Associate Director, Public Relations

**Salary Range**
$80,000.00 – $86,000.00 Salary/year

**Position Type**
Full Time

**Description**

**ABOUT CRADLES TO CRAYONS:**
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.

Two in five kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top ten reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than four million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally.

Cradles to Crayons takes a two-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:

**In-person Engagement** — Tens of thousands of children and adults volunteer at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.

**Advocacy and Awareness** — Cradles to Crayons raises Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.

Cradles to Crayons’ strong financial health and ongoing effectiveness have helped it earn a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY26 and a total staff of approximately 100.

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**POSITION OVERVIEW:**
This position has a base location of Massachusetts. This role is primarily remote but is expected to be in-person in our Massachusetts Giving Factory at least twice a month.

Reporting to the Director of Marketing and Communications, the Associate Director Public Relations is responsible for managing, coordinating, and leading C2C’s media and PR efforts in collaboration with Leadership and functional areas to meet organizational goals. This position will build comprehensive PR and media plans; strengthen internal and external positioning, strategies, and relationships; manage external PR agencies; provide media training and support; coordinate collaborative PR efforts with C2C’s Partners; and expand awareness of C2C’s expertise around childhood and family poverty, clothing needs and distribution, community connection, and the #EndClothingInsecurity movement.

All Cradles to Crayons team members contribute to a culture of shared mission by participating in one volunteer shift per month.

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**MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:**
• Model and lead a positive “One Cradles to Crayons” culture, underpinned by Cradles to Crayons’ Cultural Values and related behaviors
• Help establish and implement best practices, processes, and workflows to support project teams and plans
• Support planning, development, and implementation of public relations activities that promote and enhance the organization’s mission and brand, with particular focus on Clothing Insecurity and C2C’s distribution and engagement initiatives in Chicagoland, Greater Philadelphia, and Massachusetts
• Manage and coordinate all external PR agency teams; support contracts and budgets
• Create and support centralized and customized message development for mission, initiatives, events, and stories across all C2C communication mediums
• Help identify thought leadership opportunities for C2C leadership and internal experts (op-eds, Letters to the Editor, podcasts, blogs, etc.)
• Partner with cross-functional colleagues, Service Partners, donors, and other stakeholders to maintain a list of expert voices trained and available for media opportunities
• Manage timelines and deliverables and identify new ways to bring integrated, inclusive communications to stakeholders
• Identify publicity opportunities for C2C thought leaders, including conferences and convenings
• Manage rapid response statements and PR/media strategy for time-sensitive opportunities related to children, poverty, basic needs, legislation, and other timely topics
• Develop and maintain relationships with press and media contacts, Partner communications teams, and external agencies
• Oversee reporting and data collection on plans and campaigns to track KPIs, measure impact, assess effectiveness, uncover insights, and inform strategy
• Other duties as assigned by the Director of Marketing and Communications

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**Required Experience / Knowledge / Skills / Abilities:**
• Passion for Cradles to Crayons’ mission
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• 5–7 years relevant PR, media, or agency experience
• Exemplary organizational and project management skills; attention to detail; ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Proven ability to meet deadlines
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, entrepreneurial, collaborative environment
• Can-do attitude
• Proficiency with Office365 Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and database management
• Training and/or teaching experience a plus
• Non-profit experience a plus

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**COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:**
The estimated salary range for this position is $80,000–$86,000 based on geographic labor market.

Cradles to Crayons is committed to pay equity and uses geographic benchmarks to ensure fair compensation. The compensation offered may vary based on geographic location, work experience, education, and skill level.

This is a benefits-eligible position. Cradles to Crayons offers a generous benefits package, including:

• Health benefits (medical, dental, vision) and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement
• Monthly cell phone and internet stipend
• Employer-sponsored short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance
• Retirement plan matching
• Annual professional development stipend

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**DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH:**
Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

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**Working Conditions:**
This is an office/work-from-home remote environment with occasional visits to C2C Giving Factories. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.

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**Accommodation:**
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made that pose serious health or safety risks or impose undue hardship on the organization.

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**To Apply:**
Please send a resume with relevant experience to:
[https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/]