Communications Lead

What You’ll Do

In collaboration with colleagues, you will design and create communications to build awareness and energy around the Rita Allen Foundation’s work and ideas relevant to current and future collaborations. As key elements of the position, you will:

• Develop and implement strategic communications plans for the Foundation and its initiatives in collaboration with the President and CEO and other team members, with attention to building relationships and shared learning with partners in the science, civic science, philanthropy, and social sectors.
• Write and curate content across traditional and digital platforms to engage the Foundation’s growing network of leaders in science, philanthropy, and civic science around stories and ideas of shared interest, amplifying voices from our network and the Foundation’s work. Topics covered may include, for example, a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar’s pioneering cancer research; new findings on reducing the influence of misinformation;
  
  or cross-sector efforts to strengthen connections between science and diverse communities.
• Collaborate with the CEO and the Rita Allen team to create strategic correspondence and event talking points driven by ideas in philanthropy and our fields of investment and brought to life by stories of emerging leaders, pilot efforts, and learning communities within our network.
• Oversee, manage, edit, and update the Rita Allen Foundation’s digital presence—including its website, online content, and newsletters—developing an overall vision and plan, gathering and creating written and visual content, producing multimedia elements, and posting and disseminating content using Word Press, Mailchimp, and other platforms.
• Manage freelance writers and designers and our external web development team, as well as manage content creation and review by internal staff.
• Track news from our network and fields, curating and summarizing selections to help internal and external audiences stay abreast of relevant developments in the context of underlying themes.
• Assess communications needs and preferences of different priority audiences, and strategize to deliver on them within our capacity, creating efficiencies when possible.
• Help expand and strengthen the Foundation’s network, including assisting with communicating to the press and public and serving as a communications contact for the organizations we work with.
• Contribute to researching, synthesizing, and communicating about topics related to the context of our work and potential future partnerships.

We are seeking an experienced communications professional with 5+ years of demonstrated professional excellence in writing, editing, content strategy, project management, and press relations as part of a mission-driven team. In particular, we are looking for:

• A clear and compelling writer, able to tell a good story and address complex topics with crisp prose.
• Excellent news sense, with the ability to sift through incoming material from a number of networks and pull out what’s important to the Foundation and our constituents.
• Demonstrated skills in project management, with the ability to deliver final materials on deadline, as well as plan and communicate adjustments if conflicting priorities arise.
• Meticulous attention to detail, with expertise in proofreading and fact-checking, as well as editing for clarity and accessibility.
• Experience effectively engaging diverse audiences, drawing on excellent overall cultural awareness. In particular, we value awareness of issues and communication styles in scientific and academic communities, journalism, the social sector, and underrepresented and underserved communities.
• Fluency in working in collaboration with a diverse mix of people, embracing an iterative process of content creation and advancing projects with enthusiasm for working in partnership with others.
• Keen interest in developments in biomedical science, civic engagement, philanthropy, and public engagement with science and evidence.

Please send a cover letter describing your interest in this position, plus a resume  and indicate “Communications Lead-RAF” in the subject line.…