About The San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes have a mission to establish our home as the epicenter of American soccer by uniting Northern California with big dreams, big hustle, and big impact.
About The Position
The Communications department serves as a key bridge for all departments in the front office—including Sporting, Marketing, Sponsorship, Creative and Social—to ensure communications are integrated into major initiatives, generate meaningful earned media coverage and shape unified stories that spotlight our club, players and coaches for fans, partners and the wider cultural landscape.
We are searching for a Manager, Communications who will work closely with the Director, Communications to help develop strategic plans and identify new media opportunities related to the San Jose Earthquakes and PayPal Park, manage day-to-day media operations and support the club’s objectives of a positive reputation, increased brand awareness and greater relevance in the local, national and international markets.
Who You Are:
We are looking for people that want to hustle big.
- Hustle: Having the desire to authentically connect people, willing to always show up for our fans and having an innate pride in their work
- Big: Devoted to quality in execution, don’t be afraid to swing big and owning the result
Successful Candidates:
The successful candidate will be a creative, organized, and resourceful person who will immerse themselves in our club culture to best comprehend how we want to be perceived and deemed relevant locally, nationally, and internationally. This person will be an excellent listener who understands the value of service and is just as proficient in taking orders as they are in giving them.
The ideal candidate thrives in both short-term pressure-packed deadlines as well as in long-term planning and execution of big ideas. This person takes initiative and anticipates/acts on tasks and issues before they materialize. If Plan A does not work, this candidate will have the resourcefulness to have Plan B and Plan C waiting in the wings. Collaborative and malleable, this candidate is a team player with a relentless work ethic adept at building relationships both externally with the media and internally with players, coaches and our front office.
Finally, the ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of how media ecosystems work and have an SID-like mind/approach when it comes to stats and game notes (with experience in broadcast or print/digital media a plus). Finally, this person loves the minutiae of grammar and syntax, and most of all, is not afraid to accept a challenge.
Job Competencies Include
- Detail Oriented
- Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Awareness
- Building Collaborative Relationships
- Sense of Urgency
- Thoroughness
- Initiative
- Passionate
- Work Ethic
- Persistent
Responsibilities
- Work closely with the Director, Communications to build and execute robust media relations strategies for the San Jose Earthquakes and PayPal Park events.
- Draft and distribute press releases in English (preferably if able to do in Spanish when the situation arises), media advisories, and game notes; proactively pitch storylines to targeted outlets; and manage incoming media requests for players, coaches and staff.
- Maintain and organize media and statistical archives, including a quotes database and press materials.
- Strengthen existing media relationships while expanding outreach to new local, national and international contacts across sports and non-sports outlets.
- Serve as communications support for all Earthquakes home and away matches, including travel to select road games.
- Manage matchday and weekly media operations—from press box setup and media availability coordination to postgame press conferences, the credentialing process for home matches and information distribution.
- Build and maintain editorial calendars, media lists and asset schedules to drive coordinated, efficient communications efforts.
- Support PR initiatives for the Quakes Foundation and oversee communications needs tied to community relations activities.
- Track communications KPIs and performance results, providing regular reporting to leadership to guide strategic planning.
- Ability to work and travel non-traditional hours, including evenings, weekends and holidays (this position will require working Earthquakes and PayPal Park events)
Qualifications
A proactive communications professional with at least 3-5 years of experience in sports, preferably within professional soccer. Additional experience in broadcast or print/digital media outlets is welcomed.
- Preexisting relationships with reporters across sports and entertainment media, with a knowledge of how the media ecosystem works.
- Skilled in developing compelling storylines for media, pitching to reporters, preparing spokespeople and managing inbound media requests.
- Strong relationship-builder and collaborative team player capable of working seamlessly with players, coaches, staff and departments across the Earthquakes’ front office.
- Relentless work ethic and initiative/resourcefulness to ensure tasks are completed and the ability to solve problems before they begin materializing.
- Demonstrated writing expertise, supported by samples such as press releases, comprehensive game notes, articles, biographies and media guides.
- Computer proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Additional proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Premier is welcomed.
- Strong communication and AP Style writing skills.
- Spanish fluency preferred (at least at intermediate level).
This position is open only to candidates who are legally authorized to work in the United States. Employment eligibility documentation will be required at the time of hire.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
