Job: Communications Director

Company: WORKING PARTNERSHIPS USA
Location: San Jose
Posted on: June 25, 2022

Job Description:

Working Partnerships USA is seeking a strategic and experienced storyteller to lead our communications team, lift up the voices of marginalized communities, and drive transformative campaigns for economic, social, and racial justice. Over the past few years, we've built a powerful communications department that can both drive fast-paced campaigns and shift the underlying narrative terrain on which those campaigns are fought. Our team leverages Working Partnerships' research and policy expertise, organizing, and innovative civic engagement programs in order to explain complex issues, expose the harmful structural forces and myths that hold back progress, and tell the stories of worker, tenant, and grassroots leaders who stand up to win better lives for their families and communities. Now, we're looking for a new leader to carry this work forward. As Communications Director, you'll be developing messaging and communications strategies, telling our stories online and in the press, frequently taking charge of rapid-response outreach, and managing a team of talented communicators. The ideal candidate is a strong writer, strategic thinker, and thoughtful coach. You have experience driving communications campaigns that integrate earned and social media, email, SMS, art, design, and video. You can balance urgent needs and longer-term goals, keep multiple projects moving, and collaborate with partners both inside and outside the organization. You understand the interplay between digital organizing, persuasion, and mobilization, and can partner with organizers to use communication channels to support all three aims. You'll report to our Deputy Executive Director and work closely with our organizing, policy, and fundraising teams. The Organization Working Partnerships USA is a community organization bringing together the power of grassroots organizing and public policy innovation to drive the movement for a just economy. Based in Silicon Valley, we tackle the root causes of inequality and poverty by leading collaborative campaigns for family-sustaining jobs, stable and affordable housing, healthy communities, and a democracy where all our voices are heard.

• Managing a team: you have experience running effective meetings, juggling multiple projects, providing quality supervision, and helping staff thrive in their roles.
• Developing communications strategies to win campaigns and shift narratives: you can partner with our policy, organizing, and fundraising teams to develop communications plans - integrating earned and social media, email, sms, digital organizing, videos, etc - often in a rapidly-evolving political context.
• Earning supportive media coverage: you've crafted pitches and press releases, built relationships with reporters, prepared people from diverse backgrounds to speak with reporters, and staged press conferences and actions.
• Managing email and social media channels: you have demonstrated experience growing an audience, creating engaging and persuasive content, and moving people to take action (contact their elected officials, come to an event, donate).
• Balancing urgent and long-term communications needs: you can pull together a rapid response across earned and social media in a couple hours, while keeping multi-month projects to shift narratives on track. You can effectively and tactfully triage and prioritize requests for support from other team members and ally organizations.
• Crafting messaging and narratives: you're well versed in messaging frameworks like the race-class narrative, can read a research report and pull out puchy toplines, and ideally have experience with longer-term narrative shift projects.
• Supporting digital organizing: you understand how communications can fit into digital and online-to-offline organizing models. You can work with organizers to bring in new supporters (through digital ads, organic content, social media outreach, etc) and move them up a ladder of engagement. You've used (or are excited to explore) tools like texting platforms (Hustle, ThruText, Strive) and relational organizing apps (OutreachCircle, OutVote) that overlap between communications and organizing.
• Incorporating art, multimedia, and technology: you can write video scripts, collaborate with artists, guide graphic designers, and explore ways to fold new technology into communications strategies. Bonus points if you have an eye for design or experience creating videos, infographics, and websites. Qualifications
  • Commitment to social, racial, economic, environmental, and gender justice.
  • Experience managing communications for advocacy organizations, political campaigns, elected officials, or union/community organizing projects.
  • Experience in a supervisory role.
  • Ability to work nights and weekends regularly as needed.
  • Strong work ethic, project management skills, and personal commitment to excellence. Physical Requirements The physical requirements listed are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
    • Sit, bend, and reach with hands and arms.
    • Lift approximately 20-25 lbs. on occasion.
    • Stand and move throughout the office.
    • Have consistent and reliable attendance.
    • Interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
    • Work under pressure with changing, ambiguous priorities.
    • Communicate effectively and promptly to clients or employees of the organization.
    • Climb stairs and steps.
    • High level of manual dexterity to adeptly type and use computer equipment.
    • Auditory and visual skills - Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
    • Follow written and oral instructions and procedures. Compensation & Location Annual salary range from $80,000 to $100,000 and will be based on experience. Generous benefits package including full family health, dental, and vision insurance; paid vacations and holiday leave; and 401(k). This is a full-time, exempt position and an excellent opportunity for those seeking career advancement over time. During COVID-19, our entire staff is remote. Long-term, being based in Santa Clara County is preferable given the geographic focus of our work, but for the right candidate we're open to someone located elsewhere in/near the Bay Area area who can travel to our San Jose office a few times a week. Working Partnerships USA is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. People of color, women, LGBTQ, and local residents are strongly encouraged to apply. Apply now To apply, please send your resume, cover letter, and writing/work samples to jobs@wpusa.org .

Keywords: WORKING PARTNERSHIPS USA, San Jose , Job: Communications Director, Executive , San Jose, California