Communications and Outreach Manager

Job Summary

The Strategic Relations and Communications Department at CU Boulder invites applications for a Communications and Outreach Manager! This role is a strategic multimedia communication professional who helps translate university priorities, leadership vision, and institutional initiatives into compelling stories and experiences that engage diverse audiences across campus and beyond. Working within Strategic Relations and Communications and under the guidance of the Senior Director for Communication, this position combines critical thinking, creative storytelling, digital fluency, and audience-centered communication to advance the university's mission and priorities for a variety of campus administrative units.

The manager serves as a creative communication partner to campus leaders and administrative units, developing integrated communication strategies and multimedia content across a constantly evolving university communication enterprise. The role moves fluidly among strategy, storytelling, content development, and project execution-identifying opportunities to amplify institutional priorities through the right channels, formats, voices, and platforms.

Position Impact

This position is designed for a communication professional who sees beyond individual deliverables to the larger opportunity: building a more connected, contemporary, and strategic university communication ecosystem. The successful candidate will help the university tell its story with greater creativity, consistency, agility, and impact-using multimedia storytelling and emerging communication practices to advance institutional priorities and deepen engagement with the audiences who matter most.

The role requires exceptional collaboration, editorial judgment, creativity, project management, and discretion, as well as the ability to move comfortably between strategic planning and hands-on content creation. Success will depend on the ability to anticipate communication opportunities, build trusted partnerships, and turn institutional priorities into stories that people understand, remember, and want to engage with.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

50%:

Multimedia Storytelling and Content Strategy

• Develop and produce a broad range of high-quality communications, including video, photography, social media, web and digital content, podcasts and other emerging formats, email campaigns, print materials, infographics, executive communication, and other creative assets.
• Find opportunities to repurpose and extend content across platforms and audiences.

Translate University Priorities into Compelling Narratives

• Partner with university leaders, communicators, faculty, staff, students, and campus units to understand strategic goals and translate complex initiatives into clear, accessible, and engaging stories.
• Help shape narratives that demonstrate the university's impact, distinguish its strengths, and connect institutional priorities to the experiences of its communities.

Think Strategically Across Channels and Audiences

• Develop audience-centered communications approaches and content calendars that consider purpose, timing, voice, platform, accessibility, cultural context, and desired outcomes.
• Help ensure communications are coordinated across channels and contribute to a cohesive university narrative.

Serve as a Creative and Strategic Partner

• Bring an entrepreneurial, problem-solving approach to communications projects, helping campus partners move from ideas and opportunities to effective campaigns, stories, and experiences.
• Recommend innovative approaches, technologies, platforms, and storytelling formats that strengthen the university's communications capabilities.

Measure, Learn, and Optimize

• Use audience insights, analytics, social and digital performance data, and other measures to assess communications effectiveness.
• Translate data and emerging trends into recommendations that improve content, engagement, reach, and impact.

Advance Inclusive and Culturally Responsive Communications

• Demonstrate cultural awareness and competence in developing communications for diverse audiences.
• Champion accessibility, inclusive storytelling, and communications practices that reflect the breadth of the university community.

Contribute to an Evolving University Communications Enterprise

• Stay current with emerging technologies, platforms, storytelling practices, artificial intelligence, digital media trends, and changing audience behaviors.
• Experiment thoughtfully with new tools and approaches while maintaining standards for accuracy, ethics, accessibility, privacy, and institutional reputation.

30%:

Partner with the Office of Leadership Support and Programming

• Dedicate approximately 30% of the position to supporting LSP priorities and participating as an active member of the LSP team.
• Responsibilities may include many of the functions noted above, which include:
• Strategic communication and marketing.
• Executive communication.
• Leadership storytelling.
• Multimedia content development.
• Event promotion.
• Occasional speech-writing for the senior vice chancellor of LSP.

10%:

Support Leadership and Executive Communication

• Provide communication and content support to senior university leaders, including messaging, talking points, digital content, multimedia storytelling, and occasional speech-writing.
• Exercise sound judgment and discretion when working with confidential, sensitive, or high-profile information.

10%:

Other Duties as Assigned

To potentially include, but not limited to:

• Participation in the campus joint information center during major emergencies.
• Event support.
• Serving on committees and task forces, as determined by the Senior Director for Communication and SRC leadership.

What You Should Know

This position is working in a hybrid work situation, working a mix of days on campus and remotely each week. This role could be fully-in person.

What We Can Offer

The annual salary range for this full-time position is $82,000 - $90,000.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder , we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County's largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's Best Large Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Colorado and #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be collaborative. Be game-changing. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• A bachelor's degree in graphic design, journalism, marketing, public relations, advertising or a related field. An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute on a year-for-year basis.
• 5 years of relevant experience in a public relations or strategic communications role; reporting or editing for a media organization; institutional communications for a college, university or public agency/entity; or communications experience in the private or nonprofit sectors.

What You Will Need

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to synthesize information in a clear and concise manner.
• Cultural awareness. Possess a deep and flexible cultural awareness of self and others-- in perceptions, values, beliefs, behaviors and practices -- and behaviorally shifts as appropriate.
• Adaptive communication. Contextualizes' equity commitments for varied audiences without abandoning the substance of the work.
• Interpersonal relationship skills. Honors and incorporates diverse viewpoints, brings conflicts into the open and approaches them as opportunities for growth, and involves appropriate parties to find common ground or acceptable alternatives.
• Project management experience, including the ability to set and meet set timelines, track project progress and communicate scheduling challenges.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and respond well to feedback.
• Strong organizational, prioritization and time management skills.
• Photography and videography skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint and Teams.
• Knowledge of how to use social media tools in a professional setting.

What We Would Like You to Have

• 10+ years of relevant experience in a public relations or strategic communications role; reporting or editing for a media organization; institutional communications for a college, university or public agency/entity; or communications experience in the private or nonprofit sectors.
• Master's degree (or equivalent experience) in communication, journalism, marketing, advertising, public relations or a related field.
• Marketing and communications experience in a higher education environment.
• Experience in email marketing.
• Experience working in an academic environment, community organization or nonprofit.
• Graphic design background.
• Proven expertise with Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, including Illustrator, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and InDesign.
• Knowledge of Web Express, ability to write HTML and/or experience using Drupal or a similar website content management system.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. A current resume.
2. A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by October 5th, 2026 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs .

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.