Sr. Advocacy Communications Manager

Who We Are:

FoodCorps partners with schools and communities to nourish kids’ health, education, and sense of belonging so that every child, in every school, experiences the joy and power of food. Our AmeriCorps members serve alongside educators and school nutrition leaders to provide kids with nourishing meals, food education, and culturally affirming experiences with food that celebrate and nurture the whole child. Building on this direct service, FoodCorps advocates for policy change, grows networks, and develops leaders in service of every kid’s health and wellbeing. Our goal is that by 2030, every child will have access to food education and nourishing food in school!

What We’re Looking For:

FoodCorps is seeking a Sr. Advocacy Communications Manager who will work as part of the Marketing and Communications team and in collaboration with the Policy and Advocacy team. The role will be primarily responsible for writing and developing advocacy communications materials, setting digital advocacy strategy, and working with our PR firm on getting our issue areas into the media, particularly during time-sensitive opportunities tied to legislative action.

This position will report to the subsequent Director of Campaigns hire, and will report to the Sr. Director of Marketing and Communications in the interim. The role will work very closely with the Director of Federal Government Relations and the Director of State Advocacy.

This full-time position will have a hiring priority for the Washington, D.C. or East Coast areas, but candidates located elsewhere may apply. Occasional travel may be required.

Who You Are:

You are passionate about FoodCorps’ mission and have a dedication to food justice and racial equity. You are a self-starter. Writing is one of your strongest skills, and you are familiar with using stories and framing to persuade both legislators and constituents. You can write and send out an action alert in your sleep, and thrive when working at the pace of policy. You view every communication with a lens of equity and inclusion. You’ve written and managed collateral, digital campaigns, and press releases.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement advocacy communications strategy related to FoodCorps’ policy priorities (primary audiences: policymakers, agency leaders, grassroots partners, FoodCorps networks, parents & caregivers, and general public)
• Serve as lead writer and creator of policy & advocacy collateral and communications (fact sheets, toolkits, social media posts, blog posts, emails, SMS alerts, sign-on letters, etc) for various external audiences such as legislative staff, donors, program partners, and general public
• Collaborate with the Director of Federal Government Relations and Director of State Advocacy to develop advocacy communications strategy and annual communications calendar, ensuring alignment and integration with our primary communications calendar.
• Generate rapid-response advocacy alerts and reactive communications when our issue areas show up in the media and on the legislative agenda
• Collaborate with the MarComms team and Policy/Advocacy team to set strategy for major digital advocacy campaigns, such as awareness-building of our issue areas, petitions, and alerts
• Work with external PR firm to edit and draft press releases in the FoodCorps voice, write talking points and draft quotes for internal spokespeople, and bring ideas for influencing legislators and constituents via the media
• Manage the digital advocacy platform (Phone2Action/Quorum) and conduct regular analysis on advocacy engagement of FoodCorps networks; collaborate with other MarComms team members to build advocate supporter journeys to grow our advocacy network
• Collect stories and testimonials from FoodCorps sites, alumni, and partners in service of achieving policy goals and connect them to policy and advocacy content
• Build relationships with counterparts at partner and coalition organizations to amplify policy communications, working in concert with other organizations as appropriate

Submission Requirements:

Please submit 2 writing samples with your application; ideally your samples will have been written for policy advocacy (examples: sign-on letter, social media post, toolkit). Applications without the required work samples will not be considered.

Measures of Success:

By the end of year 1, the Sr. Advocacy Communications Manager will have:

• Tested workflows between policy and communications teams, including content creation and delivery across multiple platforms
• Crafted and updated FoodCorps’ policy issue collateral related to the organization’s key policy priorities and programming per state/district for Hill offices and grassroots audiences
• Contributed to the growth of FoodCorps’ policy list through action alerts, social media campaigns, and other creative efforts; created tailored user journeys related to policy
• Crafted and implemented advocacy campaigns around key federal (Farm Bill, child nutrition reauthorization) and state policy (school meals for all, farm to school) opportunities
• Contributed to the creation of the organizational content calendar with consistent policy content to deepen policy knowledge of FoodCorps’ general audience
• Provided communications support leading up to and during congressional visits to FoodCorps school and partner sites

Thriving with FoodCorps:

In addition to generous medical benefits and an annual $3000 401(k) matching, FoodCorps provides:

Time away:

• Social justice work is both vital and demanding. FoodCorps recognizes this and provides ample time to recharge, including:
  • half-day Fridays
  • 4 weeks of accrued time off
  • 12 federal holidays (AND your birthday!)
  • 2 week winter break
  • a sabbatical policy

Family Planning:

• As an organization that supports youth development, our family policies need to match our values. To that end, we offer:
  • 16 weeks paid parental leave
  • Up to $7500 in financial support towards adoption fees, surrogacy expenses, contraceptive services, and travel for abortion services

Ongoing Support and Professional Development:

• At FoodCorps, we want our people to work in the way that works best for them. We provide:
  • $850 annual home office funds
  • Internet bill reimbursement
  • $500 annual professional development funds

How to Apply:

Applications will be accepted until a match is made. To be considered, submit your résumé, cover letter, and 2 writing samples through our hiring site at FoodCorps Careers. Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered.

This position is a manager role with a starting salary range between $80,000 – $90,000/yr. Note: A cost of living adjustment may be made for candidates living in our designated high cost of living areas. Adjustment would be made after hire and is not reflected in the listed salary range.

People of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. FoodCorps is committed to a diverse workplace, and to supporting our staff with ongoing career development opportunities. FoodCorps is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions. FoodCorps provides reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees as required by law.

Applicants with disabilities may request reasonable accommodation at any point in the employment process.

Your Safety:

Legitimate messages from FoodCorps will only come from an email address ending in @foodcorps.org—not any variations of that (e.g. [email protected], [email protected], etc). Any interested applicants should apply directly to FoodCorps’ open positions on FoodCorps Hiring. Additionally FoodCorps will not ask you to submit any information outside of our website prior to hire. The best way to contact us regarding employment opportunities is through our site at FoodCorps Careers.

If you suspect you’re being targeted as part of a scam we encourage you to submit a fraud report to the Federal Trade Commission with details about your correspondence with the scammer. This helps the FTC better understand the tactics scammers are using and get a sense of the volume of fraud attempts.