Communications Director

Salary: Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. $50,000-80,000.

Job type: Full-time.

Shift and schedule: Weekends as needed; Evenings as needed.

Work setting: Hybrid work.

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule.
• Paid time off.
• Dental insurance.
• Health insurance.
• Vision insurance.

Hiring Process: We are a small organization and this is a critical role. After a successful interview process, we would prefer to offer a “get acquainted” consulting or part-time role of 10-20 hours per week over a 2 week - 1 month period so that you have an opportunity to get to know us and vice versa before you commit to a full-time position.

Ability to Commute: Washington, DC 20009 (Required).

Work Location: Hybrid in Washington, DC 20009.

Who We Are: Founded in 2016, the DC Tutoring & Mentoring Initiative (DCTMI) is a nonprofit organization that works to provide a tutor or mentor to every student who needs additional academic or non-academic support. DCTMI recruits volunteers from across DC and the surrounding suburbs, uniting people from all walks of life around a common goal: to connect caring adults with local students so that they have the support they need to thrive. We recruit new volunteers at farmers markets and public events, as well as through social media, employers, religious congregations, and civic organizations. Our volunteers are matched with our 50+ partner tutoring and mentoring organizations and schools based on the volunteer’s availability, what age group they would like to work with, any special skills and preferences, and where they are most needed.

Equally important, our broader goal is to create a civic culture where community members feel a sense of responsibility for and fellowship with one another. DCTMI fosters a sense of collective agency and hope, actively working together across class, race, ideology, and neighborhood to tackle the major challenges faced by our communities and the world.

Work Life:

We take a holistic approach to leadership development that incorporates service, study, time for reflection, and outdoor physical activity.

Four hours of your time in a 40-hour work week can be used for reflection (including meditation or prayer) and outdoor physical activity (such as walking, biking or running). We believe that the union of service and inner work is key to being effective, authentic civic leaders who act and communicate with kindness, hope, joy, and a sense of long-term purpose.

Your schedule and work location can be flexible, so long as work gets done and there is adequate opportunity for connecting with other members of the team.

Position Overview: DCTMI is deeply embedded in the DC community. Our Communications Director serves as a liaison for our community members and partners. We are seeking someone with strong interpersonal skills and a passion for service to help us publicize our work and create a community of changemakers working together to support our youth. You should be skilled in understanding abstract ideas/goals and incorporating them into a comprehensive communications strategy. We are looking for an energetic, well-organized, self-motivated, and dynamic “practical idealist” who can inspire others through their actions and words to get involved in our work and who can be a hands-on leader and manager in implementing our goals.

As Communications Director, you will design and implement digital campaigns to reach new volunteers and drive DCTMI sign-ups from having awareness of our partner programs to actively participating in them. You will work with our Executive Director to adapt abstract ideas into compelling messages that uplift community engagement and encourage our audience to structure their lives around service. We are seeking someone who can deftly navigate the changing digital landscape, producing transformative content to effectively (and cost-effectively) develop and engage a large online audience.

As part of our small, hands-on 5-person leadership team, you will participate in all facets of our work, including outreach/canvassing at farmers markets and special events. You will work closely with other members of our leadership team to coordinate a cohesive approach to recruiting volunteers through our in-person events and canvassing, as well as our digital marketing strategy.

Competence:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong time and project management skills.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills.
• Social media content creation and management.
• Graphic design.
• Ability to conduct interviews and create guidelines for interviewing volunteers, partners, and community members.
• Ability to create and manage video and photographic content.
• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to produce high quality, error-free content.
• Knowledge of newsrooms: news pitching, opinion editorial writing, press release writing and distribution, and best practices in communications.

Integrity and Character:

• Take initiative. Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to grow, and identify and address potential challenges or problem areas.
• Flexible and adaptable. Ability to manage and prioritize a high volume of tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to community involvement and service.
• Dedication to acting with integrity, openness, and a sense of accountability: open and honest about weaknesses as well as strengths, and doubts as well as beliefs.

Emotional Intelligence & Interpersonal Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to build and strengthen relationships, express empathy, and build trust with community members, volunteers, and the youth we serve.
• Ability to clearly and concisely communicate complex ideas, adapting language and messaging for different audiences.
• Network with media professionals, partners, and community members.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, as well as demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and in unison with other team members.
• Growth mindset.
• Ability to connect with diverse partners and perspectives.

Job Qualifications:

• College degree in public relations, journalism, communications, media strategy, or a closely related field; or at least 4 years of relevant work experience.
• Experience creating brochures and flyers is strongly preferred.
• Experience using Canva or professional graphics programs is preferred.
• Experience video editing, interviewing, and writing articles is strongly preferred.
• Experience creating newsletters and developing branding materials is strongly preferred.
• Experience creating and managing advertisements is preferred.
• Experience using Eventbrite is preferred.
• Ability to frequently work on weekends and in the evenings.
• Experience planning and managing events is preferred.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement comprehensive communications strategies to drive a diverse audience to service and to promote other organizational goals.
• Ensure consistency, clarity, and alignment with our DCTMI voice and branding while creating high-impact content: social media campaigns, advertisements, blog posts, newsletters, op-eds, fact sheets, flyers, etc.
• Develop social media content and analyze efficacy of content for our CivLead and DCTMI accounts.
• Create, plan, and manage advertisements on social media and YouTube.
• Publicize in-person and virtual events and coordinate with speakers to ensure quality recordings (well-framed, well-lit, no background noise).
• Support our partners in publicizing their work through partner highlights and pursuing both earned and paid media opportunities.
• Maintain our brand voice, messaging, and professionalism. Ensure cohesion in messaging and language through close collaboration with other team members.
• Develop and send out a weekly newsletter to our volunteers, potential volunteers, partners, and community members.
• Work with our Operations Director to send out a monthly partner newsletter.
• Act as a spokesperson, confidently and clearly communicating with media professionals, potential volunteers, and partners.
• Serve as the first point of contact for media inquiries and for partners needing publicity.
• Find and maintain relationships with outside contractors as appropriate.

Participate in outreach efforts (canvassing) at farmers markets, festivals, and other special events.

Application Materials:

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter (Please specify your comfort with canvassing)
• Writing Sample
• Portfolio (optional)

How To Apply: Please submit your resume/CV, cover letter, and writing sample via LinkedIn or through email (docs@dcTutorMentor.org) by June 20, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Feel free to email Aaron Shires at AaronShires@dcTutorMentor.org if you have any questions, and he or another member of our leadership team will reply.