Senior Communications Manager

Reports to: Director of Programs

Position Status: Exempt, Salaried; 40 hours/week

                           Salary: $84,600- $98,700- robust employee benefits package detailed below

Position is based in Charlottesville, VA. Hybrid work schedule with time in the office expected. Preference will be given to applicants who reside in or are willing to relocate to the service area of the city of Charlottesville or the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange.

Preference will be given to those who are directly impacted by the work of the foundation. We seek candidates with diverse experiences, including those who have lived experience with the social challenges that we seek to address and with the communities that have experienced adverse effects of unequal social and economic systems.

About the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation:

The Community Foundation was established in 1967 with a mission to improve the quality of life in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange. This region of more than 310,000 people includes a variety of rural and urban environments, and is home to a complex, and at times, deeply painful American history. The region’s changing demographics present opportunities for greater inclusion, and the Community Foundation is deeply committed to being a community-centered, equity-forward organization that ensures our region is one where everyone can belong, contribute, and thrive. As a tax-exempt, nonprofit public charity, the Community Foundation works with local residents, nonprofits, and public and private organizations to facilitate philanthropy through several hundred donor funds and scholarships while making local investments through its own discretionary resources. 

Our team believes that candidates who demonstrate and seek to develop the following qualities will find our organization an environment in which they can thrive:

1. Growth Mindset – to be willing and able to grow and change and do things differently. Go beyond what training or experience or upbringing has taught us and be open to having what we think we know challenged. Be humble, curious, and open-minded to explore ideas or opportunities that are new to us.
2. Innovation Orientation/Sense of Possibility – to bring to the work a “how can we” or “how could this be possible” as opposed to “we can’t” mindset. We can be in legal and ethical compliance and also question the way things have always been done and our assumptions about them in service of making change and progress.
3. Authenticity & Vulnerability – to be able to bring yourself and share yourself with the team. While we each can make choices about personal boundaries and parts of our lives and selves that we prefer to keep private, we can be genuine and true to ourselves with each other. This is crucial to building trust.
4. A Spirit of Solidarity & Differentiation – to recognize and value our shared fate and invest in each other’s success. At the same time, we appreciate each person’s uniqueness and do not equate experiences or assume that having similar identities (such as race, gender, or position) makes us the same.
5. Direct Communication – to speak our own truth and listen deeply to each other in order to really negotiate and engage in genuine relationships. We give and receive feedback thoughtfully and respectfully, recognizing that this is critical for individual and collective growth and accountability.
6. Responsibility for Learning – to do the personal work to dismantle internalized ideas about self and others, to see the larger system and our individual locations in it, and work together as effective change agents.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Communications Manager plays a critical role in ensuring the Community Foundation shares its stories in alignment with its mission to improve quality of life as a community-centered, equity-forward organization. The Senior Communications Manager will expand the visibility of the organization to meaningfully engage the region’s diverse audiences. Our community members, particularly those marginalized by unequal systems, are counting on us to make a lasting difference through our partnerships and programs so that we can become a region in which all people can belong, contribute, participate, and thrive.

The Senior Communications Manager will work strategically with all Community Foundation team members to develop and maintain effective and innovative communications techniques and approaches that reflect organizational values and goals. This role will be responsible for writing, editing, designing, and publishing multimedia content for a variety of platforms and purposes, including promotional/marketing pieces and educational materials. They will take a lead role in media campaigns, marketing initiatives, and public relations, as well as the necessary evaluation of these efforts. The work is mission-driven and requires creative, strategic, and critical decision-making.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Senior Communications Manager reports to the Director of Programs and has primary responsibility of communications strategy development and implementation for the Community Foundation.

Communications Strategy and Implementation

·      Develop a communications plan that incorporates and engages a wide variety of communications platforms effectively, strategies, and methods to reach the Community Foundation’s diverse audiences

·      Conduct a communications audit or assessment

·      Manage the Community Foundation’s website, social media presence, and digital communications

·      Write, edit, and design internal and external communications

·      Work with the Community Foundation’s team to fully convey the work of the organization in all communications

·      Maintain a thorough understanding of organizational goals, priorities, and programs to support all communications

·      Other duties as assigned

Evaluation and Reporting

·      Develop an evaluation structure to assess the effectiveness of communications efforts

·      Create reports for leadership related to evaluation, including recommendations for plan adjustments

Collaboration

·      Manage relationships with vendors and contractors that support communications plan execution

·      Work with partner organizations to share the work and impact of the Community Foundation

·      Cultivate strong working relationships across teams

Qualifications: Education, Work Experience, Skills, and Lived Experiences

We encourage applications from candidates who have lived experience with the social challenges that we seek to address and with the communities that have experienced adverse effects of unequal social and economic systems. Relevant lived experiences will be weighed equally with professional experiences. The work of the foundation is explicitly but not exclusively centered in racial equity, and this position will operate under this lens.

While this position leads several key areas of our work, it is not our expectation that candidates have a mastery across all areas; instead, we encourage candidates to apply who have self-awareness and humility around areas they will need to grow in and the motivation and aptitude to lead the learning required to hit the ground running. We do require that candidates will understand and value racial equity as an organizational operating principle and be committed to continued learning on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Total and unwavering alignment with our foundational belief that we can only thrive as a region if all of our neighbors have an opportunity to thrive. The foundation is never going to back down from the hard work of racial equity.
• Three or more years, or the equivalent, of directly relevant work experience.
• Experience in and knowledge of the nonprofit sector and foundations
• Customer service orientation
• Excellent communication and computer skills

The Community Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and professional training. 

The Spark Mill is conducting the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s current search for this position. The Spark Mill is a Consulting Firm that supports organizations through change and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting agencies with strategic planning initiatives, change management, and people operations.