Seasonal Communications Manager

company

About LOVB (League One Volleyball):
League One Volleyball (LOVB) is reimagining women's sports. Launched in 2019, our company is a mission-led sports performance, training and media enterprise that will change the game of volleyball in the USA and empower new generations of female athletes.
 
It is a groundbreaking time for volleyball in the US with our historic triple Olympic Gold medals in Women's Indoor, Beach and Sitting Volleyball. Volleyball is already the #1 most played girls'  youth sport. There are 38M current and former players today. Of major sports, it's the only one that is women-first (~90% of players are female). But the volleyball market has been almost entirely missed by traditional sports investors, brands, and media.
 
LOVB is capturing this opportunity by creating a strong club business, and from that built-in audience and fandom, is creating the best Pro League in the world and a digital ecosystem that will  connect all aspects of LOVB. This community-up approach will drive participation and fandom, while enabling greater empowerment for girls and young women living this amazing sport. In  this role, you will join a mission-driven, roll-up-your-sleeves team of innovators and builders who have come together to change the paradigm of professional volleyball and women’s sports.

role

LOVB Austin - Communications Manager

Reports to: Senior Director of Brand & Fan Engagement

Location: Austin, TX

Status: Full-time, Seasonal

Travel: Team and event travel required as needed

Position Overview

LOVB Austin is seeking a Communications Manager to lead the day-to-day communications and media relations efforts for the organization. This role will serve as a primary point of contact for media while helping shape and amplify the stories of LOVB Austin, its athletes, coaches, and organization.

The ideal candidate is an experienced communications professional with a strong sports information background, exceptional writing skills, established media relations experience, and a high level of volleyball knowledge. This individual should be equally comfortable writing detailed match notes, pitching an athlete feature to the media, managing a press conference, coordinating player interviews, and working courtside on match day.

The Communications Manager will work closely with athletes, coaches, team leadership, league communications, broadcast partners, and members of the media to ensure LOVB Austin is represented accurately, consistently, and compellingly across local, national, and international coverage.

Key Responsibilities

Media Relations & Communications

● Serve as a primary day-to-day media contact for LOVB Austin, developing and maintaining strong relationships with local, regional, national, and volleyball-specific media. 
● Write and distribute press releases for major team announcements, roster news, organizational updates, partnerships, events, and other key moments.

● Proactively identify and pitch compelling athlete, coach, team, community, and organizational storylines across television, print, radio, digital, podcasts, and other media outlets.

● Identify opportunities to grow LOVB Austin's earned media presence and establish its athletes as recognizable personalities within the Austin sports community and broader volleyball landscape.

● Manage incoming media requests and coordinate interviews, appearances, and media availability with athletes, coaches, and organizational leadership.

● Maintain strong relationships and ongoing communication with reporters, editors, producers, broadcasters, and other relevant media contacts.

● Support key organizational announcements through communications planning, messaging, talking points, FAQs, and other materials as needed.

● Monitor media coverage and support reputation management and communications response efforts when needed.

Sports Information & Match Communications

● Serve as the organization's sports information lead, maintaining a strong understanding of LOVB Austin, its athletes, opponents, league storylines, statistics, and the broader professional volleyball landscape.

● Research, write, edit, and distribute comprehensive match notes, statistical information, player and team bios, records, historical information, and other media materials.
● Develop pre-match and post-match communications materials, including match previews, recaps, statistics, milestones, and compelling storylines.

● Track emerging team and player milestones and identify opportunities to turn statistics, performances, and competitive moments into broader media stories.

● Work closely with league and broadcast partners to ensure accurate and timely distribution of team information, statistics, storylines, pronunciations, and other broadcast materials.

● Maintain accurate and organized communications records and resources throughout the season.

Match Day & Media Operations

● Lead media operations for LOVB Austin home matches and other major team events.
● Manage media credentials, check-in, seating, workspaces, interview areas, media instructions, and other press needs.

● Coordinate pre-match and post-match media availability with athletes and coaches.
● Plan and execute press conferences, media availabilities, open practices, and other media-facing events.

● Oversee and continually improve the match-day media and mixed-zone experience.
● Ensure media members receive timely match notes, statistics, quotes, results, and other relevant information.

● Serve as a communications representative for select away matches, postseason competition, and other team travel as assigned.

Athlete & Coach Communications

● Build trusted working relationships with LOVB Austin athletes and coaching staff.
● Coordinate player and coach interviews, media appearances, press conferences, and other external communications opportunities.

● Prepare athletes and coaches for interviews by providing relevant background, talking points, anticipated questions, and media guidance.

● Support media training and communications preparation for athletes and coaches.
● Identify and develop individual athlete storylines that elevate player profiles locally and nationally.

● Collaborate with brand, social, digital, creative, and content teams to extend athlete and team stories across earned and owned channels while maintaining consistent messaging.

Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations, sports management, or related field.

● 2–3+ years of sports communications, sports information, media relations, or SID experience, preferably within a professional or collegiate sports organization.
● High level of volleyball IQ, including strong knowledge of the sport, statistics, terminology, and competitive landscape.

● Exceptional writing skills with experience producing match notes, press releases, recaps, and other sports communications materials.

● Proven ability to build media relationships, pitch compelling storylines, and coordinate interviews, press conferences, and media availability.

● Strong organizational skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven sports environment.

● Ability to work nights, weekends, and match days and travel with the team for select away matches and events as needed.

LOVB Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Nothing contained in this job description is intended to be a contract of employment, nor does any information contained herein represent a guarantee of employment for a specific duration. Employment with LOVB Austin is on an at-will basis. This means that if hired, either the employee or LOVB Austin may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.