Press Director

Position title: Press Director

Application Deadline: September 27th, 2020 (candidates will be considered on a rolling basis)

Desired Start Date: October 15th

About Never Again Action: We organize Jews and allies to take sustained, disruptive action to help end immigrant detention and deportation. Our goal is to redefine the public’s understanding of the problem and what it means to be part of the solution in the fight for immigrant rights, building demand and political urgency for transformative action. Since we launched in 2019, we’ve mobilized thousands of people to directly disrupt ICE’s operations, in the streets and online, and we have local leaders organizing in 50+ cities nationwide. 

Location: Remote, with quarterly in-person retreats that will resume when public health circumstances allow.

Compensation & Benefits: At NAA, we do not differentiate compensation based on position, rank or perceived responsibility, recognizing the vital contribution made by each team member and the inherent dignity and support that we believe all people should be afforded universally. Full-time positions are compensated on a salaried basis using a $15 living wage as the bottom of our salary range ($31,200), with room for every individual to adjust up to a ceiling of $40,000 based on need. We also offer health, dental, and vision benefits as well as unlimited paid time off and an annual professional development fund.

About NAA’s Core Team: The Never Again core team are full-time leaders responsible for supporting our decentralized movement to pursue shared strategic goals that meaningfully contribute to the broader immigrant rights movement. In addition to holding a specific role as part of a specific core team department, core members are all responsible for holding the big picture and supporting our base of thousands to reach our strategic goals. The core team must also embody and model the movement’s values and culture. 

Role Description: Never Again Action is seeking a full-time Press Director to serve as the lead strategist and organizer for our movement's media strategy. You should have the skills, experience, and relationships to obtain coverage in major national newspaper, TV, and digital outlets. The press director will support local chapters to strengthen their communications work through trainings, toolkits, and the development of a team of volunteer coaches who can work 1:1 with local leaders. As a member of the Communications team, working closely with the two digital coordinators, you will also play a key role in shaping our movement’s external narrative. You should also be ready to jump in to support high priority Communications projects outside of press & media. 

Core Responsibilities: 

Media Strategy and Execution (45%)

• Responsible for creating and executing a vision and plan for media strategy and engagement. 
• Communicate with members of the press to coordinate press requests and pitch stories
• Create strategies to obtain coverage in major national TV, newspaper, and digital outlets 
• Manage lists of press contacts and establish and maintain relationships with journalists on beats related to immigration, Jewish issues, and politics
• Plan and write press releases, op-eds
• Monitor the media landscape and communicate with local organizers and the core team to identify potential stories
• Identify and develop Never Again Action leaders as spokespeople for print, radio, and TV speaking opportunities
• Coordinate press for national actions

Developing and Supporting Local Chapter Comms Capacity (25%)

• Create materials related to comms work for local leaders including talking points, spokesperson guides, press kits, etc.
• Support local comms leaders through training and 1:1 coaching  
• Help local leads create narrative for local actions when needed, including tying local actions into national narrative
• Coordinating with organizing department to identify local comms needs
• Recruit, train, and manage a team of 5 to 10 volunteers to execute and advise on comms work, as well as support volunteers to build out their sub-teams
• Recruit, train and coordinate 5 to 25 comms coaches

Communications Team (20%)

• Play a key role in the development of the organization’s short term and long term public narratives, including for national campaigns
• Collaborate with the digital coordinators on high priority projects, which could include writing website content, social media posts, emails, etc. 

Core Team (10%)

• Member of the NAA core team
• Participate in core calls every week, helping to support the development of the organization and the movement
• Ensure the movement prioritizes and includes storytelling and public narrative work in its strategic planning

Skills and Experience we’re looking for:

NOTE: We do not expect any applicant to meet all of these criteria, and encourage you to apply if you are interested in the job. 

• 2+ years experience in media strategy and execution, as a volunteer and/or professionally 
• Experience as a participant or organizer in a movement (can include community-based, local, or online organizing) 
• Experience in team-building, coordination, and leadership development on large projects 
• Exceptional communication skills, including strong writing skills and communication with members of the media
• Relationships with journalists on related beats
• Understanding of Jewish media landscape
• Fluent and comfortable with major social media platforms
• Familiarity with digital organizing 
• Willingness to travel for retreats, to support local work, and meet the needs for rapid response or other opportunities (once the public health situation allows)
• A burning and enduring commitment to seeking justice and fighting oppression

Qualities we’re looking for:

• Humility: You are committed to self-examination and open to feedback from others. 
• Self-Management: You are prepared to take ultimate responsibility for your area of work, ensuring tasks are completed with quality and integrity. You don’t let things fall through the cracks. When confronted with ambiguity, you take initiative to resolve it so you can move forward with clarity. You are comfortable asking for the support you need to be successful. 
• Relational: You strive to imagine how the world looks to others, and to build bonds of trust. You are kind and considerate, including towards people you don’t yet know. You love being part of a team, and thrive on giving & receiving support to achieve group goals. You’re excited to connect with your team beyond the work.
• Creativity: Our actions often do not fit neatly into the standard ways that the media covers immigration, politics, and protest. You should be excited by the opportunity to craft a media strategy specific to our movement, and the need to be inventive in who and how you pitch.

Never Again is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable equal opportunity laws. We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates including women, people of color, Sephardi, Mizrahi, and Jews of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ people.

To apply, please fill out this application.

Due to a high volume of interest and applicants, we will not be able to respond to questions individually, but all applicants will be notified if they are no longer under consideration for the position.