Public Relations Specialist

Reporting to the director of communications and the director of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, the public relations specialist is responsible for two key areas of the Center’s communications strategy: as the lead public relations coordinator for the Center’s election data output and as the audience engagement lead.

Key Responsibilities

The position will embed with our data services team for the purpose of crafting press releases related to candidate, officeholder, and election result information.
Fields incoming media requests related to elections data and proactively pitch journalists about recent and upcoming data releases.
Proposes strategies to promote CAWP data products in non-election periods.
Produces, in coordination with the director of communications and other Center stakeholders, content to be deployed across the Center’s social media channels and newsletter offerings, including written content, graphics, data visualizations, and explainer videos.
Coordinates in the creation and management of a social media calendar.
Produces a biweekly newsletter focusing on Center products and events.

Qualifications and Requirements

Must have excellent writing, editing, proofreading, and verbal communications skills.
Must have strong interpersonal skills and be comfortable meeting and working with a broad range of people — from high-level public officials to media representatives to vendor staff to students — in a variety of highly visible settings.
Must be able to independently manage multiple tasks and short deadlines in high-stress situations.
Must be very organized, efficient, and detail oriented.
Must be comfortable working for an organization that is political, yet bi/non-partisan and an organization that straddles the worlds of politics and academia.
Working knowledge of American politics is essential. Further, knowledge of and interest in women and politics in the U.S. and the specificities of New Jersey politics is critical to success in this position. Because CAWP’s research and programs focus on American politics, the incumbent should understand the relevant positions, processes and relationships and be aware of sensitive political issues.
Requires a bachelor’s degree preferably in journalism, political science, communications, or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
Requires two years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience interfacing with the American political system through either covering politics as a journalist, working for a politics or policy-oriented non-profit, or working for a political campaign or officeholders’ staff.
Facility with Photoshop, Canva, simple video editing and animating tools, email marketing platforms, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., and desktop publishing.
Previous experience with social media management tools like Tweetdeck, Meta Business Suite, Hootsuite, etc.

Physical Demands and Workplace Environment

Must be available to work some evenings and weekends.
CAWP offices are located within a historic building with no elevator. The duties of this position regularly involve navigating stairs numerous times a day. An applicant may request a reasonable accommodation if they have a disability that restricts them in their ability to climb and/or navigate stairs.
May occasionally be asked to assist with carrying or loading materials for Center events.