Senior Editorial Director (0409U), University Development and Alumni Relations #88357

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation—driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond. We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and fostering supportive colleague communities through numerous employee resource groups.

About the Department

University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) increases support for and enhances knowledge of UC Berkeley through communications, public outreach, and fundraising. The department is responsible for centralized fundraising and donor engagement, working to strengthen unit development offices by consulting and partnering with campus fundraisers. UDAR handles a range of central activities, including events, communications, stewardship, prospect development, gift management, and database management. External Relations and Marketing Communications (ERMC), a full-service professional team within UDAR, supports these activities with videos, websites, events, email campaigns, slide decks, and printed and digital collateral.

About the Role

The Senior Editorial Director serves as the University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) division's primary advancement spokesperson, leading proactive and reactive media relations in support of the campus fundraising community. This position oversees the strategy, development, and execution of communications produced by the External Relations and Marketing Communications (ERMC) editorial team—including print, digital, and multimedia content—to advance the university's fundraising priorities and comprehensive campaign. The role involves partnering with senior management and campus leaders to develop and implement long- and short-term communications strategies, representing the ERMC editorial team at campus meetings, and serving as a proxy for the Assistant Vice Chancellor, ERMC when appropriate. The Senior Editorial Director builds collaborative relationships with advancement and strategic communications partners across the university.

Responsibilities

• Leadership and Personnel Management (50%)
  • Leads and develops a ten-person multidisciplinary editorial and multimedia communications team, directly supervising one subordinate manager and six editors.
  • Selects, hires, trains, coaches, evaluates, and takes corrective action as needed for direct reports.
  • Provides strategic leadership, editorial direction, and performance management across the team's editorial, digital, multimedia, social media, and video functions, ensuring high-quality, strategically aligned communications delivered on time and within budget.
  • Collaborates with other communications leaders to support broader departmental and divisional communications priorities.
• Strategic Communications Leadership (25%)
  • Provides strategic communications leadership for UDAR's fundraising priorities and comprehensive campaign by overseeing the strategy, development, and execution of communications produced by the ERMC editorial team, including print, digital, multimedia, and executive communications.
  • Partners with senior leadership and campus clients to develop long- and short-term communications strategies, advises on complex and sensitive communications issues, and has final editorial responsibility for the team's communications deliverables.
  • Serves as UDAR's primary advancement spokesperson, leading proactive and reactive media relations and advising leadership on media strategy and public messaging.
  • Examples include serving as the strategic communications partner to the Assistant Vice Chancellor, leading content development for UC Berkeley Foundation meetings, and managing media inquiries related to philanthropy.
• Operational and Editorial Leadership (10%)
  • Collaborates with ERMC directors and Managing Editor to establish priorities, coordinate resources, and maintain editorial and brand standards across the department.
  • Provides strategic guidance and consultation on the department's most complex communications challenges while ensuring the editorial team's communications are high quality, consistent, and aligned with broader organizational communications strategies.
• Campus Representation and Collaboration (5%)
  • Represents the ERMC editorial team in campus meetings, cross-functional workgroups, and university-wide initiatives and, when appropriate, serves as a proxy for the ERMC Assistant Vice Chancellor.
  • Cultivates collaborative relationships with advancement and strategic communications partners across the university, facilitating coordination, resolving communications issues, and supporting integrated communications planning and implementation.
• Executive and Special Communications Projects (5%)
  • Leads and oversees complex editorial and multimedia communications initiatives involving confidential, high-profile, and politically sensitive issues within the editorial team's areas of responsibility.
  • Provides strategic communications counsel and editorial leadership for executive and fundraising communications, including strategic communications plans, executive messaging, speeches, media relations, campaign collateral, major gift proposals, videos, reports, presentations, event communications, and print and digital content that supports the university's fundraising priorities and institutional mission.
• Professional Development (5%)
  • Maintains and expands professional knowledge by participating in training, conferences, and professional organizations; staying current on advancement communications and higher education trends; and sharing best practices to strengthen team performance, communications strategies, and organizational effectiveness.

Requirements

• Thorough knowledge of strategic communications principles and best practices, including editorial, print, digital, multimedia, executive, and media communications.
• Excellent ability to develop and implement strategic communications plans, advise senior leadership, and communicate effectively on complex, confidential, and politically sensitive issues.
• Exceptional written, verbal, interpersonal, facilitation, collaboration, and active listening skills, with the ability to build consensus, resolve conflict, and exercise sound judgment, political acumen, and discretion.
• Excellent leadership and personnel management skills, including the ability to recruit, supervise, coach, develop, motivate, evaluate, and address performance issues for professional communications staff.
• Excellent editorial judgment, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and ensure high-quality communications are delivered on time and within budget.
• Working knowledge of editorial, digital, multimedia, video, social media, accessibility, and emerging communications technologies sufficient to effectively lead professional communications staff.
• Knowledge of resource planning, workload management, and personnel administration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Thorough knowledge of and/or ability to learn the university's mission, advancement priorities, organizational structure, and current issues affecting higher education and philanthropy.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a related area and/or equivalent experience/training.

Pay

The budgeted annual range for this position is $183,000.00 – $210,900.00. This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.

Schedule

This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits. The position is eligible for up to 3 days/week remote work within the United States, with exact arrangements determined in partnership with your supervisor.