Building a smart Lake Erie watershed (Page 2,665)

Summary 

Title: Communications Director 

Reports to: Vice President of Development  

Classification / Status: Full-time, Exempt 

Level: Director 

Location: Hybrid / Office – occasional meetings in Chicago, Great Lakes State or Washington, D.C.   

The Communications Director will develop and execute communications and marketing strategies to grow the size of and deepen engagement with our constituent base and increase our brand awareness across the Great Lakes region. The Director manages owned and paid media to grow our volunteer, advocate and donor constituencies that support our program work. The Director ensures that all our supporters receive consistent and targeted information about the Alliance’s work so that we can retain and upgrade their engagement. The Director is the Alliance’s brand steward and serves as editor-in-chief for institutional communications. They are part of the development, communications, and volunteer management team. They work closely with the Media Director, providing owned and paid media to advance program and advocacy goals and campaigns, while leveraging media campaign materials to facilitate storytelling and engagement with our supporters. 

The Director guides and manages the internal communications team. As a team leader, the Director energizes staff members by inspiring and motivating direct reports and by evolving constituent engagement strategies and tactics throughout the organization. The Director is also a capable public figure for the organization who can speak credibly to our constituents. The Director collaborates with other Alliance campaign and program leaders. They will interact with the Board of Directors and external partners in support of strategic communications planning and to aid fundraising efforts. 

This role reports to the Vice President for Development. 

Major priorities for the role include: 

1. Increase brand awareness of the Alliance for the Great Lakes in priority markets 

2. Grow the size of our supporter base, including digital advocates, active email recipients, and social media followers 

3. In partnership with our Development staff, leverage growing supporter base growth to increase smaller donor acquisition. 

4. Deepen the engagement of our supporter base with Alliance activities and programs. 

5. Advance success of Alliance program priorities  

Structure: The Director reports to the Vice President of Development (VPD) and works closely with other senior program staff leaders, especially the Media Director. The Director of Communications supervises the following staff: Senior Communications Manager and Staff Writer, as well as occasional affiliates and contractors. 

Compensation and Benefits: Salary range begins at $100,000, with starting salary determined commensurate with experience. Medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, FSA, 11 paid holidays plus the business days between 12/26 and 12/30 (staff who must work on any holidays may take those holidays at another time subject to the employee handbook), 3 weeks vacation to start + PTO, Fidelity 401(k) with employer match of up to 6% of salary.  

Work Environment: Fully remote with some travel required. If based in Chicago, an office is available downtown for use. 

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Overview 

The Director will start work from a position of strength. Our staff and Board of Directors include some of the country’s leading Great Lakes advocates, experts and communicators. Our organization has a well-regarded record of recent and historic successes dating to 1970. The Alliance’s capacity stands tall among state and regional environmental advocacy organizations across the country, with more than $10 million in assets of which more than 70% is unrestricted. The Alliance is growing toward an operating budget of $5 million by the end of 2024. 

Representative goals of this position include:  

By the end of 2024: 

• Ensure constituent communications strategies are built into all appropriate campaigns under the new strategic plan. 
• Develop a new social media strategy that will advance our strategic planning goals and empower supporters to advocate for the Alliance and our priorities. 

• Achieve a 10% increase in number of digital donors, 10% increase in number of new email signups, 10% increase in engaged email list, and 15% increase in website traffic 
• Conduct a constituent survey to identify ways to improve relationships with our supporters. 
• Review our digital communications tools and add/delete/replace as needed. (Determine capacity needs for our new strategic plan. 

Within five years: 

• Key partner and constituent voices and stories are regularly woven into all relevant program campaigns. 
• The Alliance becomes well-known in terms of overall brand recognition and has a highly engaged (and growing) base of supporters.  

A typical week for the Director might include: 

• Meeting with Media Director for a briefing on a recent policy development and upcoming press conference; creating a plan to support the campaign and engage our constituents with owned and/or paid media.  

• Reviewing copy for the monthly e-newsletter; adding a quick new story about the policy development before approval the e-newsletter to be sent. 
• Leading a Dev/C&E brainstorming session about how to engage a new audience with the Alliance. 
• Meeting with VP of Development and Staff Writer to determine the story budget and timeline for the annual report. 

Responsibilities 

Strategist: The Director ensures that every aspect of the organization’s public outreach – including issue and program work, volunteer and advocacy growth & leadership, and fundraising – furthers our mission and is aligned with our program goals. They will lead strategic communications and engagement planning, set long-range measurable goals and implement regularly updated work plans appropriate to achieving them. They will: 

• Develop responsive communication-driven programs and help staff members understand their role in and contribution to the overall marketing effort. 
• Identify key targets for Alliance communications and implement strategies to link those targets to achievement of the organization’s environmental issue and fundraising goals. 

• Create / advise on direct mail and paid media (search engine ads, social ads, magazine ads, paid list acquisitions, PSAs, ect.)  
• Leverage media and business partnerships for brand/issue awareness and constituency growth 
• Vet, select and manage contracts for the Alliance’s communications tools: website, digital advocacy, platform, email service provider, social media channels, social monitoring and posting tool, photo/video library, and donation platform.  
• Find ways to raise the competitive profile of the Alliance. 
• Ensure that all engagement of volunteers and advocates educates them to act, grows the quality and quantity of constituent leadership, and creates capacity for advancing overall program strategy. 

