Communications Director

Location: Remote (Based anywhere in the United States) 

OVERVIEW

The climate emergency is the defining challenge of our time, demanding an urgent and transformative response. The window for small, incremental action has closed; the moment for bold, emergency-level action is now.

Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) operates at the intersection of clean energy advocacy, strategic media, and civic participation to accelerate global decarbonization. Through cutting-edge media strategies, ACE combats climate disinformation, flattens the curve of clean energy opposition, increases diverse participation in our democracy, and inspires meaningful action. Our programs engage tens of millions of people annually, mobilizing audiences that traditional climate efforts often overlook.

ACE’s dynamic and diverse team thrives in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment, united by a shared commitment to addressing the climate crisis. As we expand to meet this critical moment, we seek talented individuals eager to make an impact.

JOB SUMMARY

We are looking for a highly skilled Communications Director to build ACE’s presence, messaging consistency and brand awareness as we seek to reach new levels of scale and impact over the next critical five year window, especially with climate and political philanthropists, clean energy developers and elected officials. 

The Communications Director will both directly build relationships with, pitch to, and share press releases/statements/quotes with reporters in key outlets while also working closely with a reputable, national PR firm in the climate, clean energy and democracy space. The Communications Director will develop overall messaging for campaigns that can be used across the organization’s tactics from in-list communications, digital ads, creator content, video storytelling and more. The Communications Director will also support the Communications Manager on Executive Communications, including LinkedIn posts, Board reports and communications and funder briefings and newsletters. The Communications Director will also manage the Associate Director of Communications to implement engagement strategies with our 1.3 million Youth Action Network members. 

This is a full-time position based anywhere in the United States. The Communications Director will report to the Head of Policy and Public Relations and manage a small, growing team. The candidate will work from home, meet as required by video chat with teams, and have weekly national full staff meetings with colleagues online. Regular travel will be required for building relationships with reporters, relevant events, staff retreats and other convenings as needed. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Communications Director will join a team of marketing, digital media, and technology professionals. The scope of responsibilities includes:

• Communications Oversight and Strategy:
  • Oversee all national communications to ensure alignment with ACE’s brand voice,, the strategic priorities in our Strategic Plan, and our rapid response as well as long-term campaigns. 
    • Collaborate with the Research & Experimentation team to develop messaging for key campaigns that is rooted in proven ability to educate and persuade audiences.
    • Refine and maintain ACE’s written brand voice and tone across communications.
    • Manage and oversee the review process of all written communications before they are released. 
  • Lead communications strategy over multiple timescales: from annual communications calendar, to rapid response emerging news and events. Manage communications planning to optimize the complex cadence of external briefings, events, emails, blogs, texts, and more.
  • Develop communications plans, contribute messaging to overall campaign plans, and coordinate communications across all channels and collaborate with teammates across departments to implement said communications.
  • Manage ACE’s crisis communications planning, including creating talking points in advance of and in response to ACE events, breaking stories, climate emergencies, and other rapid response needs.
• Earned Media:
  • Manage contract and process with leading, national PR firm in the climate, clean energy and democracy space to elevate ACE’s brand and presence in the media across print, podcast, television and other modes. 
  • Develop and manage a national and state level press list. Both directly and in working with the PR firm, regularly reach out, cultivate relationships with, and pitch ACE’s work to reporters and earned media outlets to generate earned media coverage.
  • Write frequent press releases, statements, media advisories and other pitch opportunities.
  • Create speakers’ bureau and training to prepare key ACE leaders and those in our network for speaking opportunities.
  • Prepare background, talking points, and responses for interviewees for earned media opportunities. 
  • Work closely with the CEO and elevate the CEO and other ACE leaders’ public profile through frequent opportunities to speak with the press, author op-eds, and more.
  • Elevate ACE’s brand in the public sphere through planning and scheduling speaking opportunities for the CEO, key staff and Board members.
• Management:
  • Manage the Communications Manager on Executive Communications including:
    • Creating a monthly Board report
    • Developing and implementing monthly donor newsletters 
    • Managing quarterly funder briefings
    • Drafting weekly posts for key moments on the CEO’s and ACE’s LinkedIn profiles.
    • Maintaining ACE’s public presence by keeping the website up to date including regular blog posts, ensuring press hits are online, and posting updated research and case studies to the website
  • Manage the Associate Director of Communications on in-list communications including:
    • Developing, implementing and maintaining a strategy and in-list communications calendar across ACE and our affiliated brands. 
    • Developing and executing an annual working communications plan that is integrated and collaborative with all departments. 
    • Writing and sending national and state level communications via e-mail and SMS to key stakeholders about action opportunities, ACE success stories, and breaking news.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience
  • Communications and media professional with over 10+ years of experience, including serving as a Communications Director in the climate and/or clean energy space. Specialized expertise in earned media, public relations, and strategic messaging for high-impact campaigns in climate, clean energy, and politics.
• Skills & Expertise
  • You are a natural messaging creative with experience developing pithy, punchy messaging, tailored to different audiences, and ensuring messaging discipline across teams. 
  • You bring extensive, existing relationships with journalists at the national or regional level.
  • You possess extremely strong writing skills, including but not limited to: press releases, statements, blogs, website copy, social media ad copy, video scripts, email production, text production, and other forms of written communications.
  • You are forward-looking, proactive and take initiative to plan toward key moments, coupled with strong implementation and timely follow through
  • You have the ability to make strategic decisions in real-time based on breaking news or events, and possess strong analytical skills with the ability to set priorities, complete work with minimal supervision, and meet deadlines.
  • You are a strong manager who is fair, empathetic, and willing to roll up your sleeves at any time to get the job done.
  • You bring strong interpersonal skills and the ability to cultivate and manage relationships with diverse audiences.
  • You are a self-starter with strong organizational skills, extreme creativity, and the ability to think big—really big. 
  • You have the ability to work independently and as a collaborative member of various diverse teams.
  • You have existing expertise in the climate, clean energy and democracy spaces.
  • You love technology. You know how to use—or are able to quickly learn—many different digital tools, including: Google Suite, Slack, Salesforce, Google Data Studio, Engaging Networks, Mobile Commons, and many more.
• Attributes
  • Self-starter with strong organizational skills
  • Ability to work efficiently and creatively within a remote team
  • Team player who is a strong cross-team collaborator and communicator with an eagerness to jump into other duties than assigned
  • Proactive, flexible, and solutions-oriented with a commitment to innovation
  • Collaborative and team-focused, capable of inspiring and motivating others
  • Dedication to fostering a culture of excellence, quality, and inclusivity

• Values:
  • Commitment to racial justice and equity, and fostering an inclusive organizational culture

Desired Qualifications

• You have appeared on national media and love being on camera.
• You have pitched donors and feel comfortable doing so. 

This description reflects ACE’s assignment of essential functions, it does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. ACE retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position at any time. Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. ACE has a zero tolerance standard for abuse and inappropriate behavior by staff members.

POSITION DETAILS

• Annual salary range: $130,000-145,000, commensurate with experience
• Generous benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 403b retirement savings plan, Vacation, Sabbatical, Paid Parental Leave, 2 Floating Holidays, 2 Community Service Floating Holidays, sick time, two weeks of full-staff time off (July 4 week and Christmas-New Years week) and 13 observed holidays
• ACE is an equal-opportunity employer that highly values staff diversity
• Location: Remote