Communications Officer

Reports To: Managing Director of Marketing and Communications

Status: This position is full-time, exempt, and requires a minimum of one day per week onsite

Hours and Location: Full time, exempt. We are currently working in an employee-driven hybrid model. Our team uses our downtown Oakland office 1-3 days per week for collaborative work we do together. This policy is subject to change.

Salary: $100K-$117K

Department: Marketing & Communications

About the East Bay Community Foundation

Founded in 1928, EBCF is one of the nation’s first community foundations. Named the country’s “boldest” community foundation in 2019 by Inside Philanthropy, EBCF is committed to advancing an inclusive, fair, and just East Bay through four core program strategies:

• Arts and Culture for Social and Racial Justice: Storytelling, the arts, and cultural practices have

always been important tools for survival, healing, and resistance. These creative expressions build community resilience and power and give voice, agency, and visibility to communities most harmed by oppression.

• Capacity Building with a Racial Equity Lens: EBCF is helping to strengthen organizations and the

people who lead them, working to change systems in communities that have historically received little support. We want to ensure that organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

• Community Organizing, Power Building, and Movement Building: We believe that social movements led by communities most impacted by injustice are the most effective drivers of change. We resource BIPOC-led and serving power-building organizations
• Fostering Inclusive Economic Models: We address racial and economic inequities in our region

through work in three areas– entrepreneurship & business ownership as pathways to wealth building; workers’ rights and protections; and impact investing.

With a geographic focus on Alameda and Contra Costa counties, EBCF works so that everyone has the economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong. We advance our work through leadership, grantmaking, impact investing, and building solidarity between donors and community. We commit to deploying all our resources in service of our mission and pushing beyond industry norms to offer uniquely impactful opportunities for our fund advisers to build A Just East Bay for all. EBCF manages more than 500 funds, with total assets in excess of $600M. These funds include donor-advised scholarships, field of interest, supporting organizations, and agency endowments.

Joining EBCF means a commitment to advancing racial equity and transforming political, social, and economic realities. We will do this by creating spaces that center joy and opportunities for dreaming and reimagining a future for all who call the East Bay home to have the freedom to thrive for generations to come.

For more information on the East Bay Community Foundation, please visit ebcf.org.

About the Opportunity

We’re seeking a collaborative and values-aligned communications powerhouse who has a strong racial and social justice background to join our team. As a key storyteller for East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) the Communications Officer will play a vital role in illustrating our bold approach to philanthropy and engaging a diverse range of audiences, including donors, fund advisors, funders, institutional and community partners, professional advisors, board members, and staff.

This Communications Officer is one of EBCF’s primary content strategists, copywriters, and producers. A core function for this position is to lead the team’s digital strategies across channels and develop a range of creative content using EBCF’s core messaging with an emphasis on social media and email. As we approach our centennial in 2028, the Communications Officer will also help shape the narrative around our history and its contemporary relevance.

In addition to being an exceptional writer, the right candidate for this role will have outstanding project management skills. They will quickly grasp EBCF’s existing systems, and be excited to ideate, build, and ensure adherence to new systems and processes. The Communications Officer will work closely with the Managing Director of Marketing & Communications. As a team of two, these two roles will collaborate often, dividing up work based on skills and capacity. They will work with departments across the organization to identify and take advantage of opportunities to develop content as well as support their communications needs, and to create a cohesive narrative for all EBCF audiences.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

These are the areas of work assigned to the Communications Officer; we do not expect applicants to have experience in every area.

Communications Strategy and Project Management

• • Create and manage EBCF’s communications calendar, ensuring timely and effective execution of priority tactics and delivery of core messaging to target audiences.
  • Efficiently manage projects using project management and collaboration tools like Jira, Trello, MS Office, and Slack.
  • Work across departments, providing guidance and tactical support for dynamic communications needs and initiatives to achieve optimal outcomes.
  • Develop, implement, and maintain strategy for gathering stories internally and from partners to use for digital media and content development.

Digital Media and Content Development

• • Write web copy, blog posts, e-news blasts, social media posts, case studies, reports, and other content to engage EBCF’s priority audiences.
  • Provide guidance and support to staff on developing content using EBCF core messaging and within EBCF’s tone.
  • Manage EBCF’s social media presence, adapting posts for priority platforms – LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
  • Develop strategy and content for creative campaigns, including launch plan and editorial calendar.
  • Manage the EBCF website, including updates and writing copy as needed.
  • Conduct independent research and interviews with staff, donors, and partners as the basis for compelling, relevant, and timely content.
  • Partner with Managing Director of Marketing and Communications to vet and respond to earned media opportunities.

Events & Donor Communications

• • Develop and implement strategies to ensure EBCF’s events offer rich brand engagement opportunities by supporting event leads through script, talking points, and presentation development.
  • Support event design and production, weaving communications efforts throughout to take full advantage of the content opportunity.
  • Gather content from live events to adapt for website, email, social media, and longer form content including reports and case studies.
  • In partnership with the Philanthropy department, draft copy for and edit fundraising communications including direct mail letters, email appeals, and case statements.

Additional Responsibilities

• • Manage vendors related to the above areas of work to ensure projects stay on-brand, on-time, and on-budget.
  • Support internal communications priorities in partnership with senior leadership team and HR.
  • Contribute to the development of team values, principles, and practices, as well as to overall organizational culture.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge:

These are skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience qualifications we hope applicants will demonstrate in their application, but we do not expect applicants to possess all of these.

• • Strong racial justice and social justice background, with the ability to listen, learn, and communicate with integrity and authenticity.
  • Demonstrated commitment to EBCF’s mission, values, and goal of building an East Bay where everyone has the freedom to dream, heal, and belong.
  • 5+ years of communications experience, preferably in philanthropy, direct-service or advocacy organizations, journalism, and/or impact investing, with responsibility for implementing communications strategy and plans. Prior community foundation experience is an advantage.
  • Strong writing skills and demonstrated experience writing various content formats including web pages, blog posts, fundraising communications, news releases, and/or commentary.
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to translate campaign objectives into communications strategies and tactics.
  • Strong digital and technology skills and knowledge of best practices in a rapidly changing industry.
  • Outstanding organizational, time, and project management skills with ability to create processes and timelines, communicate expectations, work independently, and balance competing priorities.
  • Ability to work across departments, providing guidance and support with dynamic communications needs and initiatives to achieve optimal outcomes.
  • Commitment to being part of a team, growing through two-way feedback, accountability, openness to respectful and productive conflict, and attention to results.

The East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) is an equal-opportunity employer committed to racial justice and equity. EBCF does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law and is an employment-at-will organization. The Foundation welcomes and encourages people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ people, and members of other historically disenfranchised groups to apply.