Overview

REPORTS TO:            President and CEO

STATUS:                Full-Time (40 hours/week), Exempt

SALARY:               $95,000 – $115,000 per year

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Partnership seeks a mission-driven Director of Communications to serve as lead strategist and implementor for our outreach efforts across all of our programs. This is a full-time position that reports to the President & CEO and works closely with team managers on the development of communications and funding strategies and their implementation to further the Partnership’s mission and work. The Communications Director will also meet regularly with peers from other mission-driven organizations around the state working on common goals and objectives.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Communications Strategy

  • Lead the Partnership’s work in developing communications strategies and content to reach key audiences such as state and local elected officials, their staff, the media and nonprofit affordable housing stakeholders.
  • Advise the CEO, Director of Advocacy and Team Managers on the most effective strategies and tactics for external and internal communications.

Media Relations

  • Serve as the main point of contact for press inquiries and develop press relationships.
  • Assist the President & CEO in building relationships with media outlets statewide and journalists in related housing and real estate beats. 
  • Provide interview support, key messaging development, and media training to staff.
  • Engage reporters during the Partnership’s major publication releases through press releases, media alerts, or individual outreach. 
  • Track metrics on media reach and associated press hits.

Funder Relations/ Grant Fundraising

  • Assist the President & CEO in building and maintaining relationships with new and existing funders for general operating support.
  • Assist team managers (Research, Sustainable Housing) in building relationships with new funders for program/project support, and review program funding proposals for submission.
  • Write and submit all grant funding proposals for general operating support. 
  • Provide general operating grant reports to funders as requested and support the submission of program-specific grant reports by team leads.

Partner Relations

  • Manage relationships with CA nonprofit housing communications personnel and serve on communications committees for topical initiatives (Strategic Communications Council, Roadmap Home 2030, Affordable Housing Month, etc.).
  • Organize and facilitate partner briefings for new data tools, reports and initiatives of the Partnership.
  • Create and share partner release toolkits for the Partnership’s major publications, including major co-launches of the county housing need reports during Affordable Housing Month in May.
  • Co-promote webinars, events, resources and advocacy activities of partner organizations.

Government Relations

  • Develop quotes for press releases, talking points, and public statements in tandem with the Director of Advocacy and President & CEO.
  • Support digital campaigns for sponsored/support bills, Roadmap Home 2030, housing programs, and initiatives of the Governor’s Office, HCD, BCSH and other partners.
  • Coordinate major organizational anniversary events and accompanying publications every 5 years.

Digital and Visual Content Strategy 

  • Contribute guidance and knowledge of marketing materials, graphic design, professional writing, copyediting, presentations, web design, social media, branding and strategic communications to guide the Partnership’s digital communications program.
  • Develop marketing materials and strategies to increase brand awareness for all services offered by the Partnership’s teams – from trainings, clean energy program administration, and technical assistance, to housing research and policy/advocacy.
  • Maintain, organize and update the Partnership’s style guide and digital assets library.
  • Oversee the Partnership’s design, editing, and dissemination of reports on housing need, preservation, sustainable housing and other topics, collaborating with the Research and Sustainable Housing teams.
  • Maintain the Partnership’s editorial calendar (including newsletters, blogs, media alerts and external outreach), website and all social media platforms (currently Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram).
  • Collaboratively manage event platforms and outreach for the Partnership’s major virtual events – paid trainings, annual GREEN summit, industry webinars, etc. 
  • Evaluate and report on the programs’ successes; provide and implement recommendations for improvement.

Staff Communications

  • Provide input on internal communications to the CEO, Equity Working Group and team managers. 
  • Co-facilitate and promote staff events initiated by the Operations team, such as team building events (virtual lunches and happy hours), brown bags or DEI sessions.
  • Assist in maintaining content on the Partnership’s intranet (Sharepoint).

Other Communications Support

  • Lead the assembly of RFP/RFQ response proposals.
  • Provide communications input on the Research team’s online data tools during annual updates.
  • Contribute to organizational infrastructure, work culture, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts of the Equity Working Group or other internal committees.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Skills and Qualifications

  • Minimum five (5) years of experience in the communications field with demonstrated growth in responsibility and capacity.
  • Demonstrated commitment to nonprofit work benefitting low-income people.
  • Knowledge of and interest in affordable rental housing.
  • Exceptional speaking and writing skills: writes clearly and can communicate complex ideas and can tell a story.
  • Excellent project management skills including ability to track timelines, budgets, and contributions from others while providing quality control for deliverables and effectively managing expectations.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to thrive in small, nonprofit office environment.
  • Digital media fluency including expert use of email platforms (Outlook, Constant Contact) and social media (Twitter and Linkedin).
  • Proficiency with Apple computers and (OS X) and GSuite standard applications.
  • Expert level ability with Microsoft Office products including Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
  • Ability to contribute to the Partnership’s mission and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Vaccinated and fully boosted against Covid-19 (or willing to become so prior to employment).
  • Able and willing to travel within California.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

  • High digital media fluency includes the following (in addition to the above list): Instagram, YouTube, web design and website administration, CRM management (Salesforce), virtual event management platforms (Zoom, Crowdcast) and Google Analytics
  • Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite publishing software (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop).
  • Master’s Degree in a related field or an additional two (2) years of related work experience.
  • Prior experience working in nonprofit affordable rental housing or closely related field.
  • Prior experience working in nonprofit communications.
  • Prior experience working in California.  

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