Communications and Engagement Associate

Mission:

The mission of Bread for the City is to help Washington, DC residents living with low income to develop the power to determine the future of their own communities. We provide food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. We seek justice through community organizing and public advocacy. We work to uproot racism, a major cause of poverty. We are committed to treating our clients with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.

MANDATE

Focus on storytelling — especially social media — content generation, programmatic content, and event management and support in alignment with the Development & Engagement team.

POSITION PROFILE

Bread for the City’s (BFC) Communications & Engagement Associate is responsible for supporting the work of the Campaign Team within Development & Engagement. The associate supports our strategic communications and branding objectives, and coordinates and supports event planning. This includes digital communications — especially social media — print materials, donor events and special event planning, and brand awareness. Other duties as assigned.

Overall, this position is responsible for providing seamless customer service to external constituents, including clients/patients, donors, volunteers, and members of the media. The position includes administrative tasks, content creation, and on-site and off-site event coordination and staffing. This Communications & Engagement Associate supports the organization’s storytelling — bringing our mission, values, priorities, and impact to ever-expanding audiences. This position reports to the Senior Manager, Communications & Engagement and is based in Washington, DC.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Communications (85%)

• Manage and curate Bread for the City’s social media platforms and online presence, including responding to outreach.
• Provide support and feedback for organizational messaging and content development, as well as the production, editing, and reviewing of materials for social media, regular blog posts and other pages on BFC’s website, campaigns, annual reports, appeals, marketing materials, and newsletters.
• Help communicate pertinent information such as closings and holidays for internal and external communications.
• Support back-end website needs across the organization.
• Research, acquire, and coordinate advertisement initiatives, especially Google Ads.
• Coordinate requests and deliverables with external design consultants.
• Provide photography, basic graphic design, and video support.
• Maintain outreach lists and support the cultivation of partners (media, artists, partner organizations, and businesses).
• Monitor general BFC information and communications email inbox, ensuring each individual or organization is answered by the appropriate staff member in a timely and courteous manner.
• Support Chief Development Officer in the organization-wide Data Governance Project.
• Facilitate internal and external interviews for content.
• Work with program teams to build expertise in BFC and other local resources.

Events (10%)

• Staff and represent BFC (“table”) at community events throughout the year, and coordinate the participation of the Development team.
• Support the Senior Manager, Communications & Engagement with the annual gala’s logistics, including scheduling, coordination, content creation, notetaking during meetings, and more.
• Support the Senior Manager, Communications & Engagement with Juneteenth community event planning and execution.
• Project manage the event plan, budget, goals, logistics, and execution of BFC’s annual Harvest Fest volunteer event.
• Project manage the plan, budget, goals, logistics, and execution of the quarterly Dacha Cause Tuesdays and similar promotions and partnerships.
• Provide support to frontline fundraisers for donor-facing events, such as Breaking Bread, salon events, corporate promotions, and offsite group events (such as packing events).
• Ensure all events are on the Development and Organizational calendars and coordinate with program team members and facilities as needed.
• Develop a new system for managing event tracking in our preferred CRM: Salesforce.
• Provide support for additional BFC-wide events and engagement opportunities.
• Manage and support promotional, tabling, and community outreach opportunities, including identifying community-facing opportunities.

Other (5%)

• Maintain order and inventory of the Development Events Closet at the Northwest Center.
• Manage Bread for the City merchandise, including the inventory, distribution — both internal and external — and creative collaborations.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 2-4 years of related experience.
• Professional experience and passion for social media marketing and communications, including but not limited to developing content calendars, and writing and producing content.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with photography, video editing, and graphic design.
• Highly motivated and organized individual skilled in building community partnerships and community engagement.
• Flexibility, a can-do attitude, and willingness to pitch in.
• Stays abreast of local and national news and policies, the latest communications and events trends, and emerging platforms.
• Ability to learn new technology systems.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, Asana, Salesforce, Canva and other systems.
• The ability to communicate professionally and interface effectively with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• A proven ability to manage projects and meet deadlines and goals.
• An eagerness to learn about BFC priorities and a passion for social justice.
• Confidentiality, accuracy, and professionalism.
• Experience with nonprofit organizations and interest in the greater Washington, DC, region is appreciated.
• The ability to thrive in a collaborative, team-oriented environment, as well as possess the self-motivation necessary to work independently.
• Multilingual, specifically fluent in Mandarin or Spanish, appreciated but not required.
• Commitment to a culture of learning, leadership, collaboration, equity, inclusion, and respect.

Commitment to Bread for the City’s Values

Willingness to learn and carry out Bread for the City’s commitments to building a socially just, racially equitable, and gender affirming culture. We define racial equity as a world where life outcomes, life chances, and life experiences cannot be predicted by race. We define gender affirming culture as spaces that make people feel radically comfortable and safer expressing their gender identity, especially for trans and gender non-conforming people. We see racial equity work as inherently tied to all other forms of anti-oppression work; we are building a community that prioritizes Black, Indigenous, and all People of the Global Majority, DC natives, transgender and gender non-conforming people, disabled people, and all historically oppressed and marginalized people at Bread for the City.

Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

To Apply:

You must complete an application through Bread for the City's ADP portal. Click here to review available openings and click on "Communications and Engagement Associate" position. Select "apply" at the top right-hand corner to register for a login and apply for the position. Please upload a resume and cover letter through this online application process. Only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls please.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and attention to detail.