Senior Manager - Media Relations & Digital PR Strategy

About the Role

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is seeking a Senior Manager to lead media relations and digital PR strategies. This position supports communication efforts across multiple departments, focusing on enhancing storytelling through traditional and new media outlets. It includes a one-day-per-week remote work option and requires approximately 10% travel annually based on priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance in media relations across business communications, ensuring strategic alignment.
• Manage both proactive and responsive media outreach related to major announcements, events, and initiatives.
• Build and maintain relationships with reporters and editors in various sectors such as business, technology, health, lifestyle, and culture to expand the NBA's narrative reach.
• Spot and leverage emerging cultural trends and news to proactively raise the league and executive profiles.
• Drive the PR group's digital newsroom transformation to a nimble, digital-first content creation and distribution model.
• Work with internal content and production teams to produce multimedia materials including videos and motion graphics to enhance PR efforts.
• Lead business communications messaging and amplification strategies on social media platforms and digital ecosystems.
• Develop PR strategies targeting non-traditional and emerging platforms like podcasts and social creators.
• Manage media relations materials cataloging and maintain communication plans for major events and campaigns.
• Utilize AI tools to improve media targeting, campaign development, content creation, and performance evaluation.
• Analyze PR campaign results using data-driven and AI-supported insights to inform ongoing improvements.
• Head communications for experiential marketing initiatives, ensuring impactful PR for major NBA events.
• Identify and develop innovative experiential storytelling and fan activations that increase earned media opportunities and visibility.
• Plan and secure national and local media coverage for experiential events.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution with Events, Marketing, Social, and Digital Content teams to maximize impact.
• Evaluate experiential initiative effectiveness by tracking media coverage, reach, and sentiment.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Over seven years of professional experience in agency, in-house communications, or journalism roles.
• Demonstrated success in media relations, including pitching and media relationship management.
• Strong writing skills, capable of producing executive-level communication under tight deadlines.
• Experience in creating multimedia PR assets and knowledge of video and graphic production workflows.
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud applications, such as InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat, preferred.
• Ability to collaborate effectively within a complex organizational structure and influence cross-departmental partners.
• Competence with generative AI tools and integrating AI-driven capabilities into communication strategies.
• Understanding of AI's role in information ranking and the exercise of editorial judgment.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.
• Comprehensive knowledge of evolving media environments across traditional, digital, and social platforms.
• High attention to detail and a problem-solving approach driven by organization and solutions.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $110,000 to $120,000 annually, with eligibility for an annual discretionary performance bonus. Employees may enroll in company-sponsored benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, family-forming support, wellbeing allowance, educational assistance, mental health coaching, tax-advantaged accounts, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Additional Information

The NBA is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity and inclusion, considering all applicants regardless of race, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, and other protected attributes. Due to health and safety protocols, individuals working onsite at New York and New Jersey offices must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with accommodations for eligible medical or religious reasons.

About the NBA

The NBA is a worldwide sports and media organization featuring five professional leagues and global outreach in 214 countries. With a burgeoning international presence and a large digital footprint across various media channels, the NBA combines sports with cultural impact and community responsibility initiatives globally.