Director of Strategic Communications

Who We Are

Catalyst California (formerly known as Advancement Project California) advocates for racial justice by building power and transforming public systems. We partner with communities of color, conduct innovative research, develop policies for actionable change, and shift money and power back into our communities.

Rooted in the historic struggle for racial and economic equality, Catalyst California envisions a world where systems are designed for justice and support equitable access to resources and opportunities for all Californians to thrive. The primary programs are Educational Equity, Equity in Community Investments, Political Voice, and Reimagine Justice & Safety.

Position Summary

Director of Strategic Communications The Director of Strategic Communications will lead our Communications Team and report to a Vice President of Policy and Programs. They will be responsible for developing and executing communications strategies that advance Catalyst California’s critical work across several issues such as political participation and democracy, equitable budgets, criminal justice, and educational equity, as well as shaping relevant and timely organization-wide narrative frameworks. They will also lead a new organization-wide initiative to improve and expand our strategic communications work (the elements of this initiative are included in the list of responsibilities below).

A successful applicant must have a strong, demonstrated commitment to social and racial justice, the ability to develop effective communications strategies, and experience overseeing multiple staff, vendors/contractors, and several streams of work simultaneously.

Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop and oversee the execution of a comprehensive communications strategy aligned with the organization’s mission and vision that includes goals, target audiences, messaging, and earned and owned media across platforms.
• Work with Catalyst California’s Executive Team (ET) to create organization-wide narratives that respond to changing trends and the political environment while elevating our key values and priorities, and regularly engage with ET to coordinate strategy and opportunities.
• Collaborate closely with program teams to develop messaging and communication efforts aligned with programmatic goals.
• Lead efforts to document and improve staff roles and workflows to enable effective collaboration within the Communications Team and across other departments.
• Manage all aspects of campaign communications execution to ensure goals are met.
• Engage with communications and program staff at partner organizations and priority coalitions to create mutually reinforcing communications and narrative efforts.
• Oversee a limited set of organizational communications priorities, including website updates and a biennial event.
• Supervise, oversee, and support the diverse staff of our Communications Team, including providing strategic direction and professional development, as well as recruit new staff as needed.
• Establish goals for staff performance and manage progress towards these goals through regular check-ins, feedback, and evaluation.
• Create and manage the department’s annual budget. Ensure the department is running efficiently and effectively while staying within budgetary guidelines.
• Participate in organizational decision-making through membership in Catalyst California’s Leadership Team, as well as serving on organization-wide workgroups and providing other internal leadership as needed.

Qualifications

The requirements listed represent the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field is required. An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential job duties may be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of communications experience, with at least three at a social justice organization in a leadership role preferred.
• Experience in strategic communications advocacy.
• Experience managing and mentoring a team of communications professionals.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, analytical, and verbal communication skills.

Candidate Profile, Skills, and Abilities

• Sincere and demonstrated commitment to advancing social, economic, and/or racial justice progress for the highest-need communities.
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work with diverse groups of people, including community-based partners in low-income communities and communities of color.
• Collaborative, dependable self-starter with a record of producing high-quality work for different audiences under tight deadlines.
• Demonstrated leadership and strategic thinking skills.
• Flexibility to adjust and contribute to continually evolving work situations and changing priorities.
• Must be able to travel locally and statewide.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

Salary

In the spirit of pay transparency, we are excited to share the base salary range for this position is $120,000 – $160,000. If you are hired at Catalyst California, your final salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, and/or experience. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the full salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits for eligible employees and their spouses and/or dependents, including registered Domestic Partners.
• 403B retirement plan with employer matching benefits after 90 days.
• Flexible Spending Account for eligible employees to allocate pre-tax money throughout the year.
• Fifteen (15) vacation days, six (6) personal days, eight (8) sick days, along with national and office holidays.
• Organizational and team Wellness Days to build team cohesion and camaraderie.
• Opportunity to work in a flexible work culture that is sensitive to employee wellbeing and encourages work-life balance.
• Provide scheduling flexibility for parents and caregivers and telework stipend.
• Opportunity to see the meaning and impact of your work at an organization actively building more equitable communities and systems across California.
• Opportunity to work in an organization dedicated to pay equity and diverse work culture.
• Yearly professional development allowance and support of personalized professional development goals.

To Apply

Please send an email with the subject “Last Name, First Name – Strategic Communications Director Application” and a cover letter, resume, and a strategic communications advocacy writing sample (op-ed, press release, blog post) as a PDF. The attachments should be titled “Last Name, First Name – Document Type.pdf” (e.g., McCorkle, Katrice – Resume.pdf) and sent to:

Katrice McCorkle
Human Resources Senior Manager
[email protected]

Interview Process

• Phone interview with hiring manager
• Two panel interviews (via Zoom)
• Reference Checks

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Catalyst California is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other category protected by local, state, or federal laws. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive staff team. We strongly encourage applicants who are people of color, LGBTQ, women, people with disabilities; and/or formerly incarcerated people.