External Relations Director - Chief Public Information Officer

External Relations Director - Chief Public Information Officer

As a public Ohio community college that is supported by state and local tax funds, Sinclair consistently communicates its value to a diverse group of external stakeholders.

Sinclair College provides region-wide access to :

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• a wide variety of college-level programs of study that help people earn substantial livings;
• communities with civic-minded citizens; and
• provides employers with highly skilled employees.

The Director of External Relations job is designed to work closely with the President of the College in the continuous development and implementation of communications and interactions with the media and with governments, especially on policy, politics, and funding related to Sinclair.

The two primary stakeholder constituents of focus for the Director of External Relations are :

• elected local officials and State of Ohio officials (and their staff), and
• the professional news media and related social media.

An area of secondary attention is actions to accountably inform the public of Sinclair’s accomplishments serving this local region.

The External Relations Director is the primary point of contact within Sinclair for the news media, and for elected government officials and their staff.

The Director of External Relations is responsible for proactively asserting the realistic and substantial narratives, facts, and data illustrating how successfully Sinclair serves this region.

Sinclair is a high-quality educational institution, a provider of community service, and a key partner within a community that works cooperatively to solve problems and realize opportunities.

This job has much routine that is planned and predictable, yet with infrequent but important occasions and surprise urgencies requiring quick, custom, flexible solutions.

While this job is salaried and generally considered 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, a rigid traditional business hour schedule is much too constraining for effective external relations.

Many key Sinclair stakeholders are found at after-hours and weekend events. The success of the college and of this position requires some occasional time and attention to these after-hour events.

Principal Accountabilities

• Be the Sinclair College expert of who’s who in media and in the various levels of government that are most connected to Sinclair, and proactively develop and maintain relationships with these external constituents.
• Actively help guide and focus the College President with the relationships (meetings, events, interactions), that the College President has with the media and with government officials.
• Write releases, advisories, briefing sheets, overviews that proactively illustrate Sinclair College’s progress in realizing its core values, purpose, and mission while being a good steward of public trust and resources.
• Organize the college response to external requests for information from the media and from government officials. Become expert on who does what within Sinclair so that the dots can be connected between external requests for information and the timely and accurate response to such requests.
• As assigned by the College President, serve on any ad hoc group to attend to urgencies and emergencies.
• Work as a team member of the College President’s Office team in the development and implementation of official college events such as the main student graduation ceremony, board of trustee meetings, the State of the College address, and events with the media and elected officials.
• Operate in a style that is professional and proactive in reaching out to others, erring on the side of connecting with more people than not.

Requirements

• Significant experience in constituent and stakeholder relations required.
• Excellent writing ability required, with significant understanding of how photography, videography, audio, and graphics are used as tools to tell a story.
• Ability to take data, facts, and events and organize them into a story / narrative that flows with logic and clarity.
• At least a bachelor’s degree is preferred, in a field that augments work and expertise in creating and targeting communications for various audiences.

If one does not have at least a bachelor’s degree then one’s proven experience as described here must be stellar.

• A personality and skill with empathy for how various constituents might perceive a situation, with the diplomacy to relate to them where they are (while always supporting the mission and values of Sinclair College).
• Experience in responding to media deadlines.
• The ability to work hard and handle constructive feedback is mandatory as is the ability to think critically and take initiative in finding and developing opportunities for Sinclair to grow and improve.
• Discretion and mature judgment are key as they will be trusted with the college’s public face and shaping Sinclair’s image.

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