Communications Manager

Job Description: Communications Manager (Part-Time)

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Part-time, non-exempt (hourly)

Hours: 20 hours/week

Pay: $31.25/hour

Location: Remote

About the IPPF

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for all those affected by pemphigus and pemphigoid through support, education, awareness, advocacy, and research. Pemphigus and pemphigoid are rare, autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. The IPPF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We are a small, close-knit team that collaborates closely across functions.

Position Summary

The IPPF is seeking a Communications Manager to lead the day-to-day execution of the organization's digital communications, including email, social media, and our website. This role works closely with the Executive Director, who previously led IPPF's communications functions, to develop and carry out a communications calendar and channel strategy. The role also partners with program staff to source and shape content for IPPF's various audiences, including patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and the broader rare disease community.

This is a hands-on, execution focused role for someone who enjoys both planning communications and getting them out the door. This includes writing and building emails, scheduling posts, updating web pages, and tracking what's working. It's well suited to someone mid-career in nonprofit communications who wants to work closely with leadership and continue growing their strategic and technical skills.

IPPF's current digital presence is a solid foundation, not a finished product. There's real room for someone in this role to bring fresh ideas, experiment with new formats, and help our communications feel more current and engaging as they get to know our community.

The successful candidate for this role should be collaborative and comfortable taking initiative while working remotely. They value technology as a tool to drive impact for a mission-driven organization, and they enjoy problem solving systems and processes when something isn't working well.

Core Competencies

The Communications Manager will coordinate and create engaging visual and written content that reflects the IPPF's community and mission. The following are areas where the new Comms Manager will take ownership in the first 90 days. These are the steady, recurring work that keeps IPPF's communications running.

Email Communications

IPPF currently sends regular emails covering program updates, events, calls to action, and fundraising appeals, and this role will own that ongoing email output. Content development is currently shared among staff.

• Write, build, and send regular emails to donors, members, and the broader IPPF community, covering program updates, events, calls to action, and fundraising appeals
• Build and maintain automated email programs (for example, welcome series, recurring donor recruitment, engagement journeys) and audience segmentation
• Ensure emails meet accessibility standards (for example, plain text alternatives, alt text)
• Build out a new monthly e-newsletter as an early project, consolidating updates from across the organization (content will come primarily from program staff, so this is a manageable lift once a format is established)

Social Media Management

• Maintain IPPF's current social media presence and posting cadence across active platforms
• Promote webinars, support group meetings, fundraising campaigns, and IPPF's annual conference via email and social channels as part of the regular content mix

Website

• Maintain and update IPPF's website content, including the events calendar and general page updates
• Manage IPPF's PemPress blog (part of the website): publish, format, and lightly edit posts drawn primarily from program staff and community contributors
• Ensure website and blog content is current, accurate, and consistent with IPPF's voice and brand

Weekly Communications Calendar

• Own and maintain the week-to-week communications calendar: what's going out, when, and across which channels. Currently, program staff submit communications requests via a form, which requires them to provide all necessary details. Requests are managed in an AirTable database for scheduling to a shared communications calendar.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director on longer term communications strategy and priorities

Areas of Growth & Opportunity

Beyond the core day to day, this role has real room to grow IPPF's communications capabilities over time. We're looking for someone who, once up to speed, can help us improve in these areas:

• Improving our email marketing engagement to better serve our community’s interests and needs
• Growing social media from steady maintenance into genuine community engagement: responding to comments, engaging with current followers, and building connection within our community. Given the nature of a rare disease community, this is about quality and connection, not chasing follower growth
• Using communications and marketing analytics (email performance, website traffic, social engagement, and similar) as real input for content and channel decisions, not just numbers to report
• Refreshing and modernizing the look, feel, and voice of IPPF's digital presence. Our current website and social channels are a starting point, and we're open to new formats, styles, and ideas as you get to know our community

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience in communications, marketing, or social media management, ideally in a nonprofit or mission driven setting
• Demonstrated experience designing graphics/visuals that support mission-driven communications or marketing efforts
• Strong, clear writing and editing skills
• Experience managing social media accounts and content calendars
• Comfort working independently in a small, remote team: self-directed, organized, and reliable
• Experience with email marketing platforms (for example, Pardot, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or similar), including building automated email sequences

Preferred (a plus, not required)

• Experience with any of the following: Pardot/Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce CRM, Google Workspace, WordPress, Canva, Airtable, Microsoft Office, Basecamp
• Experience in healthcare, rare disease, or patient advocacy communications
• Experience with communications and marketing analytics (for example, Google Analytics, email platform reporting, native social insights)
• Experience with basic HTML

Candidates who don't meet every preferred qualification but have strong digital communications fundamentals and an aptitude for learning new tools are encouraged to apply.

Working Relationships

This role reports directly to the Executive Director, who previously served as IPPF's Communications and Marketing Director and remains closely involved in communications strategy. The Communications Manager will also work regularly with program staff to source content and with other team members on cross-functional projects, such as conference promotion and fundraising campaigns.

Benefits

• • Paid time off (PTO), accruing based on tenure
  • ICHRA health reimbursement benefit, prorated for part-time employees
  • Paid federal holidays, plus additional time off around the winter holidays as workload allows
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, IPPF is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

Paid time off (PTO), accruing based on tenure

ICHRA health reimbursement benefit, prorated for part-time employees

Paid federal holidays, plus additional time off around the winter holidays as workload allows

401(k) retirement plan

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, IPPF is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program