San Jose Earthquakes – Director, Communications
About the San Jose Earthquakes: The San Jose Earthquakes have a mission to establish our home as the epicenter of American soccer by uniting Northern California with big dreams, big hustle, and big impact. We are seeking a Director, Communications who will oversee the Earthquakes media relations and public relations for the Earthquakes, Earthquakes II and the Quakes Academy.
About the Position:
The Director, Communications will develop a communications strategy to increase media coverage, build the club’s narrative, while also overseeing the day-to-day media relations tasks. The position reports to the Chief Operating Officer. The person will be expected to develop strong relationships with local, national and international media, while also engaging with Apple TV broadcast talent and production talent. This person will assist with content creation for Apple TV, social media and team publications. The communications team will also handle incoming interview requests for players, coaches and executives, while also pitching business and on field story ideas to media about the club. The Director, Communications will prep executives, players and coaches for interviews and oversee media training. The communications team will be responsible for writing game notes, press releases and game day information.
Who You Are:
We are looking for people that want to hustle big.
- Hustle: Having the desire to authentically connect people, willing to always show up for our fans, and having an innate pride in their work.
- Big: Devoted to quality in all aspects of the job, not afraid to swing big, and own the result.
Successful Candidate: A successful candidate is a creative leader who can both help generate publicity for the club with both sports and business media members. This individual should be comfortable in executive meetings and on road trips with the coaching staff and players. Excellent knowledge of local and national media landscape is a must for this role (i.e. – key reporters, writers, television talent, etc.). This individual is soccer knowledgeable, detail-orientated, proactive, capable of working under pressure, and is excellent at relationship building with media, technical staff and co-workers.
Responsibilities:
- Develop global communications plan and narrative for the organization.
- Maximize PR opportunities for the organization, including both soccer and corporate stories.
- Pitch stories to international, national and local media.
- Build/maintain relationships with reporters who cover the Earthquakes day to day, as well as national and international soccer media.
- Build an engagement plan for Apple TV broadcast talent and production staff to help shape Quakes narrative on Apple TV Season Pass.
- Proactively communicate day-to-day with media about coverage opportunities, including practice, pre-game stories, game storylines, community relations events, etc.
- Ideate creative communications plans around big club moments, opening day, training complex groundbreaking, high profile matches, etc. that drive awareness and excitement.
- Track all media coverage and present monthly reports to executive team, while creating ad hoc reports following big campaigns.
- Create content for various Earthquakes publications and website.
- Oversee game day press operations along with communications staff.
- Serve as club’s communications representative on select road trips.
- Work with digital and creative services teams to develop content for Apple TV, team website and social media.
- Set up meeting training annually for players, coaches and executives.
- Serve as master of ceremonies for club press conferences and events.
Qualifications:
- BA/BS degree
- 5-7 years of public relations experience
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Bilingual preferred (Spanish)
- Experiences running PR campaigns that deliver measurable results
- Strong writing skills
- Ability to pitch sports and business media
- Fluency in Spanish preferred
- Deadline-oriented, inquisitive with strong reporting skills
- Project and budget management skills
- Good knowledge of MLS and world soccer
- Ability to work flexible hours, including but not limited to evenings, weekends and holidays
- Experience in a management role
Salary: $95,000-$110,000 annually
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.