Senior Message Research Manager
DC, BOS, OAK, NYC, Remote /
Advertising /
Full-time
/ Remote
We’re looking for a message research expert to join our Advertising Area.
When you come work with us, here’s what you’ll find:
- Work that is meaningful. We are a fast-paced, deadline-driven consulting firm that only works with nonprofit clients who are essential to advancing the cause of justice, alleviating suffering, and solving the greatest challenges we face.
- Colleagues you can count on. Kind, dedicated, passionate people who work collaboratively to get things done and help you do your best.
- An organization that embraces change. We strive to improve and adapt and always seek new ways that we can contribute to a just, inclusive, and sustainable world. We are also continually working on making M+R a better place for our staff.
So that’s us. Now about the work:
- We run campaigns that create change for our clients. Great big ones you read about in the news and tiny ones you’ve never heard of that are saving lives. Lots of politically progressive groups -- Planned Parenthood, League of Conservation Voters, PETA. Environmental groups such as NRDC and Oceana, and many causes that are working in the most dire situations in the world such as the International Rescue Committee.
- Day-to-day, we’re raising revenue, acquiring new donors and supporters, winning campaigns and elections, and improving brand and issue recognition. A key to our success is ensuring that our messaging is moving our audiences to action.
Here’s what you’ll be doing in this role:
- Design and manage research studies to provide our clients with insights into effective messaging angles that will motivate their supporters toward action; clarify their issue area, work, or brand positioning; define their opposition; and neutralize their opposition’s messaging.
- Recommend and conduct tests that help uncover new audiences to target and strategies to implement that will be effective in raising money online.
- Collaborate with clients and client teams to refine research questions, recommend methodologies, interpret findings, and provide actionable recommendations and next steps.
- Help to build out M+R’s message research offerings -- disseminate learnings across the firm, serve as the in-house message research expert, and work with senior staff to market and pitch these services.
- Assign and review junior staff deliverables -- providing feedback, coaching, and guidance at every step.
- Drive conversations and processes that help build inclusive spaces within your teams and across M+R.
- Do your part to help us run smoothly, including carefully tracking all of your hours.
Skills and experiences required for this role:
- 5-7 years of experience developing research-based insights for communications, marketing and/or brand positioning through the development of quantitative and qualitative research and analysis.
- Experience with a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools to conduct surveys, digital focus groups, and message research tools; experience with Swayable strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated data insight skills -- you can identify the key findings of research and translate those findings into specific message recommendations & tactics for advocacy campaigns, paid advertising, email fundraising, and other digital engagement, media relations, and more.
- Experience refining creative messaging based on insights.
- Understanding of digital marketing, including how campaigns are developed, executed, and measured as well as the basics of creative testing.
- Experience supporting the professional development of more junior staff or interns.
- Demonstrated ability to run meetings to identify project goals and ensure successful outcomes.
- Ability to communicate persuasively in a way that articulates your ideas and conveys your expertise, whether on the phone, in-person, or in writing.
Skills and experiences we expect of all M+R employees:
- Demonstrated commitment to anti-racism, equity, and inclusion.
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to gain trust and give respect to others through honesty, integrity, kindness, empathy, and authenticity.
- Acute attention to detail and demonstrated ability to prioritize time to meet deadlines for multiple projects.
- Proven track record to successfully pick up new skills, including learning new technologies.
- Drive to seek what can be improved and offer ways to fix any potential roadblocks.
- Comfort admitting what you don’t know and recognizing that feedback is part of the learning process.
- Strong ability to relay your ideas clearly verbally and in writing.
Skills and experiences that are preferred, but not required:
- Experience running message research for non-profits, issue campaigns, and/or political campaigns.
- Experience with Survey Monkey, Remesh, Usability Hub, Swayable, Grow Progress, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
Salary and benefits:
- This is an exempt, unionized position, represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. The salary for this position is $101,000. As part of M+R’s commitment to compensation equity and transparency, we have a no negotiation policy. Salary negotiations can introduce bias and perpetuate wage inequality. Staff at M+R who successfully meet their performance expectations have regular opportunities for promotion with accompanying increases in compensation.
- Three weeks vacation as well as 15 paid sick days and three personal days;
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits with premiums fully paid for by M+R for individual employees;
- 401(k) plan with a 3% employer match and quarterly 1.5% automatic employer contributions;
- Flexible work schedules and the option to work remotely anywhere within the United States and its territories with broadband internet;
- Annual $1,000 professional development stipend;
- Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, dependent care, and transit.
We also offer a generous benefits package:
The fine print:
M+R staff have the option to be fully remote within the United States, or work from one of the following M+R office locations:
1101 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC
11 Park Place, New York, NY
262 Washington St, Boston, MA
1611 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA
Staff working from an M+R office are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and all staff will be asked to provide information regarding their vaccine status.
To apply, use the button on this page. No calls please.
Our Hiring Process:
We aim to be transparent and efficient in our hiring process. Each question you will be asked throughout our hiring process ties directly back to one of the skills and experiences listed above. In each interview, you will be asked to provide examples of these skills and experiences or how you would draw on your experience to handle a scenario commonly found at M+R. Our typical hiring process includes:
1) Phone Interview
2) Written Skills Assessment
3) Video Interview(s)
4) Reference Check
Depending on logistics and scheduling, our hiring process generally takes about 4-5 weeks from phone interview to a job offer. We let candidates know after each step in the process, once we’ve made a decision, whether they are moving forward to the next stage or not, so candidates know the status of their application. If you need accommodations for this application process or any of the hiring process steps listed above, please email accommodations@mrss.com or call 202-681-8743.
M+R is an equal opportunity employer and all applicants will be considered. As a firm we are committed to being an anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive organization where all staff feel welcomed, valued, and empowered, resulting in meaningful, rewarding, and enriching experiences throughout their careers here. We work to center our AEI values in all aspects of our work, so our culture, clientele, policies, and practices are reflective and affirming of people -- inclusive of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, immigration status, citizenship status, and so much more. We strongly encourage folks from underrepresented backgrounds to apply.
