Director of Communications and Advocacy

Title: DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & ADVOCACY
Salary: $157,087
Location: This position is remote, candidates must live and be authorized to work in the U.S.
Job Classification: Full time, Permanent, Exempt
Reports To: Executive Director
Supervision Responsibilities: This position supervises 3 full time staff, vendors and consultants
Travel Requirements: This position requires approximately 20% domestic and international travel

About Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism

For over 25 years, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism has funded feminist activists to keep each other and their communities safe while building lasting, resilient movements for justice, equity and liberation. Our holistic, flexible approach enables frontline feminists to respond to real-time threats and opportunities, protect and care for themselves and one another, and sustain and propel solutions to the most critical crises and injustices of our time.

Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism partners with frontline feminist movements to support women, trans and non-binary activists striving to create a more just and equitable world.

Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism provides fast, flexible support to women, trans and non-binary activists so they can respond to unexpected risks and opportunities, protect and care for themselves and one another, and nurture feminist movements that are creating a more just and equitable world. Our mission is to sustain feminist activism worldwide by providing rapid response funding to women, trans, non-binary and LQBTQ frontline activists. Our work supporting feminist movements is made possible due to our team of diverse staff, board members, and advisors who bring to the organization a passion for justice, equality, and inclusion.

We do this work in collaboration with a Sisterhood of Urgent Action Funds around the world. Collaborative, co-equal and geographically distinct, the Urgent Action Fund Sisterhood is the only global consortium of independent funds with a mission to sustain feminist activism worldwide by providing rapid response funding to women, trans and non-binary frontline activists. Today, there are four independent Urgent Action Sister Funds: Urgent Action Fund-Africa, Urgent Action Fund-Latin America & the Caribbean, Urgent Action Fund-Asia and Pacific, and our organization, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, which grants in the Middle East, Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, Canada and the United States.

The Position

Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism is seeking an experienced, strategic, entrepreneurial leader who has a sharp political analysis to build a culture of strategic communications and advocacy and to position the organization as a bolder, more powerful champion of feminist activists and movements around the world. The successful candidate will be passionate about and thrive in a highly collaborative environment.

The Director Communications & Advocacy is a new position that will oversee the Communications and Advocacy work of the organization. In recent years, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism has undergone significant growth, including deep strategic work to center communications and advocacy as core elements of the organization’s work. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director Communications & Advocacy will oversee the development and execution of strategic communications, philanthropic and international human rights advocacy.

As a member of the Management Team, the Director Communications & Advocacy will play a critical role in partnering with executive leadership in strategic decision making, as Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism continues to enhance its programming and build internal capacity for strategic communications and advocacy.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Communications & Advocacy (Approximately 60% of the role)

• Develop and drive a communications strategy to elevate the organization’s position and amplify impact and the work of grantee partners in key funding regions. Drive implementation of new organizational advocacy strategy.
• In partnership with the Programs team, develop and drive advocacy strategies that protect and expand the rights of feminist activists, and influence funders to drive more resources to support the important work of feminist movements.
• Drive Communications & Advocacy team growth and functioning – develop team structure and staff new positions, articulate lines of collaboration among team members, oversee development of annual work plan, and manage ongoing work of the team.
• When appropriate, work in collaboration with the Sister Funds to develop and drive collaborative communications and advocacy strategies and approaches.
• Foster a culture of strategic communications across the organization and create and implement systems, training, and practices that support staff as strategic communicators.
• Engage in thought partnership with leadership and key staff to develop strategy in support of goals, and lead thought leadership efforts to position the organization within international human rights advocacy and philanthropy arenas.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to team members, fostering their growth and career advancement.
• Cultivate a collaborative and positive work environment that promotes learning and innovation.
• Use data to effectively evaluate the organization’s progress and iterate your approach and priorities.

Organizational Culture, Strategy & Leadership (Approximately 25% of the role)

• As part of the Management Team, collaborate to set organizational goals, work plans, meetings, retreats, strategy, and calendaring for your department and the organization.
• Collaborate with Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism's Programs, Development, and Operations teams to co-create strategy and systems for organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Along with the rest of the management team, be a driver of organizational culture and a champion for organizational values.
• Share and collaborate with Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism’s Sister Funds on best practices for Communications and Advocacy.
• Offer recommendations based on Communications and Advocacy to drive Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism's future direction.

Operational Efficiency and Systems Development (Approximately 15% of the role)

• Lead and drive the development and implementation of efficient operational processes and systems to support the organization's communications and advocacy work.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align systems and improve organizational efficiency.

2024 PRIORITIES
Communications

• Leverage and strengthen the recently-refreshed brand to further shape, clarify, and elevate the organization’s voice and stance by conveying mission impact and elevating key organizational outcomes and grantee partners’ successes.
• Build skill, will, and capacity for enhanced narrative strategy and greater storytelling to convey Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism’s impact, drive advocacy outcomes, and elevate the work of grantee partners.
• Guide a content strategy for the organization in support of that storytelling stance.
• Consistently track analytics data across all platforms and develop and implement strategies, in partnership with development, to improve engagement rates with target audiences.

