaging talking points and position statement templates for recurring or hot button issues.
- Regularly conduct vulnerability assessments and develop contingency plans to address the most pressing potential scenarios.
- Lead RIT's crisis communications strategy and execution 24 hours per day that involves multiple stakeholders (i.e. students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, Trustees, university partners).
- Provide senior leadership counsel during times of crisis, including authoring proactive reports that anticipate potential issues.
- Key liaison to the Division of Government and Communications, as well as Division of Finance and Administration, which includes Facilities Management Services, Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Legal Affairs, Public Safety, and Risk Management.
- Work in close partnership with the communications team, including the Director of Social Media on issues monitoring and response.
- Monitor trends in higher education and public discourse to anticipate emerging issues.
- Maintain and regularly update crisis communication protocols and playbooks.
- Provide training and guidance to university leaders on media relations and crisis response.
- Prepare a daily RIT Leadership Digest for senior management. This report contains relevant news reports, links to documents, and other items specific to RIT and the higher education landscape.
- Oversee high-level internal communications involving a variety of constituents.
- Design and execute internal communication plans that align with institutional priorities and values.
- Ensure timely, accurate, and empathetic messaging to faculty, staff, and students during organizational changes or critical events.
- Work regularly with the RIT Service Center, the concierge-like department handling an array of questions from the RIT community.
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum 10 years of experience with a focus on crisis communications, issues/reputation management, litigation communications, and public affairs.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
- Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Experience developing crisis communications plans, programs, and guidelines.
- Demonstrated ability to think in new, dynamic ways regarding managing reputation and crisis response.
- Ability to communicate information effectively and accurately, verbally, and in writing across multiple channels.
- Track record of successfully managing communications during times of crisis in a global, matrixed organization.
- Experience counseling executives during times of crisis.
- Experience managing public affairs efforts.
- Ability to achieve results in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, where timely response is critical.
- The ideal candidate will have experience engaging with reporters on a regular basis on challenging issues. Experience as a spokesperson.
- Experience and understanding of social media.
- Must be able to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.
- Ability to positively contribute to a team environment.
- Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.
Preferred Attributes:
- Experience in higher education or large, mission-driven organizations.
- Demonstrate emotional intelligence and calm in high pressure situations.
- Ability to synthesize large amounts of data and distill key points clearly, succinctly, and quickly
Minimum Qualifications
Professional Area
Employment Category: Fulltime
Staff Job Function: Wage Band: $79100 - $132500
Hourly/Salary Minimum: $79100
Hourly/Salary Maximum: $132500
How To Apply
In order to be considered for this position, you must apply for it at: http://careers.rit.edu/staff. Click the link for search openings and in the keyword search field, enter the title of the position or the BR number.
The direct link to this posting can be found here: https://sjobs.brassring.com/
Additional Details
Rochester Institute of Technology, the 10th largest private university in the U.S., is among the world’s leading technological universities. Its 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries are enrolled in over 200 academic programs, including 7 interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs. A pioneer in experiential education, RIT was the first to offer undergraduate degree programs in biotechnology, information technology, software engineering, and microelectronic engineering. As home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the university offers unparalleled academic opportunities and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Founded in 1829, RIT has 115,000 alumni throughout the United States and around the world. RIT has been named by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Great Colleges to Work For.” RIT is a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation site, and is responsive to the needs of dual-career couples through the Upstate NY Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. For more information, visit www.rit.edu/overview/rankings-and-recognition and www.rit.edu.
As a member of the RIT community employees receive a well-balanced benefits package that offers a variety of choices and access to additional employment advantages. These benefits, combined with an employee’s pay, provide a total compensation package that can be tailored to meet your needs. More on RIT’s Benefits, Health & Wellness program can be found at: https://www.rit.edu/fa/humanresources/content/benefits-health-and-wellness
RIT does not discriminate. RIT is an equal opportunity employer that promotes and values diversity, pluralism, and inclusion. For more information or inquiries, please visit RIT/TitleIX or the U.S. Department of Education at ED.Gov
Hourly/Salary Minimum: 79100
Hourly/Salary Maximum:132500
Copyright ©2025 Jobelephant.com Inc. All rights reserved.
Posted by the FREE value-added recruitment advertising agency
jeid-e1836f313859fe459a37c93c14ed2b85
Salary : $79,100 - $132,500