Director of Public Relations

The Indianapolis Zoo is seeking an experienced individual to lead our Public Relations department. This individual will be responsible for developing, planning and implementing a comprehensive public relations and communications program for the Indianapolis Zoo.

Make sure to apply with all the requested information, as laid out in the job overview below.

The Director of Public Relations serves as a member of the Zoo's leadership team and oversees design and implementation of the Zoo web and social media sites while maintaining content across all media platforms. This position actively creates strategies to build and maintain national, regional and local communication plans and tactics to support the Zoo's long-term objectives by aggressively pursuing opportunities to increase the visibility of the Zoo's mission and servicing media with potential news stories as well as op-ed pieces.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in media and public relations, with familiarity with electronic and new media, including social media, podcasts, blogs and streaming platforms. To be successful in this role, the individual must have strong writing, interpersonal communication, public speaking and presentation abilities, and they must thrive using AP writing style. A bachelor's degree in public relations, communications, marketing, or a related field of study from an accredited institution is required.

The Director of Public Relations will lead the crisis communications team as required, providing counsel to the Executive Team and prepping specific spokespersons as required. In addition, this position is responsible for overseeing relationships with crisis communications counsel and takes an active role in creating crisis communication plans.

This individual will work closely with the Senior Vice President of External Relations, the President & CEO, and other members of the management team to determine strategic priorities and activities of the organization through the annual planning and budgeting process. This is a full-time, in-office, 40 hours per week position with a schedule of Monday through Friday. Due to the nature of this position and level of responsibility, this position must respond to emergency / crisis calls 24 hours a day and have the ability to work evenings, weekends and holidays as required.

Additional responsibilities and qualifications of this position include, but are not limited to the following :

• Provides overall supervisory responsibility for department staff. Charged with hiring and providing ongoing training and support, including daily direction and benchmarks for performance measurement for three public relations communication specialists.
• Prepares and implements a departmental plan and budget consistent with the institutional priorities and benchmarks for measurable performance.
• Serves as the primary spokesperson for the Indianapolis Zoo, responsible for identifying and training other staff in media relations skills. Develops and maintains close working relationships with the media and related agencies.
• Oversees the communications strategy, plan and implementation for the Indianapolis Prize and the Global Center for Species Survival at the Indianapolis Zoo.
• Responsible for guiding and maintaining the Zoo's overarching editorial calendar, working and coordinating with multiple internal departments.
• Serves as a writer and editor for the institution. Coordinates publications and other print materials for various Zoo departments to ensure quality graphics and writing as well as consistent messages.
• Serves as the primary editor and proofreader on all publications, as well as print ads, flyers, brochures, annual reports, member magazines and other materials.
• Creates and maintains contracts with outside vendors including public relations agencies, photographers and website developers, among others.
• Requires handling confidential information with absolute discretion.
• Advanced use of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Web Content Management Systems, Power Point, Excel and Adobe Acrobat.
• Familiarity with public relations monitoring tools such as Meltwater, Cision, Sprout Social or Sprinklr as well as other management software programs in use at the Indianapolis Zoo.

To apply :

Employment at the Indianapolis Zoo is contingent upon the successful completion of pre-employment testing including a background check, motor vehicle check (if applicable) and a drug test.

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