Senior Media Relations Specialist in the Office of Public Affairs

Can you create a winning media pitch? Are you a great writer? Do you know what makes a good news story? We are looking for someone who will work within our Public Affairs Department to promote the heart and soul of what makes UTHealth Houston so special.

UTHealth Houston is looking for a Senior Media Relations Specialist who will be responsible for promoting the university's strategic priorities and protecting the university's brand by developing and executing media, public relations, and social media strategies to inform and engage external and internal audiences. You must be able to foster relationships with faculty, staff, and reporters. Excellent pitching and writing, a sense for news, and communication skills are key. You will join an energetic team of people covering seven health-related schools as we tell their stories to local, state, national, and international media.

We seek someone who can multitask while creating and executing highly effective media campaigns supporting and enhancing UTHealth Houston’s three-part mission of education, research, and patient care. A strong writing / media relations / news background is desired. We prefer people who have worked in healthcare public relations or who have a medical or science background. But at the core of all of this is being a good writer.

This role is vital to supporting the university's three-part mission of education, research, and clinical practice by creating campaigns and content to tell the stories of UTHealth Houston and elevate the brand, using tools including news releases, social media posts, photos, graphics, and video. Responsible for high-profile beats within the university's schools, editing and communications, and leading strategic media relations campaigns. Strong communication, collaboration, writing, news judgment, and creative idea skills are required.

All candidates must provide writing samples to be considered for the position, which can be attached and uploaded into the system through the File Attachments section. This is the same way you uploaded your resume.

Cover letters are highly recommended - tell us what you would bring to the role and why you want to join the UTHealth Houston team. The easiest way to attach a cover letter for this role would be the same method how you upload a resume and the writing samples through the File Attachments section of the application.

This is a full-time position eligible for benefits. The main office is in The Texas Medical Center, and you will need transportation to get to other locations on the UTHealth Houston campus and around the city as necessary. You will be covered by our health care insurance, which is employer-sponsored to cover all employees, and will participate in a pension plan administered by the State of Texas. This role is full-time, salaried, and classified as exempt. Employees will work a hybrid schedule after a training period. You will need to come into the office at least one day a week.

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus :

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement / pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work / life services such as...

Position Key Accountabilities :

Certification / Skills :

Minimum Education :

Bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications, or an allied field required.

Minimum Experience :

Four years in public relations, communications, writing / editing, or a related field is required. Experience with online news media clipping service, medical news, or health sciences writing is preferred.

Physical Requirements :

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and / or up to 10 pounds frequently and / or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive :

This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement :

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.