• Present and report (in tandem with the VP for Development) on Alliance’s communications strategy and outputs to the Board. 
• Collect and ensure the regular acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data from constituents to shape future strategies 
• Brainstorm communications strategies in tandem with social media engagement and website goals, drive small donor strategy 

Communicator: The Director partners with the Media Director to cultivate opportunities for publicity, recognition, and constituency engagement. They will: 

• Serve as the “Editor in Chief” and the lead in content strategy, ensuring accuracy and correct voice,  
• Create, lead and manage the overall organizational content calendar. 
• Deploy social media and other owned and paid communications in support of earned media for program campaigns in collaboration with Media Director. 
• Tailor look, feel, and performance of all Alliance communication vehicles for advocacy, volunteering and fundraising purposes to target audiences. 

• Align all constituent engagement with organizational brand and values. 
• Create a culture of listening and responsiveness to constituent voices and seek out ways to equitably serve all constituents. 
• When a Great Lakes crisis or urgent opportunity arises, demonstrating the ability to think calmly and collaboratively in an all hands-on deck demonstrate demonstrates/media. 

Motivator: The Director of Communications leads the Alliance’s communications team to ensure strong collaboration, performance and job satisfaction. They will: 

• Build staff capability to communicate independently and credibly. 
• Allocate communications staff across a variety of campaigns and other efforts to ensure team skills are aligned to organizational needs 
• Evaluate and reports the performance of overall communications effort and individual team members using organization-wide tools and metrics. 
• Identify needs and opportunities for supporting professional development of staff as a team and individuals 

• Ensure internal digital systems are maintained and updated regularly to support our constituent engagement and communications goals 
• Engage a diverse set of audiences and influence acknowledgement strategy post-event and post-donation 

Work Relationships 

The Director of Communications works closely with a wide variety of Alliance for the Great Lakes staff members, particularly the Media Director and the communications and development staff 

Supervisor Responsibilities 

The Director of Communications supervises the following staff: Senior Communications Manager and Staff Writer, as well as occasional affiliates and contractors. 

Physical Demands/Work Environment 

Remote office work environment with occasional overnight travel required. Office space available if located in Chicago. 

Knowledge/Skills  

• Minimum of 7 years of experience culminating in proven leadership of regional or national scale advocacy, political or marketing campaigns.  
• Minimum of 3 years leading a team. 

• Persuasive, with excellent written and oral communication skills. 
• Ability to understand and motivate multiple constituencies, including government, private sector, elected officials, volunteers, and issue advocates. 
• Demonstrated cultivation and driving of successful collaborative staff teams. 
• Clear and proven ability to use, test, and adapt electronic platforms to engage thousands of individual constituents and move those constituents offline for additional cultivation. 
• Demonstrated success in using communications and marketing tools to move decision-makers on policy agendas. 

• Track record of understanding of constituent demand and preferences and using this to shape successful engagement strategies.  
• Eagerness to work at both the “nuts and bolts” and strategic levels of our engagement effort. 
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred. 

NICE TO HAVE: 

• Strong portfolio of strategic advocacy writing, with an emphasis on converting technical and policy agendas to compelling public messages. 
• Ability to work independently, quickly, and in keeping with the news cycle regardless of time of day. 
• Driven by a strong commitment to the value of individual and collective constituent action and the values of the organization. 
• Experience and comfort with setting and working within an annual budget at the regional non-profit scale. 

• Proficiency in creating social media campaigns and driving engagement online into real-life actions 

Job Parameters 

• This position is full-time and consistent with Alliance employment policy. Salary range begins at $100,000 with a starting salary determined commensurate with experience. 

• Excellent benefits, including medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, FSA, 11 paid holidays plus the business days between 12/26 and 12/30 (staff who must work on any holidays may take those holidays at another time subject to the employee handbook), 3 weeks vacation to start + PTO, and Fidelity 401(k) with employer match of up to 6% of salary, eligible after 30 days. 

• This is a remote position for candidates living in a Great Lakes state or in Washington, D.C., with occasional travel required. If located in Chicago, an office is available downtown for use.  

Application Process:

Please email a cover letter, resume, references, and writing sample to hr@greatlakes.org. 

Include job title in the subject line. 

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled – we are looking to fill immediately. Materials should be compatible with Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. Applicants will receive confirmation of receipt of their materials and further guidance and updates about the hiring process by email, with interviews provided for finalists. No phone inquiries, please. 

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The search process will reinforce the Alliance’s belief that achieving diversity requires an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors.  

About the Alliance for the Great Lakes 

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The search process will reinforce the Alliance’s belief that achieving diversity requires an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors.  

Our vision is a thriving Great Lakes and healthy water that all life can rely on, today and far into the future. We aspire to be a voice for the lakes and to support the voices of the communities that depend on the lakes and their waters. 

The mission of the Alliance for the Great Lakes is to protect, conserve, and restore the Great Lakes ensuring healthy water in the lakes and in our communities for all generations of people and wildlife. We advance our mission as advocates for policies that support the lakes and communities by building the research, analysis, and partnerships that motivate action, and by educating and uniting people as a voice for the Great Lakes.   

To achieve our vision and mission, everyone in our organization will live our values of Community, Relationships, Courage, Integrity and Optimism and weave the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into all our work. Each value and principle is backed by measurable goals and expectations for our Board of Directors and staff.  

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Original Article

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2023/11/communications-director/

Michelle Farley