Public Communications Specialist

The University of Southern California (USC) is one of the world’s leading private research universities.
Situated in the heart of Los Angeles, USC is home to 22 academic schools and units, and it is the region’s premier institution for the arts, athletics, business, engineering, law, sciences and technology.
University Communications seeks a Public Communications Specialist with public relations and/or journalism experience to join the USC Media Relations team within the central University Communications office.
Charged with enhancing and reinforcing USC’s reputation for world-class research and education, the USC Media Relations team tells the compelling stories of our students, engineers, scientists and medical professionals who are making a difference in Los Angeles and the world.
Reporting directly to the Assistant Director of Media Relations, the Public Communications Specialist will engage and collaborate with our community of university leaders, communications colleagues, faculty and students to cultivate timely and newsworthy stories about the university, its community, programs, major events, leadership priorities and student experiences.
The specialist promotes these stories to mainstream media — local, regional, national and international — to expand the university’s media footprint among several key, targeted audiences for specialized areas of research.
In particular, the Public Communications Specialist will plan, write and promote content to external media, assist on and contribute to multimedia content ideas for USC channels.
The specialist will also lead or collaborate on media outreach for the following research areas: artificial intelligence, computer science, data sciences, quantum computing, robotics and other technology-related issues that are considered part of the USC Frontiers of Computing initiative and the future USC School of Advanced Computing.
Lastly, this position also supports the USC Media Relations’ team on stories about presidential initiatives, campus life, student achievements, special programs, sustainability, the university's unique educational opportunities, its world-class leadership and outstanding faculty.
The ideal candidate will be: A savvy, customer service-minded communicator who puts people first; a bridge builder.
A talented storyteller who embraces stories about campus life, student experiences and the university’s work in the community.
A creative self-starter who has an eye for the visual potential of a story.
A team player who works well with multiple collaborators within the department and across the university to create, shape and amplify newsworthy digital and visual content to targeted audiences.
An agile, organized and inquisitive critical thinker who is sensitive to the news climate and can quickly pivot to reprioritize projects and respond to needs or issues as they arise.
As a member of the USC Media Relations team, you will: Develop and maintain effective working relationships with media on behalf of the university through direct outreach with local, state, national and international journalists, broadcast producers and editors; coordinate with external partners when assigned.
Collaborate on content and outreach projects with school communications teams, and in particular: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, USC Institute for Creative Technologies, USC Information Sciences Institute, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and USC Marshall School of Business.
The specialist also will occasionally assist on other moonshots that involve other schools across the university.
Coordinate with team managers and colleagues to create and place content relative to any of the presidential priorities of health affairs; computing, artificial intelligence and big data; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across recruitment and programs; and sustainability.
Assist or advise on content ideas or media outreach for potential newsworthy stories across the sciences that relate to technology, including chemistry and physics.
The specialist is also part of a team that: Rotates responsibility for responding to daily journalist queries and coordinates closely with the university’s crisis communications team.
Prepares administrators and faculty for interviews and assists with journalists, including reporters from student media, who are interviewing administrators, faculty or students for news stories.
Reports on media and content successes.
Required qualifications: Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in communications, journalism, marketing or public relations Bachelor’s degree Skilled writer and communicator who works well on deadline Experience with emergency response communications, including familiarity with the FEMA Incident Command System Preferred qualifications: 5+ years in communications, public relations or journalism Some video production experience either in social media or for broadcast news A track record of media placement, story broadcast or publication Crisis communication, issues management experience Please submit the following: Cover letter Résumé 3 writing samples – may include stories, press releases and/or successful media pitch letters Links to 2-3 examples of placements in media The annual base salary range for this position is $73,303.
72 - $99,668.
40.
When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.
The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education.
Minimum Experience: 3 years, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience.
Minimum Field of Expertise: Public relations or journalism.