Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations

Screen reader users may encounter difficulty with this site. For assistance with applying, please contact hr-accessibleapplication@osu.edu. If you have questions while submitting an application, please review these frequently asked questions.

Current Employees and Students:

If you are currently employed or enrolled as a student at The Ohio State University, please log in to Workday to use the internal application process.

Welcome to The Ohio State University's career site.  We invite you to apply to positions of interest. In order to ensure your application is complete, you must complete the following:

• Ensure you have all necessary documents available when starting the application process. You can review the additional job description section on postings for documents that may be required.

• Prior to submitting your application, please review and update (if necessary) the information in your candidate profile as it will transfer to your application. 

Job Title:

Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations

Department:

FAES | Marketing and Communications

Job Description

The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) is the cornerstone college of The Ohio State University, with three mission areas dedicated to one essential purpose: We Sustain Life. CFAES is one college spread across three campuses, with our faculty and staff split evenly among the three campuses.  Comprised of ten academic units including the School of Environment and Natural Resources and Ohio State ATI, plus Ohio State University Extension, CFAES has 22 bachelor’s degree majors, 26 associate degree majors, and 34 minors.  Students have the unique opportunity for hands-on learning with scholars and scientists in the field.  The College values diversity and offers a supportive, open, and inclusive community.

The CFAES Marketing and Communications team serves as a strategic resource for the college. The team is responsible for setting marketing and communication strategies and plans that align with the initiatives and priorities of the college. The team supports the recruitment, retention, development, research, outreach, and issues management for the college. They are a group of strategic marketing and communication thinkers and doers who are both proactive and reactive, identifying opportunities and removing challenges to elevate awareness, enhance reputation and ultimately inspire choice for the college. The Associate Director, Communications oversees all earned media activities and public outreach for the college. They will report to the Senior Director, Marketing and Communications.

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations is responsible for providing leadership in developing and implementing comprehensive communication plans and strategies to enhance the college's visibility and reputation. This position is responsible for increasing awareness of CFAES, the college’s statewide role and elevation of its national reputation, and the research and innovation in agricultural, food and environmental sciences that takes place on its campuses. The Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations will provide strategic communications counsel for leadership across the college. They will serve as a liaison and consultant with respect to communications planning and execution for all college initiatives. This role will also lead communication staff in the CFAES Marketing and Communication team.

The Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations will develop public relations strategy that aligns with the college’s marketing and communications plan in support of college strategic priorities. This position, along with its direct reports, will proactively seek and secure earned media to position the college as a thought leader on key issues or emerging topics. A relationship builder and collaborator, the Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations will work closely with strategy and marketing colleagues within the marketing and communications team and across the college to identify opportunities. They will have a deep understanding of the college’s audiences and key stakeholders and how to reach them where they are.

The Associate Director, Communications and Public Relations identifies opportunities beyond earned media to reach the college’s audiences and key stakeholders – including speaking engagemen