Kansas Association of Broadcasters

Kansas City Public Media (KCUR, Classical KC and KC Studios) is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Director of Technology and Broadcast Engineering. Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR is a premier producer of broadcast and on-demand audio and is home to some of the region’s most popular podcasts.

Established in 2020, Classical KC is Kansas City’s home for 24/7 classical music. We seek to inform, inspire, and delight our intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across our digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Operations, the Director of Technology and Broadcast Engineering will lead a vital and essential function for KCPM by managing the broadcast and digital delivery operations. This will include responsibility for maintenance of radio broadcast and related facilities owned by KCUR. A key element of the work will include planning for the future with the opportunity to implement state of the art technology.

Duties include, but are not limited to
Operations:

• Support and maintain broadcast facilities, on-air and production studios, and transmitter sites to ensure reliable service to our audiences.
• Responsible for monitoring, maintaining, repairing, and replacing associated equipment.
• Manage the design of transmitter equipment, streaming equipment, and studio to transmitter links, content acquisition equipment (satellite and IP), content ingestion and automation playback systems.
• Set up, test, and troubleshoot pitch studios and on-air campaigns.
• Test remote live operations.
• Participate in budget activities and contract negotiations.
• Work very closely with the stations’ IT staff.

Planning and Project Management:

• Proactively plan for preventative maintenance and future technologies.
• Stay current with latest developments in radio broadcast engineering and technology, including best practices.
• Develop the strategic vision, assess evolving needs, plan accordingly and manage projects.

Regulatory:

• Serve as chief operator of stations responsible for the FCC emergency alert system reporting and weekly log maintenance.
• Ensure compliance with latest in FCC rules and guidelines.
• Interface with university FCC attorneys for license renewals and related regulatory filings.
• Compile and upload FCC-required quarterly public file documentation.

Support and Problem Resolution:

• Provide support to content creators on equipment content acquisition, connections with other studios/content creators.

Monitoring:

• Monitor transmitter sites and supervise on-call contract engineer inspections and work.
• Provide 24/7 on-call support if equipment goes down.

Other duties as assigned

Additional skills and responsibilities

• Lead, and work well across all parts of the organization especially IT.
• Think strategically and deploy effective management and operational skills.
• Effectively communicate with strong attention to details.
• Initiate and guide work that maximizes collaboration with external and internal stakeholders.
• Nurture an environment of inclusive, collaborative, and critical thinking.
• Assist others in getting data from the production systems, all while fostering an understanding of the data and how to best use it.

Minimum qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 4 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.

Preferred qualifications

• At least 4 years related experience in technology/broadcast.
• Additional experience in technology/broadcast may substitute for the degree depending on the nature of the experience.
• Public radio experience in a university setting is preferred.
• Certification through the Society of Broadcast Engineers is a plus.

Salary
Anticipated salary range up to $75,000, commensurate with experience, education and internal equity.

How to Apply

KCUR 89.3 is the NPR affiliate in Kansas City and is an editorially independent community service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 91.9 Classical KC is a 24/7 public radio classical music service designed to reflect and serve Kansas City’s vibrant and energetic arts scene. Please apply online at UMKC’s website: https://info.umkc.edu/hr/careers/ Select “Staff Position,” then “View Jobs,” then “View All Jobs.” Open until filled; review of applications will begin immediately.