Senior Communications Director

About the Nonhuman Rights Project

The Nonhuman Rights Project exists to secure fundamental legal rights for nonhuman animals—rights that are enforceable and effective at protecting animals’ most basic interests, including life, liberty, and bodily integrity. Achieving this goal requires a transformation in how legal systems recognize and respond to the interests of nonhuman animals.

The legal principles necessary to protect nonhuman animals already exist—courts have simply failed to extend them to nonhuman animals. As a result, animals remain effectively unprotected despite widespread public concern, compelling scientific evidence of conscious experience, and numerous animal protection laws that purport to protect the very interests left unvindicated. Courts continue to treat nonhuman animals as mere things rather than as individuals with fundamental interests worthy of legal protection.

Through strategic litigation and communications, the Nonhuman Rights Project works to change this by engaging courts, legal professionals, and the public in sustained efforts to advance recognition and enforcement of nonhuman animals’ rights. We are the only civil rights organization in the United States dedicated solely to securing fundamental legal rights for nonhuman animals. 

Position Summary

The Senior Communications Director is a senior leader responsible for setting and executing the organization’s communications strategy in close partnership with program leadership. This role ensures that the NhRP’s mission, legal theories, and strategic priorities are communicated clearly, accurately, and consistently across all external-facing work, with particular emphasis on high-impact narrative positioning and media strategies that advance the organization’s litigation goals.

The Senior Communications Director serves as the organization’s primary steward of messaging and brand, translating complex legal strategies into compelling public narratives that advance the NhRP’s litigation-centered mission. This role combines senior-level team leadership with responsibility for writing, editing, and media engagement.

This position reports to the Managing Director of Programs and directly supervises the Digital Director and the Campaigns Director. This is a full-time, remote position.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications & Messaging

• Develop and implement an annual communications strategy aligned with the organization’s litigation priorities and overall strategic plan.
• Serve as the organization’s lead architect of messaging, translating complex legal concepts and litigation strategies into clear, accurate, and compelling narratives for non-legal audiences.
• Lead the development and ongoing refinement of core organizational materials, including the organization narrative, brand identity, program one-pagers, audience personas, annual reports, fact sheets, and FAQs.
• Maintain and enforce the organization’s brand and style guides.
• Set, own, and approve the organization’s communications content calendar, establishing clear priorities, sequencing, and decision-making authority across Digital and Campaigns.
• Review and approve major external communications across Campaigns, Digital, and Development, exercising final decision-making authority to ensure alignment with organizational strategy, messaging, and brand standards.

Media & Public Relations

• Set and execute a proactive media strategy focused on outlets most likely to advance NhRP’s mission and litigation goals, including national, state, and local media where coverage can influence legal outcomes, with careful attention to timing, jurisdictional context, and legal strategy. 
• Build and maintain strong relationships with journalists, editors, and media partners.
• Write and produce press releases, media advisories, op-eds, and other media-facing materials.
• Serve as a primary media contact and spokesperson, and prepare and actively staff media engagements for the Executive Director and other organizational spokespeople to ensure accuracy, message discipline, and alignment.
• Coordinate interviews, briefings, and public appearances.
• Monitor media coverage and trends, assess impact, and provide regular reporting on media performance and strategic alignment.

Narrative Development & Public Voice

• Originate, develop, and refine high-level ideas that position NhRP as a leading civil rights organization advancing novel legal arguments on behalf of nonhuman animals.
• Draft and edit op-eds, bylined articles, speeches, and presentation materials for senior leadership and organizational spokespeople.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for public-facing thought leadership, including speaking engagements, conference participation, and authored content, in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Ensure consistency between NhRP’s legal strategy, public narrative, donor messaging, and engagement with the broader legal and advocacy communities.
• Establish and manage systems for handling inquiries from the general public, including responding directly as needed and designing sustainable processes over time, while ensuring accuracy and alignment with the organization’s mission and messaging.

Team Leadership & Cross-Departmental Collaboration

• Provide direct leadership, management, and mentorship to the Digital Director and the Campaigns Director, with clear lines of authority and accountability.
• Establish clear expectations, workflows, and accountability systems that enable high-quality, timely communications output.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive team culture that balances strategic rigor with flexibility and creativity.
• Work with Litigation, Development, Digital, Campaigns, and senior leadership to ensure communications efforts support organizational priorities and resource needs, while retaining clear ownership over communications decisions, in coordination with the Managing Director of Programs and the Executive Director.

Skills and Experience Needed

• Deep commitment to civil rights and civil liberties consistent with the mission and goals of the Nonhuman Rights Project.
• Strong alignment with a rights-based approach to animal protection and an understanding of the distinction between animal welfare and animal rights.
• Significant senior-level experience leading communications, media, or narrative strategy within a nonprofit, advocacy, or mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex, technical, or legal subject matter into clear, compelling public-facing communications.
• Proven experience setting communications strategy and successfully operationalizing that strategy through teams and systems.
• Senior-level experience managing and mentoring staff in a collaborative, remote-work environment.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with a strong track record of producing high-impact media and public-facing content.
• Experience serving as a media spokesperson or supporting senior leaders in that role within an advocacy or nonprofit context.
• Strategic thinker who is comfortable originating ideas while also executing directly when needed.
• Strong interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate cross-functional collaboration with clarity and diplomacy.
• Sense of humor and comfort contributing to a collegial, mission-driven, and values-aligned organizational culture.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $115,000-$125,000 annualized, commensurate with the

candidate’s skill and experience. The NhRP offers comprehensive health benefits delivered through an Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) which provides employer-funded tax-free reimbursements for the individual plan of your choice, flexible paid time off including all federal holidays, paid parental leave, 403b retirement plan with employer match, professional development stipends, and home office equipment subsidies.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a resume, a cover letter describing their interest in and qualifications for the position, and three samples of nonprofit or advocacy-related communications work. This material should be submitted to: jobs@nonhumanrights.org with “Senior Communications Director” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until a candidate is hired. Select candidates will be contacted and invited to participate in next steps in the selection process.

Additional Information

The Nonhuman Rights Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer and acts in accordance with applicable laws in all of our hiring and employment practices. The NhRP considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender identity, national origin, age, ability, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or any other protected factor under federal, state, or local law. This is a U.S. based position. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.