National Communications Manager

The Opportunity

As the Communications Manager, you will have the unique opportunity to shape and support visual and verbal communications and marketing campaigns across the Reach Out and Read network.

As a member of Reach Out and Read National’s Department of External Affairs, the Communications Manager will write and/or design content for a variety of digital and print communications, from crafting text and creating visuals for a social media post for an emerging Affiliate to designing a digital ad or one-sheet for National. The new position requires both a keen eye for design and a keen ear for words — they’ll be deeply involved in both writing and design across the nonprofit’s network.

The position will create, manage, and share engaging, brand-oriented, paid and organic content for Reach Out and Read National and its Affiliates and/or support Affiliate staff in doing so. They will coordinate print and digital collateral, e-newsletters, website content, and more. The position also handles a variety of administrative tasks, including working with vendors, creating processes, scheduling meetings, and more. The role reports to the National Senior Director of External Affairs and the National Director of Marketing and Design.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include

Content and Collateral Creation (45%):

— Work with Senior Director of External Affairs and the National Director of Marketing and Design to identify communications and marketing needs and strategies and to create and deploy brand content for internal/external audiences.

— Plan, draft, revise, and design Reach Out and Read print and digital collateral, including advertising, mailers, paid social media, posters, one-sheets, infographics, donor materials, branded items, and more.

— Research, write, and create original, brand-aligned content for Reach Out and Read National to use on social, digital, and print platforms.

— Work with the External Affairs team to execute email marketing, including newsletters, fundraising campaigns, news updates, and more across Reach Out and Read National.

— Draft copy for press releases, event invitations, print collateral, and more.

— Write, edit, and place web and promotional copy, including alt text for images. Ensure information presented on sites is current and correct.

— Upload and embed videos and other content. Edit photos for the web.

— Work with web developer to design compelling landing pages.

— Track digital analytics across multiple platforms and create reports.

— Track media mentions. Catalog notable media coverage on web pages.

— Maintain a content calendar.

— Ensure that Reach Out and Read’s promotions are accessible across all platforms and inclusive for all audiences.

Affiliate Communications and Marketing Functions (45%):

— Work with Senior Director of External Affairs and Reach Out and Read Affiliates to identify communications and marketing needs and strategies and to create and deploy brand content for internal/external audiences.

— Research, write, and create original, brand-aligned content for Reach Out and Read Affiliates to use on social, digital, and print platforms and/or tailor Reach Out and Read National content for Affiliate use.

— Plan, draft, design, and/or localize a variety of Reach Out and Read print and digital collateral for Affiliates.

— Work with National Director of Marketing and Design to utilize National’s marketing and promotional budgets for Affiliate work and/or to help Affiliates build their own.

— Review and track ROI and engagement data and analytics.

— Liaise with National’s PR consultants and handle requests for Affiliate interviews, quotes, etc.

— Work with the External Affairs team to assist Affiliates with select email marketing, including newsletters, fundraising campaigns, news updates, and more.

— Make edits and maintain some internal and external Affiliate websites.

— Manage engagement across social channels for select Affiliates, particularly in new geographies.

— Develop and grow the scope of tools, training, and resources provided to Affiliate leaders and staff to drive the impact of marketing across the organization.

Other Communications Functions (10%):

— Edit copy for accuracy, clarity, grammar, style, campaign continuity, and brand consistency. — — Recommend edits that improve the quality of the copy, the meaning of the message, and reflect Reach Out and Read’s overall brand voice and tone.

— Ensure consistent messaging and image, both visually and verbally, across all platforms.

— Generate creative ideas.

— Work comfortably with varied stakeholders.

— Handle other administrative duties – scheduling meetings, communicating with vendors, and more – as assigned.

Qualifications And Experience

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. We’ll honor your lived and professional experience as key aspects of your candidacy for the role and prioritize applicants with experience dismantling the structural inequities that disproportionately impact children and families with traditionally marginalized identities. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below and are committed to doing this work from an equity lens:

— Commitment to increasing equity in opportunity and outcomes for children and to recognizing factors known to significantly impact differential outcomes for children, including race, ethnicity, language, and socio-economic status.

— Three to five years’ relevant work experience in graphic design.

— Two to three years’ relevant work experience in writing and editing, content creation, email marketing, and website management.

— Experience in public relations, communications, or marketing for a nonprofit highly desired.

— Experience in social media management. Adept across social media platforms, including basic experience creating multimedia content.

— Experience working on websites and within content management systems.

— Skilled in Adobe Creative Suite with experience in Canva.

— Skilled in Microsoft Office, with a strong knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

— Strong writing, editing, and design skills.

— Comfortable working in a fast-paced, remote environment on tight deadlines.

— Team player used to working collaboratively and in an editing environment.

— Able to clearly and precisely express complex ideas with interesting and compelling angles.

— Strong organizational skills, including a track record of balancing and prioritizing multiple priorities simultaneously.

Position Specifications

This is a full-time, exempt position. This remote role will work from a home-based office and will require national travel for meetings and projects four to five times each year.

Compensation And Benefits

The salary range for this position is $63,000-$67,000 and is commensurate with experience. Reach Out and Read offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid time off, and more.