Job description

About Urban Institute:
At the Urban Institute, we believe in the power of evidence to improve lives and strengthen communities. As a nonprofit focusing on social and economic policy, our researchers and policy entrepreneurs open minds, shape decisions, and identify transformative solutions to the most pressing issues of our time.

Our Mission
To open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions through economic and social policy research.

Our Values
Collaboration, Equity, Inclusivity, Independence, and Integrity
For more information on the Urban Institute, please visit https://www.urban.org
.

The Opportunity:
Central to Urban’s mission is fostering a truly inclusive community that ensures ongoing relevance to a changing world. As Urban ramps up ambitious programmatic areas focusing on mobility, we are expanding our strategic communications capacity with new leadership roles on our Communications team.
The director of communications, WorkRise, will lead visibility, impact, and engagement campaigns in support of its mission: to create a more equitable and resilient labor market that expands opportunity and strengthens economic mobility for low-wage workers. See full posting below.

Director of Communications, WorkRise
WorkRise, a research-to-action network on jobs, workers, and mobility hosted by the Urban Institute, is seeking a director of communications to lead visibility and engagement strategies in support of its mission: to create a more equitable and resilient labor market that expands opportunity and strengthens economic mobility for low-wage workers.

The director of communications will be a thought partner to WorkRise and Communications leadership, developing its overarching communications strategy and leading high-impact, integrated visibility and engagement campaigns that position WorkRise as a trusted resource for the data, evidence, and tools that leaders need to shape a more equitable, resilient labor market. The director of communications will engage with, cultivate, and grow diverse audiences of employers, worker advocates, practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and philanthropists, ensuring that WorkRise’s offerings are packaged and delivered in ways that maximize opportunities to impact policy and practice.

What You’ll Do:
Reporting to the senior director of strategic communications, with a dotted line to WorkRise’s executive director, the communications director will 1) oversee WorkRise’s overarching communications strategy, weaving together messaging, brand and audience engagement, and digital content strategies into a cohesive plan to advance program goals and objectives, 2) collaborate with Urban’s in-house brand and audience engagement team on integrated campaigns that disseminate WorkRise’s research and insights to diverse target audiences across channels, with an emphasis on growing new audiences and exploring untapped channels and tactics, 3) partner with teams of communications staff specializing in digital communications, email engagement, advertising, media strategy, events, writing and editing, and visual communications, in campaign design and execution, and 4) conceptualize and direct projects with WorkRise’s external communications partners and consultants.
Note: WorkRise’s communications strategy is currently staffed by Urban’s in-house communications team and external firms. There is potential for the WorkRise communications director to bring on additional communications staff to support its visibility and engagement efforts.

WorkRise Communications Strategy

• Ensure that WorkRise has an innovative, overarching communications strategy, that weaves together messaging, brand and audience engagement, and digital content strategy into a cohesive plan to advance program goals and objectives.
• Partner with Urban’s brand and audience engagement team to develop the overall strategy and establish high level metrics and a regular reporting system to track progress against goals.
• Ensure that all internal stakeholders across WorkRise and the Communications team, plus external strategic communications partners and consultants, understand WorkRise’s communications goals and are working in partnership to achieve them.

• Work with the brand and audience engagement team to develop individual communications campaigns, grounded in WorkRise’s big picture communications strategy, that deliver its insights and offerings to diverse audiences of employers, worker advocates, practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and philanthropists.
• Proactively identify opportunities (e.g., op-eds, public events) to position WorkRise for visibility and engagement.
• Design campaigns that grow new audiences, that center the lived experiences of workers, and that explore new tactics and untapped approaches for reaching target audiences.
• Lead innovations in how WorkRise communicates its offerings, always working to center target audience members in product design and to package research findings in ways that inspire action and application into practice.

• Oversee messaging strategy for WorkRise.
• Ensure that WorkRise leadership has up to date talking points for media and speaking opportunities and speechwriting support.
• Craft messaging for high profile visibility opportunities, including research releases, web product launches, and events.

• Collaborate with Urban’s brand and audience engagement team to help WorkRise maximize its social media channels, advertising efforts, visual content, and newsletter program to achieve communications goals.
• Plan for, execute, and track audience-centered campaigns across channels.
• Partner with Urban’s central visual communications staff and external firms to manage WorkRise’s visual identity and explore innovative approaches that visualize WorkRise’s offerings.

