Job Abstract

The Tahirih Justice Center is a national, nonprofit organization that serves women, girls, and all immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. Our interdisciplinary, trauma-informed model of service combines free legal and social services with bridge-building policy advocacy and research-based training and education. Our programs efficiently and effectively leverage donated professional services from a vast network of attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts to serve as many immigrant survivors as possible. By amplifying the experiences of survivors in communities, courts, and Congress, Tahirih’s mission is to create a world in which all people share equal rights and live in safety and with dignity.[Learn more about Tahirih’s Values, including our Commitment to Anti-Racism.]

Position Summary: Tahirih is seeking to hire a Director of Communications to build upon and oversee its unified, comprehensive communications plan. Communications at Tahirih include promoting and advancing its work with diverse audiences through a range of channels. The Director of Communications leads our public relations strategy nationally, ensures consistency of Tahirih’s voice, values-aligned messaging, and strength of our brand. Communications strategies from earned media to stakeholder email communications shall position Tahirih as a leading voice and expert on issues relating to immigration, ending gender-based violence, and ending child and forced marriage in the United States. Candidates must live within commuting distance or be willing to relocate to one of our office locations in Baltimore, MD; Falls Church, VA; Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX or San Francisco, CA.

Essential Job Functions:

• Designs and leads a communications plan that is aligned with Tahirih’s values, vision, and mission, implemented with measurable outcomes, and communicated through social media, earned media, emails, web presence, and direct mail.
• Continually develops new and improved approaches to advance Tahirih’s public profile, and effectively utilizes social media and other channels to ensure information about Tahirih and its direct services and policy advocacy is timely, accurate, consistent, and accessible to diverse audiences.
• Serves as a member of Tahirih’s leadership team and participates in thought partnership, consultative decision making, and strategy-setting for the organization.
• Trains and supports Tahirih’s staff to engage effectively with key audiences regarding our mission in alignment with Tahirih’s values, and to tell stories about survivors’ and advocates’ experiences in a trauma-informed and client-centered manner.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversees the development of timelines and action plans to drive key external communications projects to completion.
• Oversees the creation of content, serving as an editor-in-chief for key strategic internal and external deliverables including press releases, media advisories, one-pagers, talking points, blogs, newsletters, annual reports, white papers, videos, special events, campaigns, appeals, etc.
• In collaboration with other teams, supports the development and implementation of a communications and marketing strategy to fund and elevate Tahirih’s programs and services.
• Works with colleagues across departments to ensure consistent messaging and understanding of Tahirih’s brand and value proposition.
• Serves as the communications lead for all Tahirih-produced research publications, surveys and reports, including providing editing support and guidance on communications roll-out strategies.
• Leads communications efforts surrounding rapid-response issues.
• Actively engages, cultivates and manages press and media relationships to ensure coverage of Tahirih’s programming, public advocacy, organizational progress and key partnerships by pitching stories, distributing press releases, handling media inquiries, and implementing other communication innovations.
• Serves as project lead on 2-3 public events per year, collaboratively setting messaging, look, and feel, while overseeing script-writing and creation of video, digital, and print content.
• Increases the competency of all staff to communicate with members, partners, stakeholders and the general public.
• Provides talking points, FAQs and other materials as needed to prepare board and staff for external communications and speaking engagements.
• Tracks media coverage of Tahirih and provides monthly analysis reports of successes, gaps and opportunities.
• Monitors online news and social media for breaking stories, developments in or related to philanthropy and communications, industry trends, and relevant commentary, providing regular updates to the team on articles, issues and relevant news.
• Engages and forges positive working relationships with Tahirih stakeholders, leaders in the field, and important mainstream and electronic media.
• Works collaboratively across the organization to strengthen Tahirih’s messaging, to maintain and increase Tahirih’s partnerships, and to advance Tahirih’s fiscal goals.
• Ensures brand-consistency, messaging accuracy and quality of collateral materials for local office galas.
• Drafts, vets with key stakeholders, and monitors progress toward the strategic and operational outcomes for which the Communications Team will be responsible.
• Supervises a small team and several vendors to accomplish communications goals
• Develops and manages an annual budget for communications

• Demonstrates competency and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Works cooperatively, respectfully and collaboratively with other employees and as a team player.
• Accepts and incorporates constructive suggestions for improving job performance from supervisors and colleagues.
• Exercises wisdom, discretion and independent judgment.
• More than 8 years of strategic communications experience including experience leading an organization’s communications functions in a supervisory capacity.
• Experience defining communications strategies and overseeing the generation and delivery of powerful verbal, graphic and written communication in support of the strategies.
• Knowledge of communications outcomes and metrics, and ability to identify and plan around key drivers (e.g., segmentation, progress indicators).
• Experience creating and executing innovative strategic communications and/or media outreach plans for a range of projects, initiatives and campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate, prioritize and manage priorities and tasks collaboratively, flexibly, gracefully and as a team player in a rapidly changing environment.
• Outstanding written communication skills including experience preparing press releases, news articles and other content.
• Outstanding verbal communication skills including experience preparing and giving presentations and working with the media at events.
• Outstanding ability to build strategic partnerships and manage effective client-service relationships.
• Experience and facility using EveryAction or other CRM system required

Annual salary and benefits: The salary range for this position is $114,400 - $135,200 and generous benefits including fully paid employee health, vision and dental insurance; a 401(k) defined contribution retirement plan; flexible work schedules; professional development including in-house training programs, staff enrichment retreats and other growth opportunities. Employees have a very generous self-managed leave benefit inclusive of vacation, sick and holidays, including an office closure the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Submissions: Please include a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references.

Please note: Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States

Tahirih Justice Center is committed to diversity, equity and unity as core values. We practice inclusiveness in decision making through consultation with employees throughout the organization. Tahirih seeks to hire and retain employees whose diversity reflects the communities we serve. We encourage candidates who are committed to equity and who are from all backgrounds, experiences, abilities and identities to apply.