Director, Georgia Communications Project

Overview

Position Summary

Georgia Alliance for Progress is searching for a dynamic leader to serve as the director of a new strategic communications project. This is a full-time position with benefits; the position is based in Atlanta, Ga.

The Georgia Communications Project will run advocacy campaigns and provide message and communications leadership and guidance on behalf of a broad coalition of organizations that fight for progressive values in Georgia. Working in collaboration with our senior staff team, the project director will oversee and coordinate all functions within the project, including managing communications-focused advocacy campaigns, writing and producing original content, leading social media campaigns, hiring and managing communications staff and orchestrating earned media outreach and relationship building.

We intend for this project to become an independent organization. At that time, the successful project director may be promoted to founding Executive Director and the Georgia Communications Project will become an affiliate of Progress Now. Progress Now supports state partners by offering management,  strategic advice and resources to meet advocacy and organizational goals. Learn more about Progress Now here: https://progressnow.org/about/

Core Responsibilities & Measures of Success

Lead Statewide Coalition Communication

– Provide earned media leadership, content generation, and social media leadership to coalition partners statewide. The Director will oversee content generation, coordinate earned media outreach, and facilitate digital and social media organizing.
– Build and maintain existing relationships with partner organizations and oversee an integrated plan to leverage existing infrastructure and innovate where needed.

Management and Partner Coordination and Training

– Coordinate communications-first advocacy campaigns at the direction of partners and the Georgia Alliance for Progress. The director will work to provide an additional dimension of advocacy, beyond field organizing, and will coordinate earned media, social media, and paid media in key campaigns.
– Create and oversee a training program that helps partner and coalition staff learn the skills of advocacy communication.
– Facilitate decision making processes among coalition partners on specific advocacy campaigns
– Manage and lead state staff and consultants to execute the overall plan and meet core goals.
– Manage the overall Communications Project budget.
– Design digital fundraising program
– Support and lead institutional fundraising efforts

Managing Campaign Communications

– Develop strategic communications narratives about targeted issue and electoral campaigns; work with partners to inject narrative into earned and social media.
– Work with partners to develop and execute coordinated strategies for message development, earned media, and issue advocacy that is integrated with progressive community priorities.
– Build a research hub, identify polling firms and work to raise resources and identify partners to build a base of polling and research that all partner groups can participate in and learn from.
– Oversee research plan and message development process to craft compelling issue-based communications to motivate targeted voters, working with field and communications teams.
– Support the efforts of partner groups to drive political narrative with elites and political media; coordinate activities and press opportunities with coalition partners.

Qualifications

Applicants for this position should bring the following experience, knowledge, abilities, and attitude:

– Candidates should have at least 5 years of experience managing and working in the communications field and/or advocacy campaigns, ideally with both candidate and issue advocacy campaigns.
– Strong communications skills, especially in writing and earned media. Experience with graphic design and video editing a plus.
– Knowledge of, and relationships with, local and national progressive organizations and the ecosystem.
– Knowledge and relationships with Georgia and national earned media leaders.
– Comfort with and passion for electoral politics and strategy.
– Demonstrated success in coalition and movement building.
– Familiarity with and openness to different approaches to political communication and electoral work.
– Strong facilitation skills.
– Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with diverse groups and people.
– Experience and competency in managing staff and coalitions.
– Strong command of numeracy skills, including but not limited to budget management.
– Self-motivated, independent, willing to work long, flexible hours, including nights and weekends.
– Familiarity with reporting and metrics.
– Strong commitment to social justice and social change.

We especially encourage applications from people who bring some of these additional skills or experiences:

– Deep experience living or working in Black, Latinx or immigrant communities.
– Wants to win significant progressive victories to restore healthcare, fund education, defend voting rights and more by leading a new wave of communication-first activism. Our work will have short term demands and long term goals — we must win now and we must build for the long term.
– Has worked with and managed complex stakeholder relationships and coalition tables.

To Apply

To apply, please send a short statement of interest, resume and name/contact information for two references to Ben Unger at ben@georgiaalliance.org. E-mails should reference “Georgia Communications Project” in the subject line. Applications will be considered as they are received.