Communications Associate

at  The Ohio State University

The Mershon Center for International Security Studies, within the College of Arts and Sciences, seeks a Communications Associate to join our team. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college and the academic heart of the university. The College hosts 81 majors. With 38 departments, 20+ world-class research centers, and more than 2,000 faculty and staff members, students have the unique opportunity to study with the best artists, scholars, and scientists in their field. The College values diversity and offers a supportive, open, and inclusive community. The Mershon Center is an endowed interdisciplinary unit that cultivates innovative research and engagement at the intersections of international, national, and human security challenges.
The Communications Associate plays a crucial role in the Center’s mission of advancing substantive scholarly, public, and policy conversations on vital security issues. The Communications Associate does this by creating compelling, idea-focused, audience-designed content around the Center’s research, programming, and training activities. The Communications Associate also solicits and monitors audience engagement to help the Center deepen its impact on security debates and build its reputation at national and international levels. The core constituency of the Center and the primary target of its communications is the faculty and students at The Ohio State University. In addition, the Communications Associate will cultivate the Center’s visibility among relevant external audiences to strengthen its academic, community, donor, and policy networks.
Under the supervision of and in consultation with the Associate Director, the Communications Associate will be responsible for the overall communications direction of the Center. The Communications Associate will develop, implement, and maintain a general communications strategy that supports the Center’s core activities and builds participation and audience for them. The Communications Associate will develop informational and visual design guidelines to integrate Center communications across channels and platforms, including website, mailing lists, newsletters, news releases, social media, posters, and others as relevant.
The Communications Associate will share Center news in a timely manner and promote Center events and accomplishments effectively, consulting with affiliates to design appropriate strategies. They will document Center activities in word, image, or video as relevant and archive them in the OSU Knowledge Bank or as otherwise determined. They will create content to engage diverse audiences with the work of the Center. In addition to the website, the email newsletter, YouTube channel, brochures, and the annual report, the Communications Associate will determine appropriate additional formats and channels for promoting the work of the Center and its affiliates. The Communications Associate will align Center communications with College and University brand standards, serve as the Center’s liaison to ASC Marketing and Communications, and, in conjunction with Marketing and Communications, intake projects, develop news stories and marketing content, and participate in meetings as necessary.
Other responsibilities include keeping the Center’s senior management informed of new promotional opportunities as well as the progress of current campaigns. Capturing, analyzing, and evaluating data related to events and communication products consistent with trends among academic peers. Cultivating relationships with affiliates, departments, centers, and other university partners to develop information sharing and cross-promotional opportunities; attending events as needed to support these activities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, English, or a similar arts and sciences discipline is required, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A minimum of two years of relevant experience in a communications or similar role is required.
• Excellent writing skills, experience with audience-sensitive communication, and collaboration skills, plus focus and detail-mindedness in executing projects.
• Experience with academic settings and demonstrated efficacy in working with other staff, faculty, and students.
• Experience with website management, newsletter production, news story production, development of communication and promotional campaigns, social media, photography, and video production.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with academic settings and demonstrated efficacy in working with faculty, staff, and students.
• Intellectual curiosity, international experience, and/or familiarity with interdisciplinary security studies or peace studies.

Please refer the Job description for details