Advocacy

• Identify opportunities for international human rights advocacy that are guided by the priorities of feminist movements and promote leadership, protection, and resources for feminist activists at risk.
• Build coherence in Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism’s programming by strengthening integration of international human rights advocacy across programmatic areas including grantmaking; philanthropic advocacy; communications; and monitoring, learning and evaluation.
• Offer a future direction for Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism’s international human rights advocacy that will build over time in parallel with staff capacity and resourcing.
• Pilot international human rights/philanthropic advocacy campaigns and begin to position advocacy as a more visible, strategic approach of the organization.

Team Building

• Lead the creation of a newly formed Communications & Advocacy department.
• Identify and ensure staff pursue professional development opportunities.
• Operate in deep collaboration with the program, development, and operations teams to develop and drive communications and advocacy strategies.
• As a member of the management team, offer leadership and strategic guidance to the organization as a whole.

Requirements

Areas of Expertise

• A critical understanding of and familiarity with feminisms, social justice, disability justice, and international human rights issues facing women, trans, gender non-binary, and intersex people, including operationalizing these principles into practice.
• 7 to 10 years of overall professional experience with 5 years of broad Communications and International Human Rights Advocacy leadership experience as a manager of strategic initiatives.
• Bachelor’s degree with professional Communications, Advocacy, or other relevant certification, work, education, or lived experience.
• Deep knowledge of Communication and/or International Human Rights Advocacy best practices rooted in equity, justice, and liberation with a demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and development.
• Outstanding communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and produce compelling written and digital materials.

Skills

• A skilled, experienced people manager and leader who models integrity, accountability, trustworthiness, and empathy with deep self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and dedication to the mission of Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism. A collaborative, inclusive workstyle is highly desired.
• Experience working in global contexts, including experience working with staff and consultants across cultures and time zones in a remote work environment.
• A clear and compelling verbal and written communicator who is able to convey complex information to multiple audiences.
• Experience in developing and leading institutional communications strategy and/or experience in leading advocacy initiatives or campaigns. Experience in social justice work and/or philanthropy is also a plus. Exceptional project management skills and the ability to handle complex, multifaceted projects resulting in measurable outcomes and programmatic growth, such as the piloting of advocacy campaigns.
• The ideal candidate has a strategist’s mind who excels at visioning, goal setting, and implementing big ideas into action. The ideal candidate has strong strategic instincts to guide organizational stance and positioning, especially in light of our rapid-response work, can grasp the subtleties and nuances of complex issues, and identify patterns in challenges.
• Can identify and implement insightful, pragmatic, equitable, and sustainable ways to tackle common challenges and produce positive change.
• A successful track record in setting priorities and taking a concept from idea to implementation; keen analytic, organization, and problem-solving skills that support and enable sound decision-making.
• A multitasker with the ability to wear many hats in a fast-paced environment; the ideal candidate is agile, iterative, and flexible.
• People management skills, including the ability to train, supervise, and mentor staff; ability to efficiently plan and effectively leverage a team of staff and consultants to drive the work.
• Experience developing and/or leading spokesperson, messaging, and other relevant communications and advocacy trainings for staff and partners.
• Knowledge of or proficiency in relevant communications systems such as CRMs, Wordpress, and media databases, as well as preferred project management tools such as Asana, Box, and GSuite.

Organization-Wide Requirements

• Takes initiative and works to continuously improve systems and processes; suggests innovations to use resources strategically and to maximize positive impact.
• A problem solver who has the ability to handle emotional complexity while also navigating uncertainty and changing conditions in a quickly growing organization.
• Able to manage conflict constructively, including the ability to self-reflect and to give and receive feedback up, down, and sideways in a remote working environment.
• Must be able to work both independently and as a collaborative member of various teams.
• Seeks to uplift all voices and perspectives in our work and communities.
• Works with integrity, accountability, clear communication, and follow-through.
• Flexible, adaptive, and able to respond to challenges and changes; values iteration and productively integrates new information.

Work Expectations

• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required up to 20% of the time

TO APPLY

Please submit your application here via the Workable Platform. Applications will be accepted through 01/29/24, we will be holding interviews late February through April, and our target candidate start date is May 2024.

DO YOU THINK THIS MIGHT BE YOU?

If you see yourself in this job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway! Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups, particularly women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC, tend to self-select out of opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic approach to all of our hiring practices and want to hire those who best align with our mission and goals.

Benefits

This position is full-time (36 hours per week in a 4-day workweek) and is exempt. This position is remote within the United States, with a preference for candidates who can work during ET hours. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism is committed to paying competitive wages and upholding sustainable equity practices. Due to the ways in which salary negotiations perpetuate existing structural inequities, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism as a practice does not participate in a salary negotiation process for any candidate. We will make our best offer, and it will be the same regardless of the candidate. The annual starting salary for the role is $157,087 and includes a strong benefits package (health, dental, retirement, flex spending for medical and transit, HRA, phone/wifi reimbursement, and a competitive PTO package).