Communications Director

Position Title: Communications Director

Location: Washington DC

Salary Range: $108k-$135k, commensurate with experience

Work Schedule: Hybrid

About EarthRights:

EarthRights International is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that combines the power of law with the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment. We take legal action against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, train activists, and work with communities to demand meaningful and lasting change.

The Communications team at EarthRights is a dynamic one that inspires people inside and outside of our organization to be connected to our work, values, and vision. This department has the privilege of working closely with all parts of EarthRights, including our Amazon, Mekong, and U.S. offices. From the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.; Lima, Peru; and Bangkok, Thailand; to small villages in the Amazon and the Mekong, EarthRights supports local-to-global advocacy and legal work that seeks to shift power from corporate elites to frontline communities. We work with community leaders and organizers to open access to influential decision-makers.

The Communications team is responsible for developing and executing communications strategies in collaboration with internal teams, establishing and maintaining our organizational voice and branding, advancing our key priorities, and connecting these priorities to larger advocacy and fundraising conversations.

EarthRights’ values of thoughtfulness, inclusion, accessibility, and humility are infused into all our interactions inside and outside the organization. We are looking for team members with a shared commitment to these values.

About the Position:

The Communications Director is an exciting role that oversees the creation and implementation of strategic communications initiatives to support our campaigns, legal cases, and ultimately, the achievement of our strategic plan goals. The incumbent is also responsible for guiding our branding, media relations, and the creation of published materials. This position will manage a team of communications professionals and will work closely with colleagues from across the organization to design and implement these strategies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic Communications:

• Work across teams to identify influencers, opportunities, and platforms to help advance EarthRights’ strategic priorities and engage, develop, and implement strategies for achieving widespread adoption of new ideas and messages;
• Develop clear, simple language to convey complex arguments and information about human rights and climate change, and new related frames for considering the issue;
• Guide, persuade, and support partners in adopting this new language, including providing training in messaging to partners and community teams;
• Create and manage the creation of high-quality written and visual materials that communicate the overall impact of the organization and our programs.

Management and Collaboration:

• Supervise, mentor, and hold accountable a team of communications professionals and external consultants;
• Collaborate across teams to discuss their comms goals and needs; develop strategies to meet those goals;
• Provide strategic assistance and partnership to EarthRights’ partner organizations, as appropriate based on EarthRights’ organizational goals;
• Provide leadership on internal and external matters requiring communications expertise, manage cross-organizational coordination, and oversee the Communications budget.

Brand Consistency:

• Develop the brand positioning, narrative, language, and messages about EarthRights International: the type of organization we are, and our role in relation to communities;
• Work with the Development Director and the communications team to ensure that all EarthRights’ departments, initiatives, and spokespersons maintain consistency with EarthRights’ values and brand in their external communications;
• Manage the complex relationship between needing a clear and compelling organizational “brand” while promoting the movement and the work of the communities and local teams.

Additional Responsibilities:

• The Communications Director will be expected to provide assistance with our 5-year strategic planning process, annual planning, hiring, budgeting, and other responsibilities that require leadership input and joint decision-making.

Professional Experience and Qualifications:

EarthRights International is seeking an accomplished leader with 7+ years of experience in strategic, movement, or issue communications, in a role including “in-house” leadership within a complex (in number and variety of constituents) nonprofit or government entity, or strategic responsibility within a campaign or at a nimble firm. Previous roles working on human rights and/or environmental issues is a positive, but not essential. The successful candidate will have:

• At least 5 years of experience managing teams;
• Demonstrated results working to advance public issues using communications action plans;
• An ability to delineate a brand positioning and to execute against it;
• An understanding of how marketing and communications can be used to develop a brand and build reputation;
• A track record of working effectively with colleagues both inside and outside their organization, with a reputation for building strong professional networks and the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence;”
• Achieved results as a problem-solver and in bringing about positive change;
• Strategic thinking and decision-making skills, strong analytical capabilities, and a stakeholder-oriented mindset;
• High energy, maturity, and leadership skills with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels;
• Demonstrated an ability to track progress against targets
• Fluency in Spanish is not required but highly preferred.
• A bachelor’s degree is required. An advanced degree in a related field, such as law or public policy, is preferred.

EarthRights International is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Learn more here