LIFT National - Director of Communications
Washington, DC /
LIFT – National /
Hybrid
/ Hybrid
LOCATION: Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles
REPORTS TO: Chief Advancement & Cities Officer
SUPERVISES: National Communications Associate
FLSA STATUS: Exempt
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
LIFT is a national nonprofit on a mission to invest in families to break the cycle of poverty. We believe that racial and gender wealth gaps stem from structural inequities that keep them trapped in a cycle where poverty, like wealth, is passed from generation to generation. At LIFT, we interrupt the generational transmission of poverty by partnering with parents of young children to build well-being, financial strength, and social connections – or as we like to put it, Hope, Money, and Love. LIFT's one-on-one coaching program empowers parents to set and achieve goals that put families on the path toward economic mobility – such as going back to school, improving credit, eliminating debt, or securing a living wage. In addition to coaching, LIFT parents also receive direct cash infusions to reinvest in their families and goals.
LIFT is at an exciting moment in its organizational trajectory. We aim to scale our impact by 1) making continuous improvements to our direct service model, 2) partnering with health care, post-secondary education, early child development, and government organizations to deliver LIFT's model and influence change in those systems, and 3) influencing policy through the amplification of the voices of parents living in poverty on issues impacting their lives and communities. We are looking for team players who thrive in a growth environment of continuous improvement; are committed to LIFT's work to combat intergenerational poverty and expand opportunity for families; and uphold LIFT's values of diversity, equity, excellence, hope, and relationships.
*LIFT operates sites in Chicago, Los Angeles, DC, and New York. At this time, LIFT is operating as a hybrid work environment. Accordingly, this role may be expected to work in the office up to two days a week.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Director of Communications will position LIFT as a thought leader in poverty alleviation and economic mobility. This role is responsible for managing and building external relationships with LIFT's constituencies, including funders and the media. Reporting to the Chief of Advancement and Cities, the Director of Communications will be the communications partner on a variety of strategic initiatives that advance LIFT's policy objectives; and raise awareness, visibility, and funds. The Director of Communications will work as a member of the Leadership Team to set and guide the strategy for communications, website, and public relations messages and collateral to consistently articulate LIFT's mission. The Director of Communications will lead their team (Communications Associate and Intern) to ensure that LIFT is viewed as the primary source, disseminator, and conduit of information within the sector.
As the Director of Communications you will:
- Put communications vehicles in place to create momentum, grow business, and build brand awareness as well as to test the effectiveness of communications activities
- Develop, implement, and evaluate the annual communications plan across the network’s targeted audiences in collaboration with LIFT’s team and constituents including parent ambassadors
- Collaborate with Director of Policy and Advocacy to develop member voice, package programmatic insights, and increase thought leadership exposure for LIFT's CEO, Executive Directors, and other LIFT spokespeople
- Support the Leadership Team and parent ambassadors in preparation for panels, media appearances and other thought leadership opportunities
- Work with National Program Team to transform design, evaluation, and insights into compelling messages and disseminate to the right audiences for Technical Assistance business development and advocacy efforts
- Work with the Development team to produce materials and event collateral that support fundraising efforts
- Lead efforts to generate online content that engages audience segments and leads to measurable action, including determining best distributions channels for who, where, and when to disseminate
- Manage developing, distributing, and maintaining all print and electronic collateral including the annual report, newsletters, event materials, brochures, LIFT’s website, etc.
- Develop an internal system for handling national and regional communications and event marketing requests
- Recruit and manage consultants, interns, and volunteers providing marketing support such as graphic design, copywriting, and other areas as needed
The ideal candidate has:
- At least 8 years of communications experience developing and implementing communications strategies, ideally in an “in-house” leadership role ideally within a matrixed (national with regional sites) nonprofit entity
- Knowledge on issues related to LIFT’s work to provide innovative two-gen solutions to poverty alleviation, bridge racial and gender wealth gaps, and build economic mobility for marginalized communities
- Track record of results in thought-leadership/brand building covering areas such as website content, newsletters, and donor communications.
- Success as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently towards intended outcomes.
- Proven ability to establish and strengthen relationships with external partners and internal cross-department teammates
- Ability to strategize and think “big picture,” identifying innovations and opportunities for improvement.
- Excellent, clear, and compelling writing/editing and verbal communication skills
- A team builder with a track record of effective staff management, including hiring, developing, rewarding, and retaining talent
- A desire to work within a dynamic organization that is focused on continuous improvement to improve results
- Commitment to building internal race equity and strong team culture
- Demonstrated LIFT’s values of equity, diversity, relationships, hope, and excellence
Benefits:
- Employer-paid health care coverage (100% for employees, 75% for dependents)
- 403(b) retirement savings plan including an employer match contribution of up to 5%
- Generous paid-time-off policy starting with 4 weeks in the first year, Federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, Cesar Chavez day, a one-week company-wide vacation over the winter holidays, and a one-week company-wide vacation over the summer fiscal year transition
- 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Partial cell phone coverage
- Pre-tax accounts for transit, health, and childcare benefits
- Please see here for a more in-depth overview of LIFT’s Benefits and Culture.
$100,000 - $120,000 a year
LIFT’s compensation philosophy is to pay competitively for our non-profit sector and ensure equity across the organization. The salary range for this role is $100,000-120,000/year. Compensation for the role will depend on several factors including qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience, and may fall outside the range shown.
Don't think you have everything for this role but are still interested? Please don't hesitate to apply. We'd love to hear from you! LIFT believes that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to its success and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants. LIFT's goal is for our people to reflect the communities in which we live and serve and to ensure representation of people of color, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities in our organization.