• Advise on WorkRise’s digital content strategy for https://www.workrisenetwork.org/

• Partner with Urban’s central digital communications staff and external firms to ensure that WorkRise consistently provides useful, actionable, and engaging content on its digital platforms.
• Ensure robust promotion and outreach plans are in place to drive traffic and engagement with the site and its offerings.

Leadership and Management

• Work in partnership with WorkRise and Communications leadership to make sure WorkRise’s communications strategy aligns with institutional goals and priorities, draws from strategic communications best practices, and stays relevant in a dynamic external environment.
• Serve as the primary communications advisor and thought partner to WorkRise leadership.
• Oversee and manage WorkRise communications staffing and budgets:
• Identify capacity gaps and hire as needed to support WorkRise communications.
• Monitor workflows and make adjustments to streamline collaborations and efficiently move the work forward.
• Partner with WorkRise operations leadership to monitor communications budgets and run procurement processes.
• Partner with integrated teams of Urban’s central communications staff specializing in digital communications, email marketing, advertising, media strategy, events, writing and editing, and visual communications.
• Lead ongoing communications efforts with external strategic communications firms and consultants and bring on new partners or staff as needed.

Who You Are:
Essential Skills

• An advanced degree in communications, journalism, public policy, public relations, political science, nonprofit management, or equivalent experience
• Six to 10 years of strategic communications experience with a record of increasing responsibility.
• Six to 10 years in a leadership position, such as senior manager, director, or similar role
• A well-rounded strategic communications thinker and planner who can keep teams focused on big picture goals and priorities.
• An avid news consumer with a strong command of the changing media landscape and good news judgment.
• A leader committed to creating an inclusive culture and representative workplace, who embraces diversity of thought and experience.
• A tenacious go-getter who’s excited by new challenges and stays positive in the face of adversity—and can translate those values to a team.
• A strong written and verbal communicator, who can work with multiple groups and stakeholders and lead cross-functional teams.
• A relationship builder who can quickly establish rapport internally and externally.

Technical Skills

• Demonstrable experience developing integrated strategic communications plans, and knowledge of best practices in messaging, digital content, and brand and audience and engagement strategies.
• Media strategy and relations, with a demonstrated record of achieving earned coverage that advances an organizational strategy.
• Message development and an ability to translate complex technical information into digestible talking points for broad audiences.
• A strong results orientation and ability to capture and tell the story of the impact of communications efforts.
• Ability to coach others, including senior leaders, in strategic communications best practices
• Demonstrated ability to lead large cross-functional teams.

Preferred Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of labor markets and worker mobility subject matter and its audiences
• Experience leading and implementing communications practices that incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Expertise in change management and guiding teams toward innovations in practice.

What You’ll Experience:
No matter your role with Urban, you will contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference for people and communities across the country. And whether you call the Washington, DC area or elsewhere home, you can expect to be part of a welcoming and hybrid workplace. We are committed to cultivating a community and working in a manner defined by collaboration, equity, inclusivity, independence, and integrity.

Urban’s greatest asset is our people.
Urban is committed to supporting our staff’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being through a robust benefits package for yourself, eligible dependents, and domestic partners. It includes generous paid time off, including nine federal holidays, medical (including prescription), dental and vision insurance, and transit benefits. Urban is unique in that we offer 403(b) retirement plan participation immediately after you’re hired and a generous employer contribution after five months of service and 1,000 hours, with immediate vesting. You’ll also have access to a health advocate, personal finance coaching, an Employee Assistance Program, and educational assistance for undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

As a federal contractor, Urban will comply with Executive Order (EO) 14042 that requires federal contractors, subcontractors, and their respective employees to comply with Covid-19 vaccinations. All Urban Institute employees must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and comply with masking and distancing requirements, regardless of responsibilities or work location. New hires must also be fully vaccinated before starting work. Employees may request exemption from vaccination against COVID-19 based on either a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief that prevents them from being vaccinated. Where such an exemption is approved, Urban will discuss with each employee potential accommodation.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned. This posting is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and requirements. Urban management reserves the right to amend and change duties, responsibilities, and requirements to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

The Urban Institute is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender or gender identity, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, veteran status, pregnancy or family responsibilities, matriculation, disability, political affiliation, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you have a physical and/or mental disability and are interested in applying for employment and need special accommodations to use our website to apply for a position, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@urban.org
. Reasonable accommodation requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Job Type: Full-time

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