Description
Work. Serve. Thrive.
Imagine a place where your talent can make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives. Working at Feeding America is a uniquely rewarding experience in which our employees work together as vital parts of a much larger mission. We are innovative, mission-focused, diverse, collaborative, values-driven and focused on results.
Feeding America is the nation’s second largest charity and the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the United States. Our mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.
Learn more about Feeding America here.
This position is based out of Feeding America’s Chicago or Washington DC office locations. At Feeding America, we believe in offering a flexible work environment. Employees can be in the office an average of 2 days a week (when not travelling for work) and work from home on other days. Employees also have access to a 30-day “work anywhere” program during the course of each calendar year that can be combined with PTO and/or holidays.
The Opportunity
The Manager, Strategic Communications Planning supports the development, execution and project management of communications strategy and planning across Feeding America channels by developing messaging and communications plans for priority issues and major moments in line with overall communications strategy and posture. They engage, coordinate, and guide a ‘writers’ room’ of key internal content creators to develop and update core messaging around our main editorial pillars, key issues and major moments that guide content creators and other stakeholders across the organization and the wider Feeding America network.
Compensation
Here at Feeding America national organization, equity is central to our mission and is an integral part of our compensation policies and structures. Historically, systemic racism and sexism in all aspects of our society, including compensation practices, has led to pay inequities that negatively impact people of color, women, and especially women of color. These practices include basing salary offers on previous compensation and negotiating salary offers. As such, we maintain transparent salary ranges and clearly defined practices for how our team, including new hire salary offers, moves through these ranges. You can expect us to offer the best salary up front based on these clearly defined pay practices with little room for negotiation. The salary range listed below represents the starting to mid-point salaries for positions and comparable roles at this level at our organization and candidates should expect to be offered a salary near the starting point of the range that is listed on the job posting. We make exceptions for highly experienced (multiple years of at-level experience) new hires in accordance with our pay practices. Once hired, employees have the opportunity to progress through salary ranges via regular merit increases and step promotions. Salary Range: $68,000 to $86,000+ Based on Experience
Responsibilities:
- In collaboration with stakeholders, develop and project manage communications plans for priority issues and major moments in line with organization priorities and narratives including tactics, timelines, messaging, goals, Calls to Action and metrics.
- Develop and maintain core messaging around organizational priorities as part of an organization wide strategic communications messaging center that is a repository and source of reference for content creators and other stakeholders across the organization.
- Develop and maintain a main calendar of key moments and opportunities for use across the organization and ensure messaging center content is effectively utilized as a support repository. Project manage roll out of updated messaging across departments, and act as a resource for other teams’ content creators on appropriate use and alignment of messaging for different constituencies at key moments, including for advocacy, donor, internal, and network audiences. Mange workflow of projects, proactively providing progress updates and status reports.
- Convene and project manage key internal content creators across the organization and in the network who function as a “writers’ room” and are the creative engine driving and improving organizational messaging across a range of topics and constituency groups.
- Assist with rapid response communications for a range of needs including advocacy, disaster response, controversial social issues and more, and act as occasional proxy for the team lead for rapid response communications needs.
- Ensure that content reflects the voices of people facing hunger in all communications outputs, including narratives, messaging, and communication briefs, focusing on emphasizing strengths over needs.
- Write clearly and accurately, ensuring all communication aligns with Feeding America’s brand “voice” and reflects the latest data and message research.
- Establish processes and systems that utilize data to inform recommendations and measure the effectiveness of communication.
- Keep current on news and external environment to stay abreast of emerging cultural and social issues relating to people facing hunger and various Feeding America priorities.
Required Experience and Qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience in communications, government affairs, marketing, political science, public policy, sociology or social work is required.
- 5+ years’ experience in communications, issue advocacy, grassroots mobilization, external affairs, or issue campaigns required.
- Demonstrated experience planning, writing, and editing communications is required.
- Demonstrated experience with project management and planning is strongly preferred.
- Experience with Client Relationship Management (CRM) systems (particularly EveryAction, Salesforce, Quorum), and using social media platforms for advocacy engagement required.
- Bilingual in Spanish preferred.
Foundational Requirements
- Mission Focused: Demonstrates a commitment to Feeding America’s mission through work and action. Is committed to people keep people facing hunger at the center of our work and strives to translate this commitment into action on a daily basis. Willing to advocate for people facing hunger and serve as an ambassador for Feeding America inside and outside of work.
- Embraces Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Demonstrates a personal commitment to valuing different background and life experiences through word and action. Takes personal actions to build an inclusive culture that ensures everyone can fully contribute based on their unique talents, skills and perspectives and feels welcomed and valued. Commits to driving equitable solutions to address root cause issues by incorporating an equity framework in their daily work. Committed to continuous personal EDI development.
Required Leadership Competencies:
- Leverages Functional Expertise: Uses advanced functional knowledge to shape decisions and plans. Takes initiative to stay current and apply knowledge of own field, including to improve processes, practices, and policies. Regularly offers to share functional expertise with others to help them succeed.
- Collaborates Internally and Externally: Forms and sustains effective working relationships that accelerate goal achievement by reaching out to and engaging people from other functions or from outside the organization. Coordinates projects and plans with others within and outside of own area to ensure the work goes smoothly. Pursues networking opportunities and encourages others to form new relationships that benefit all parties. Handles conflict directly and adeptly, respecting all points of view, and resolves issues to create a united path forward.
- Communicates Effectively: Conveys clear and effective messages using verbal and written communication within individual, small group, and formal presentation settings. Communicates project/operating priorities and updates to key stakeholder audiences that may include staff, network food bank members, donors, and other groups. Responds positively to requests to share information while maintaining confidentiality of sensitive content. Adjusts message and content based on feedback provided.
- Manages for Results / Delegates Effectively: Holds self and others accountable for meeting measurable goals and performance expectations. Identifies multiple ways to achieve results, takes decisive action, and brings projects to completion in the timeline expected. Establishes regular status checks to maintain and report progress toward goals. Provides helpful, supportive feedback to others. Engages those closest to a situation to make decisions or recommendations.
- Fosters Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Develops solutions that incorporate new ideas and best practices from other departments or outside the organization. Leverages continuous improvement tools and mindset when designing and implementing projects and processes. Shares and applies learning from both successful and unsuccessful ideas to inspire creative thinking.
Feeding America recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribute to a culture that values differences, ideas, and experiences. We intentionally seek out diverse perspectives and skills on our teams, knowing that it makes us stronger as an organization and better equipped to serve our neighbors in need. We encourage individuals from historically under-represented communities and individuals with lived experience of hunger to apply.