Hiring Communications & Public Relations Manager for
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated

 

Job Title: Communications & Public Relations Manager
Location: Baltimore, MD Status: Full Time/Salary
Salary: Commensurate with Qualifications and Company Benefits
Job Category: Mid-Level Project Management
Reports to: Director of Communications / Editor of The Sphinx

Position Overview

The Fraternity’s General Office is in Baltimore, Maryland and has responsibility for managing the daily
operational and programmatic functions of the fraternity, which includes budget and finance
administration, membership services engagement and support, public relations, marketing and
communications, event and program coordination, vendor, and partner relations, and board and
national officer management and administrative support. The Communications & Public Relations
Manager reports to the Director of Communications / Editor of The Sphinx. As part of the
Communications department, the Communications & Public Relations Manager has responsibility for
developing and writing all printed collateral as well as web and social media content.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

The Communications & Public Relations Manager performs duties as assigned, in addition to the
following:

Writing and Performance
• Assists with the solicitation, compilation, writing, and editing of all publications, including The Sphinx.
• Conducts interviews and research for the development of Communications content
• Writes social media verbiage, polished speeches, presentations, press releases, op-eds, letters,
proclamations/resolutions, stories, as well as event and video scripts, etc.
• Tracks and complies communications performance and completion data for
proclamations/resolutions, etc.
• Assists with the production of podcasts and videos, including web and social media content that
engages the media, general public, and Brotherhood across the Fraternity’s various platforms, i.e. APA’s
website, social media, email, Sphinx Radio podcast, Sphinx TV, and Sphinx magazine
• Provides a full range of editorial and marketing skills to meet the goals of Communications department
and the Fraternity, as a whole
• Provides weekly communications and public relations activity report to Director of Communications.

Media Relations
• Co-manages local and national press contacts list through selected distribution and media
management platform
• Performs media monitoring of organizational news coverage as well as coordinates media distributions
through the usage of various platforms, i.e. Cision, Meltwater, MailChimp, Google alerts, etc., including
report generation.
• Assists in co-managing media inquiries and coordinating interview requests
• Participates in and supports weekend media rotation duty

Public Relations
• Assists in managing all public relations efforts, including serving as a primary communications liaison
to our corporate partners as well as provides strategy recommendations on overall communications
engagement plan
• Assists in developing new collaborative relationships with key community organizations and local
government
• Identifies new and innovative opportunities for the Fraternity to highlight achievements at all levels of
the organization

Qualifications & Required Skills
A candidate who is successful in the Communications & Public Relations Manager position will have the
following skills, competencies, and qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, public relations, communications, political science, or related
field required; Master’s degree in similar and/or related field preferred;
• At least three-to-five years of writing and communications/media experience, preferably in the media,
public relations, advertising, and brand storytelling
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Thorough knowledge of Associated Press (AP) style and other communications and public relations
best practices
• Deadline-driven
• Highly organized with an ability to manage multiple writing and communications projects
• An attention to detail in both written and visual contexts as well as an “always-on” newsroom sense of
urgency, dependability, and accessibility
• A keen understanding of audience needs and expectations.
• Photography skills a plus, but not required.
• A gift for collaborating on storytelling for diverse media channels (e.g. written word, video, social
media).
• Intermediate level of experience using Google Suite (Docs, Gmail, Sheets, Slides)
• Intermediate level experience with MailChimp
• Strong knowledge of technology and new media; including in-depth experience with various social
media platforms
• In-depth understanding of current community landscape and its ramifications for the Fraternity
• In-depth understanding of current fraternity structure and focus areas and its relation to the
community
• A track record for working successfully in cross-discipline, collaborative settings
• Ability to relocate to Baltimore, MD
• Ability to travel for regional conventions, national conventions, board meetings or other Fraternal
events or functions
• A duly initiated and financially active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

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About Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, was
founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a
strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country. The visionary founders, known
as the “Jewels” of the Fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones,
George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy.
The Fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial
prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell. The Jewel founders and early leaders of the
Fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha’s principles of scholarship,
fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity.

Alpha Phi Alpha chapters were established at other colleges and universities, many of them historically
black institutions, soon after the founding at Cornell. The first Alumni Chapter was established in 1911.
While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha also recognized the need to
help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African Americans. Alpha
Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African American community’s fight for civil rights
through leaders such as: W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King,
Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, and many others. True to its form as
the “first of firsts,” Alpha Phi Alpha has been interracial since 1945. The Fraternity’s Corporate Office is
in Baltimore, Maryland and has responsibility for managing the daily operational and programmatic
functions of the fraternity; which include budget and finance administration, membership services, and
support, marketing and communications, event and program coordination, and board and national
officer management.