Vice President, Communications

Summary

Join the Roosevelt Institute as their Vice President, Communications, reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer. You will be responsible for developing and executing the Institute's communications strategy, managing communications activities, and enhancing its brand and reputation. This role involves overseeing editorial, media relations, digital, and events staff, requiring strong leadership and management skills. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with proven expertise in communications, public relations, and brand management, along with experience in organizational communications at a national or large scale. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package and can be performed remotely, though proximity to a Roosevelt office in NYC or DC is preferred.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 10+ years of relevant communications and people management experience
• Proven expertise in communications strategy, public relations, brand management, and media relations, with experience in organizational communications at a national or medium/large scale
• Proven leadership skills in fostering a creative work environment and working collaboratively across a complex organization to ensure effective integration and alignment of resources and programs
• Demonstrated experience and success in pitching media and building relationships in media; strong familiarity/relationships with NY, DC, and national press a plus
• Proven track record of successfully implementing creative approaches to media and digital engagement strategy
• Excellent project management skills, including projects with external vendors (e.g., design, web, branding); proven ability to juggle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously—doing and delegating—while delivering products on deadline
• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills
• Messaging and branding expertise
• Strong people skills; ability to work well with a variety of stakeholders and a natural inclination toward  problem-solving
• Demonstrated ability to adapt and evolve to unique opportunities to expand an organization’s reach
• Experience collaborating with teams across an organization to develop and implement successful communication strategies
• Proven ability to harness, strategize around, and report on metrics
• Ability to communicate strategy to colleagues and stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Create and execute a communications strategy, including savvy approaches and tactics to advance Roosevelt’s mission to create a more inclusive economy in a fast-moving media environment and enhance brand visibility and reputation among key audiences
• Anticipate and proactively address emerging issues, offering strategic communications counsel to the leadership team to support organizational goals
• Contribute to strategy development and implementation of the goals and mission of Roosevelt Forward, the Roosevelt Institute’s sister organization
• Work across the organization to help set the Roosevelt Institute’s strategic direction and organizational priorities, including the evaluation of new ideas and opportunities
• Track ongoing and developing media narratives and environment on all channels (traditional, distributed, etc.) and recommend ways for Roosevelt to enter and drive the conversation in dynamic ways
• Manage, recruit, and mentor staff to ensure integration and alignment across the communications team and promote a culture of high performance, innovation, continuous improvement, and accountability
• Communications pillars include: Media relations, which develops relationships and seeks opportunities to promote Roosevelt’s agenda with traditional, new/distributed, owned, and paid media
• Digital, which deploys social channels in service of Roosevelt’s agenda and maintains website presence
• Editorial, which works with think tank and Roosevelt Network authors to edit and finalize all publications for the organization
• Events, which plans and manages all in-person events (conferences, dinners, and other gatherings)
• Work with other executives, especially those leading programming in the think tank, government relations, and the Roosevelt Society, to codevelop comprehensive strategies and plans for maximum impact around organizational priorities
• Represent Roosevelt with media and partners
• Recruit and engage with outside vendors where necessary (e.g., web, design, branding, multimedia production)
• Provide ongoing analysis of Roosevelt’s communications impact, using algorithmic and other measures and suggesting revisions to strategy as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Are an innovative, strategic thinker who knows how a good communications strategy can complement other organizational strategies to achieve real outcomes for people in the world
• Understand how to think creatively about the impact of a communications strategy in the current policy environment
• Like a fast-paced environment
• Value nimbleness and impact and are comfortable shifting priorities to capitalize on opportunities
• Are excited to deploy a range of creative tactics to break through in an evolving media environment
• Enjoy working across silos to develop integrated approaches to achieving outcomes
• Share our commitment to advance new ideas to broaden prosperity for all Americans

Benefits

• The salary range for this position is $189,000 to $220,000, plus benefits
• Working Location: While this position can be performed remotely, it is preferred for the person in this role to work within relative proximity to one of Roosevelt’s offices, in either the New York City or Washington, DC, areas (District, Maryland, or Virginia only)