Senior Director of Strategic Communications

POSITION DETAILS

• Department: Communications and External Affairs

• Location: Position is based in Irving, Texas

• Travel: Regular travel required, including nights and weekends during peak seasons and championships

• Supervisory scope: Directly supervises a communications and external team, including two Directors of Communications and communications team members

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

• Reports to: Associate Commissioner for Integrated Brand Marketing and Communications Strategy

• Direct reports: Directors of Communications (2), communications team members

• Key partners: Conference leadership and staff; member institution communications leaders; championship and event operators; digital and content teams; sponsorship and business partners; external media and platform partners

THE ROLE AND CANDIDATE PROFILE

The Senior Director brings proven leadership in Division I athletics communications and serves as a steady, trusted spokesperson in high-visibility environments. This candidate pairs sharp judgment with speed and accuracy under deadline, and consistently produces crisp, AP-style writing that elevates the conference’s voice and protects credibility. They have deep experience leading football communications, managing championship and media day operations, and coordinating seamlessly with campus communicators, coaches, and national and regional media. They also demonstrate confidence in issue and crisis readiness, including scenario planning, approval discipline, and executive preparation. The ideal leader develops people, sets clear standards, and uses media intelligence and social listening tools such as Meltwater and SentiOne to translate insights into proactive planning and strategy.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Spokesperson leadership and media relations

• Serve as a conference spokesperson on strategic and sports communications matters.

• Lead day-to-day media relations strategy and execution across conference priorities.

• Respond to inbound media requests with speed, accuracy, and message discipline.

• Actively manage inbound requests for conference stakeholders through the media request portal.

• Proactively create and pitch stories and opportunities that elevate the conference and its members.

• Build and maintain relationships with national and regional reporters, editors, and producers.

• Coordinate communications activity with institutional communications leads on conference and national issues.

Football communications leadership

• Act as the primary media relations contact for football and oversee team members who serve as primary media contacts for other sports.

• Own football communications strategy across the full season cycle.

• Write and distribute football communications, including game-day notes packets, individual game previews, and preseason and postseason awards releases.

• Manage on-site communications operations for the conference’s football championship.

• Oversee logistical and media operations for the annual football Media Day.

Championship communications and event operations

• Coordinate publicity efforts for conference sports and championships.

• Oversee the coordination of logistics and media relations efforts for conference championships and basketball media days.

• Represent the conference on-site at select regular-season and postseason events.

• Serve as communications liaison with head coaches and sport committees for select sports.

• Serve as the primary communications contact for additional sports, as assigned.

Strategic communications, issues, and crisis readiness

• Construct and coordinate communications strategies aligned to conference priorities and timing.

• Plan and execute strategic and crisis communication strategies and messaging, including scenarios, escalation pathways, and approvals.

• Monitor emerging narratives, reputational risks and position conference with clarity and credibility.

• Prepare the Commissioner and other conference staff for media interviews and public speaking events, as applicable.

• Develop executive-ready materials, including talking points, Q-and-A documents, briefing memos, and speeches.

Writing, editorial quality control, and distribution

• Write and distribute all broad-based national communications and press releases.

• Own editorial review and quality control for external-facing written materials, including statements, releases, web copy, scripts, and stakeholder communications.

• Establish standards and approval workflows that improve speed, accuracy, and alignment across conference staff, member institutions, and external partners.

Digital, web, and platform strategy

• Serve as the primary liaison for management of the conference website and ensure quality control for publishing and content standards.

• Provide guidance on content and communications strategy for the conference’s digital platforms, including social media.

• Partner with the digital content team on strategic website and social content and write extensive copy for web and conference social media accounts.

Business intelligence, analytics, and insights

• Lead communications intelligence and analytics to inform proactive planning and rapid-response decision-making for announcements, championships, major events, and sensitive issues.

• Use media monitoring and social listening to identify emerging narratives, stakeholder sentiment shifts, and reputational risks.

• Produce executive-ready insights, including dashboards and summaries that track coverage quality, share of voice, message pull-through, and sentiment trends.

• Translate data into clear recommendations on messaging, timing, channel strategy, and spokesperson positioning.

• Maintain monitoring protocols, alert thresholds, and escalation workflows tied to conference approvals and crisis plans.

Academic awards and institutional recognition

• Handle all media and public relations duties for the conference’s academic awards programs and institutional recognition initiatives.

Statistics, software, and member support

• Act as primary statistical liaison between the conference and member schools.

• Deliver up-to-date software to member schools and provide guidance in accordance with conference policies.

People leadership and team performance

• Lead, mentor, and develop the communications and external team, setting clear expectations and accountability.

• Set coverage plans and sport assignments that support consistent service and premium execution across the conference calendar.

YEAR-ONE SUCCESS FACTORS

• Increased national and regional visibility driven by proactive media strategy and disciplined outreach.

• Consistent, executive-ready messaging across high-visibility moments and sensitive issues.

• Enhanced quality, speed, and consistency of releases, web copy, and football communications deliverables.

• Premium execution of football Media Day and football championship communications operations.

• Strong coordination with member institutions through clear rhythms, tools, and response protocols.

• Established benchmarks for earned media statistics for future goal planning in strategic plans.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, marketing, media, journalism, or a related field required.

• Five-plus years of experience in athletics communications, media operations, public relations, or a related field required.

• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and time management skills.

• Excellent journalistic writing and editing skills with command of AP style.

• Experience in media relations and crisis management, including rapid-response planning and execution.

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and relevant communications-related software.

• Proficient with media intelligence, monitoring, and social listening tools such as Meltwater and SentiOne, or comparable platforms.

• Ability to design and deliver analytics and executive reporting, including share of voice, sentiment analysis, message pull-through, and campaign performance insights, to support proactive planning and reactive response for events and announcements.

• Demonstrated knowledge of intercollegiate athletics administration.

• Ability to maintain punctual attendance and timely correspondence.

APPLICATION PROCESS

A letter of application, resume, examples of work as appropriate, and a list of at least three professional references should be forwarded via email to:

Lois DeBlois, Executive Assistant for Administration (ldeblois@theamerican.org)

The application deadline is February 17, 2026.

Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience and includes participation in the conference's employee benefit plan.

The American Conference is an equal opportunity employer. The Conference does not discriminate against applicants for employment on the basis of their membership in any protected class under federal or state law.