Senior Press Secretary

Summary

Join American Oversight, a nonpartisan nonprofit watchdog, as their new Senior Press Secretary. Reporting to the Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations, you will be a critical link between the organization and the press. Responsibilities include developing and pitching stories to reporters, writing and editing press releases, building relationships with news outlets, managing press relations for investigations and lawsuits, coordinating interviews, and monitoring media coverage. The ideal candidate will have 4+ years of experience in press relations, with a focus on U.S. politics, government, or public policy, and exceptional communication and collaboration skills. American Oversight offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance, a retirement plan, and remote office reimbursements. This is a remote position with occasional travel to the Washington, DC office.

Requirements

• 4+ years of experience in press relations or a related field, including roles that involve generating earned media or engaging in fact-based advocacy, with 3+ years of experience working on issues related to U.S. politics, government, or public policy
• Familiarity with pro-democracy issues, including but not limited to abuse of power, corruption, or undue influence, voting rights, election administration, or civil rights and civil liberties
• Exceptionally strong skills in the following areas: Attention to Detail: Thoroughly and accurately completes tasks, demonstrating a strong understanding of the underlying facts to ensure all details, no matter how small, are correct and align with AO’s standards
• Collaboration: Is an inclusive, highly engaged team player; proactively seeks and provides thought partnership, assistance, and/or resources with/to colleagues
• Communication: Oral: Effectively conveys information, ideas, and emotions in a clear, concise, and engaging manner; uses language that is understandable and relevant; appropriately adapts language to different audiences and contexts
• Written: Effectively distills complex ideas into clear, concise, and engaging written content; appropriately adapts language to different audiences and contexts; ensures work product is free from errors, typos, or inconsistencies
• Judgment and Decision Making: Carefully assesses information and weighs competing priorities before making sound and timely decisions; predicts likely results based on patterns, experiences, and logical inferences; considers potential consequences and ensures alignment with AO’s values and objectives; makes thoughtful recommendations or decisions that lead to effective outcomes
• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking: Identifies and anticipates problems and surfaces creative solutions to achieve desired outcomes; scans the landscape and connects dots among many disparate data points and situations
• Project Management: Ability to multitask and independently manage multiple projects with varying scopes, timelines, and stakeholders; adapts priorities as necessary to meet organizational goals while maintaining good judgment of relative priorities
• Strategic Thinking: Obtains information and identifies key issues and relationships relevant to achieving a goal or vision; evaluates potential risks and benefits to potential plans of action before recommending courses of action; adjusts plans as needed to achieve key objectives
• Exercises a high degree of confidentiality and discretion, professionalism, integrity, diplomacy, and ethics
• Position is located in the United States; must be available to work East Coast business hours with occasional evening and weekend hours, as needed

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations to implement American Oversight’s strategic communications and media relations strategy
• Develop and pitch stories (by phone, email, etc.) about American Oversight’s work to reporters, including highlighting newly obtained public records and/or sharing updates about key developments
• Write, edit, and distribute press releases, talking points, statements, advisories, investigation updates, pitches, and other communications products (op-eds, blog posts, etc.) as assigned
• Build and maintain robust relationships with reporters and news outlets that cover American Oversight’s areas of work and ensure that American Oversight is partnering effectively with appropriate press, including by identifying new reporters, outlets, or newsletters and by maintaining and updating targeted press lists
• Manage press relations for ongoing American Oversight investigations, lawsuits, or issues, including by contributing to or developing communications plans, responding to and effectively managing incoming press inquiries, and identifying opportunities to proactively share information or expertise with the press
• Coordinate, prepare for, and staff interviews between reporters and American Oversight expert spokespeople, including developing talking points and preparing experts for interviews as needed
• Compile and circulate media coverage featuring American Oversight, including tracking mentions and flagging notable trends or narratives to inform communications strategy
• Monitor news coverage related to American Oversight’s priority issues to identify potential communications opportunities or developments that could impact American Oversight’s work
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop effective media outreach strategies for designated topics, projects, and areas of responsibility
• Track and follow up on pitches, projects, or other initiatives to assess the success of strategies and use lessons learned to improve future plans
• Provide on-the-record comments to reporters regarding American Oversight’s work as needed and approved by the Director of Strategic Communications

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelors degree
• Experience working among a diverse employee base that works remotely and is distributed across the United States
• Experience working for other pro-democracy organizations, campaigns, or congressional offices with high standards of responsiveness and accuracy

Benefits

• 80% of health, dental, and vision premiums paid by the organization
• A retirement plan with a matching contribution
• Remote office reimbursements for personal devices and wireless connectivity