<\/p>\n
MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST<\/p>\n
Application Deadline: July 7, 2020<\/p>\n
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (ACLU-WA) is seeking a Media & Communications Strategist to develop and implement communications and media strategies.<\/p>\n
OVERVIEW<\/p>\n
The ACLU of Washington is a leader among state affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union, the country’s premier guardian of liberty. We work in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect and extend American rights to freedom, fairness and equality. The ACLU is both nonprofit and nonpartisan. We are supported by more than 135,000 members, activists, and donors.<\/p>\n
The ACLU of Washington is committed to ending racism in Washington State and throughout the country. This includes how we work with each other, and with our partners and allies in the communities we serve. We are committed to bringing anti-racism to all aspects of ACLU-WA’s\u00a0internal and external functions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring and human resources, strategic planning, ally, donor, and volunteer relations, Board and committee processes, and deciding what cases to litigate. We are looking for candidates who share this\u00a0commitment to advancing racial justice, both internally in our organization and externally in the communities that we serve.<\/p>\n
The Media & Communications Strategist is responsible for creating statements, releases and other communications materials, collaborating with ACLU-WA staff and allies on communications efforts, and communicating with the media, the public and members on a wide variety of civil liberties issues by managing the ACLU-WA’s robust media program and contributing content for social and digital media. The Media & Communications Strategist will work closely with the Online Communications Specialist and the Community Relations Director.<\/p>\n
The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, socio-economic circumstance, or\u00a0 record of arrest or conviction. We do not conduct criminal background checks on our candidates.<\/p>\n
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES<\/p>\n
\u2022 Participation in ACLU-WA\u2019s race equity work. This may include utilizing ACLU-WA race equity tools, adopting ACLU-WA race equity practices, serving on the Race Equity Team or subcommittees, etc.<\/p>\n
Copywriting and Editing
\n\u2022 Draft and edit news releases, media advisories, op-eds, blog posts, letters to the editor, fact sheets, talking points and other\u00a0 communications materials.
\n\u2022 Work with staff to help produce and edit high quality materials such as advocacy reports and the ACLU-WA annual report.<\/p>\n
Public Relations
\n\u2022 Proactively cultivate relationships with reporters, editors, producers, bookers, bloggers and other media professionals through phone, email and in-person meetings, with an emphasis on Spanish language, Black press, and ethnic media, as well as large media outlets.
\n\u2022 Pitch news and feature stories to journalists and media outlets and actively follow up to garner maximum media coverage for our issues and for the ACLU as an organization.
\n\u2022 Respond to inquiries and keep track of journalist contacts to expand networks and measure success.
\n\u2022 Organize press conferences, teleconferences and other media events.
\n\u2022 Consult with the Director of Communications on appropriate spokespeople for media interview requests that best advance public perception of an issue.
\n\u2022 Provide support to the Advocacy and Executive staff, preparing advance materials or talking points for interviews, facilitating interview requests and identifying opportunities.
\n\u2022 Provide media training for clients and staff to prepare them for interviews.<\/p>\n
Strategy and Messaging
\nAssist in developing and implementing an integrated, strategic communications plan that promotes the ACLU-WA’s work across a broad platform of media outlets.
\n\u2022 Work with Department Heads, as well as our national office, on communications strategy and messaging.
\n\u2022 Participate in coalition communications work.
\n\u2022 Coordinate with the Online Communications Specialist for adaptation of content and distribution of workload, specifically regarding writing tasks.
\n\u2022 Exercise judgment to prioritize media opportunities.
\n\u2022 Supervise interns and assign them tasks.<\/p>\n
QUALIFICATIONS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ideal candidates will have an awareness of, and willingness to engage in, the difficult and transformative work of challenging systems of oppression, institutional and structural racism, and implicit bias.
\n\u2022 Demonstrated experience and success in journalism, communications or related field.
\n\u2022 Excellent writing and editing skills, including ability to draft materials on a wide range of topics in a timely manner.
\n\u2022 Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with key national, regional and local news media. Ability to understand and grasp fast-changing media market and platforms.
\n\u2022 Detail-oriented with the ability to manage projects, such as reports, from inception through execution.
\n\u2022 Strong commitment to advancing the ACLU of Washington\u2019s values, mission and goals, with an understanding of the range of civil liberties and civil rights issues and their implications.
\n\u2022 Ability to work independently and keep organized in a fast-paced environment, manage several projects simultaneously, and adjust strategy to frequently changing demands.
\n\u2022 Motivated. Collaborative. Curious.
\n\u2022 Strong team-building and organizing skills.
\n\u2022 Committed to being an ambassador for the organization.
\n\u2022 Working fluency in Spanish, a plus.<\/p>\n
WORK ENVIRONMENT<\/p>\n
The ACLU-WA\u2019s staff of 40+ employees and numerous volunteers generally work in a standard\u00a0office setting in downtown Seattle between the hours of 9am and 5pm. The physical demands\u00a0described below represent those required to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ability to type on a keyboard for long periods of time
\n\u2022 Ability to sit or stand for extended periods
\n\u2022 Ability to work some evenings, weekends, and holidays
\n\u2022 Ability to periodically work long and extended hours
\n\u2022 Ability to view data on a computer screen for long periods of time<\/p>\n
This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU reserves the right to change the description and\/or posting at any time without advance notice. This position is \u201cexempt\u201d under the Fair Labor Standards Act.<\/p>\n
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<\/p>\n
The ACLU of WA is dedicated to centering equity in all aspects of the organization and, as such, has adopted a salary scale for measuring how to best compensate its employees. The salary for this position is $78,000 to 84,000. A range indicates the intention to accommodate those with varying years of relevant experience, as determined by the salary scale.<\/p>\n
Benefits include three weeks of vacation, twelve sick days, eleven holidays, fully paid employee medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance, a generous retirement plan, and an ORCA card, the regional transportation pass.<\/p>\n
APPLICATION PROCEDURE<\/p>\n
To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Jobs@aclu-wa.org and include in the subject line of the email: your last name and Media & Communications Strategist. In your cover letter, please indicate where you learned of the posting. Applications will be accepted until July 7, 2020, at which time the job announcement will be removed from our website at www.acluwa.org\/careers<\/p>\n
The ACLU of Washington comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Inc. and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation. The two corporations share the same overall mission, office space, and employees. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name \u201cACLU of Washington\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[4,16,7,13,8],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/mesweekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}