Senior Director, Communications

Position:

Senior Director, Communications

Employment Type:

Full-time, Exempt

Reports To:

Deputy Director, Strategic Programs

Salary Range:

$105,000 - $125,000

Who We Are

Black Feminist Future (BFF) is a political hub focused on the dynamic possibilities of galvanizing the social and political power of Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people towards liberation. We do this by building and nourishing the leadership of fierce Black feminists, fortifying aligned organizations and movements, and shifting cultural norms.

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Communications at BFF provides strategic leadership and oversight in developing, executing, and managing the organization’s internal and external communications strategies, ensuring the team’s communications efforts align with BFF’s mission and values. A member of the senior leadership team reporting to the Deputy Director of Strategic Programs, the Senior Communications Director is an integral part of the leadership team, advancing the organization’s narrative goals in service to building narrative power for Black women, girls and gender-expansive people. This role will lead the brand design process, set the digital strategy to enhance BFF's online presence across social and web platforms and will manage the team’s email programs, communications tools and programs to amplify the core tenants and impact of Black feminisms. The Senior Director ensures that the vision and priorities for the communications team are informed by the material conditions of those BFF serves, requiring expert mastery of strategic communication and a demonstrated understanding of Black feminist movement building.

General Responsibilities

• Narrative Strategy: Offer high-level assessments of BFF’s narrative terrain and communications tactics to ensure BFF’s storytelling is sharp, consistent and accessible across communications tactics. This includes regular analysis of BFF’s key audiences.
• Strategic Leadership: Provide high-level oversight for all communication efforts, aligning them with BFF's mission and broader organizational goals.
• Brand Development & Design: Lead the effort to refine, sharpen and strengthen BFF’s brand identity, ensuring that its values and vision are communicated clearly and consistently across platforms in ways that will engage core audiences.
• Digital Strategy Development: Develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive digital communications strategy that effectively encompasses the range of programmatic priorities and aligns and advances the organization's overall mission and vision. This includes management of tools and programs such as Every Action, Sprout Social and others.
• Online Platform Management: Oversee BFF's website, including search engine optimization and navigation, to ensure a superior user experience with an eye toward fresh, creative engagement.
• Media Engagement: Develop, manage and evaluate the organization’s comprehensive media engagement strategy. This is inclusive of tactics for earned, owned, paid and hybrid media, all of which are essential to effectively reaching BFF’s core audiences through news and information. The Senior Director will lead the process of developing and maintaining relationships with media makers, editors and digital storytellers to amplify BFF’s initiatives and key messages.
• Audience Engagement: Develop and execute strategies to engage with target audiences through various digital channels, fostering meaningful interactions, deepening brand recognition and building organizational loyalty
• Staff Management and Development: Develop and manage communications staff; set clear expectations and provide regular feedback ensuring that each team member is empowered to contribute to BFF’s mission.
• Organizational Leadership: Serve as a senior leadership team member, providing issue expertise and thought leadership that inform the Executive Director and lead change across the organization.

This job description is not exhaustive, but reflects the key functions of the day-to-day work of the Senior Director. Employees may be asked to perform other job-related tasks as needed. As a management position, this role is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement and is not subject to union representation.

Job Requirements

As an expert communicator, you will integrate communications and organizing strategies to support long-term narrative powerbuilding for the liberation of Black women, girls and gender-expansive people.

You will also demonstrate effectiveness in:

• Issue expertise: Must demonstrate a strong Black feminist analysis, have a deep understanding of the current movement landscape and be equipped to develop a Black feminist analysis in the communications staff to ensure coherence in the organization’s internal and external work.
• Communication. Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills. Must possess a strong track record as a creator, implementer and manager of information systems that are accessible to all staff.
• Management. Must be adept at building and leading a team of strategic communications professionals, digital strategists and creatives, managing them in a fast-paced, campaign environment.
• Narrative Strategy. Must be able to skillfully communicate our organization’s story, creating clear, consistent, creative, compelling messaging and storytelling interventions across platforms. You will be proficient in using storytelling and narrative tactics to engage and influence BFF’s targeted audiences toward greater understandings of our work.
• Strategic Thinking. Must set objectives, goals and benchmarks in alignment with BFF’s organizational strategic plan. You will be adept at designing strategy and the processes that are necessary to implement and evaluate the efficacy and progress of BFF’s narrative and communications strategy.
• Crisis Communications/Rapid Response: Experience developing, implementing and managing communications plans during crisis/rapid response moments that address the immediate narrative and communications needs of the organization and broader movement.

Candidate Profile

You will be a strong candidate for the Senior Director position if you possess the following attributes and competencies:

Passion and Commitment

• Proven commitment to Black feminisms and a deep desire to break up with patriarchy to confront disparities against Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people, and the belief that strong storytelling and shifting narratives can create change
• Experience
• Minimum 7+ years of proven experience in a strategic communications role, preferably in a mission-driven setting
• Knowledge of mass media, including video and audience engagement for online platforms, with a strong understanding of storytelling techniques and visual communication principles.