C&S Communications Manager

Organization Overview

C&S sparks young people to help build a strong and thriving America. Our work is grounded in a simple belief: young people with ideas make our country stronger. We meet young people where they are—on campuses, at work, and in their communities—and give them the tools, support, and space to lead real change. Across all our work, C&S helps young people practice three essential civic skills: having productive conversations; using credible information; and collaborating to create solutions. Learn more at cands.org.

Position Overview

Are you a storyteller who can make people stop scrolling and start caring? The Communications Manager will play a crucial role in advancing our organization’s voice and presence in the civic, democracy, and education fields. They will lead how we tell our story in the formats people read, watch and share—from sharp, persuasive writing to short-form video, social media and multimedia storytelling—with a special focus on capturing the voices of young people. You'll help tell the story behind C&S's goal of sparking 20 million young people to become civic problem-solvers by 2029.

Reporting to the Senior Director of External Relations and collaborating closely with the marketing and communications teams, the Communications Manager will have the primary responsibility of developing content strategies and crafting compelling messages that help more young people, and the institutions that serve them, take part in civic life. You'll work across the full C&S portfolio, including our work on college campuses, in communities, and at the workplace.

C&S is a remote workplace with staff across the country. We gather in person 2-3 times each year at our headquarters at the Carnegie Center in Princeton, NJ, for events that build trust and teamwork. Program-specific travel may be required from time to time; however, most time will be spent working remotely from your home base.

Essence of the Position

Content Strategy and Development:

• Create, curate, and produce engaging website content, including program messaging and reports, thought leadership pieces, impact storytelling, marketing messages, and organization collateral.
• Serve as the editor and content lead for our print, digital, and social media materials, working closely with the communications and marketing team, program and development teams, and our youth ambassadors to effectively reach target audiences.
• Partner with the communications, marketing, development, and program teams to establish and maintain an effective editorial calendar and content strategy that aligns with team and organizational goals.
• Write quickly and persuasively across formats, including video scripts, social copy, pitch hooks and first drafts of persuasive pieces.

Multimedia Storytelling:

• Create, curate, and produce content across formats, including short-form video, social, and multimedia, that brings our research findings and impact storytelling to life and effectively reaches target audiences, especially 14-24-year-olds.
• Develop audio, visual, and written assets that center the voices of young people from our programs and partner campuses.
• Translate earned media coverage into accessible content for our digital and social media channels, such as short video, social carousels, and audio clips.
• Manage external vendors, freelancers, and consultants, including videographers, photographers, and designers, with strong project management and editorial oversight, and manage the content budget.

Narrative Integration:

• Translate our civic research and analysis, including national surveys and impact reports, into accessible narratives, framing, talking points, and key messages for our program officers and spokespeople.
• Keep spokespeople supplied with fresh, real stories from the field, and help expand our roster of voices beyond the president to include program leaders, students, fellows and partners.

Brand Management and Content Curation:

• Ensure adherence to brand style guidelines and maintain editorial fidelity and nonpartisan balance across all Citizens & Scholars platforms, including our website, social and digital media channels, newsletters, print publications, and other collateral.
• Build and maintain a comprehensive content library, including multimedia assets and resources, while managing web and print production.

Collaboration and Deployment:

• Collaborate with our marketing associate and other team members to effectively deploy and disseminate marketing, external relations, fundraising, and program communications.
• Equip program teams with ready-to-use assets, such as campus share kits, presentation slides, sample social copy and messaging guidance, so every team tells the C&S story consistently.
• Partner with our research and evaluation team to share findings with key audiences.
• Partner with the Growth Marketing Manager to distribute content and use performance data to shape future storytelling.
• Performs other duties as assigned in support of C&S initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism, or a related field (or equivalent work experience). 5+ years of experience in multimedia content, digital storytelling, content strategy, editorial management, or strategic communications.
• A portfolio that demonstrates storytelling across formats, including writing, short-form video, and social media.
• Fast, persuasive writing skills, with a sharp sense for which evidence and angles will land with journalists and audiences, and a clear understanding of the difference between explaining and persuading.
• Strong nonpartisan editorial judgment: ensures content represents a range of perspectives, handles contested topics with care, and reflects C&S's role as a catalyst for conversation, not a side in it.
• Experience partnering with teams to get content in front of target audiences, particularly in a nonprofit, higher education, or mission-driven setting.
• Strong familiarity with higher education, civic preparation and engagement, democracy or related fields related fields, a plus
• Proven experience managing external vendors, freelancers, and consultants, including videographers, photographers and designers, with strong project management and editorial oversight.
• Exceptional writing, storytelling, and editing skills tailored to varied audiences—including academics, business leaders, policy experts, students.
• Comfort working with research and data, including the ability to turn survey findings into clear, accurate content and to represent data responsibly.
• Proficiency in content management systems (e.g., WordPress), email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp), and design tools (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite); familiarity with video editing tools is a plus.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments, including PR, programs, fundraising, and leadership, and a service mindset toward program teams, with experience building trust by making their work easier and more visible.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with a commitment to quality and detail.
• Nice to have: audio or podcast production experience; newsroom experience as a video journalist, digital producer or social editor.

Attributes

• Mission-oriented and outcomes-driven. You are committed to and hold a strong belief in the mission of Citizens & Scholars. You know that the future of the organization relies on your achieving your goals. This responsibility excites you.
• Strong task management and execution skills. You are strategic, thoughtful, and resourceful. You collaborate with colleagues to advance stakeholder relationships to maximize the benefit to the organization and the individual. You share information, coordinate effectively, and carry out responsibilities effectively and efficiently.
• Highly relationship oriented. You support relationships across all levels of the organization and with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
• Judgment. You can make decisions with the data available; you are also able to understand when it is necessary to have help or insights in advance of making a decision.
• Strong communicator. You possess exceptional written communication skills. You write clearly and succinctly and easily adjust to different communication settings and styles.
• A storyteller's instinct. You know a good story when you see one, and how to make someone care in 30 seconds. You're as comfortable directing a video shoot as drafting a script.

Our Core Values

• We are constantly learning and improving. We test and refine new ideas and learn from our mistakes. We dare to question old solutions. We seek opportunities to collaborate with our diverse team; different backgrounds, skill sets, and thinking styles give us valuable new perspectives. We share knowledge and insights with each other to help us grow as individuals and as an organization.
• We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all. We believe that we are stronger for our differences, and we acknowledge, respect, and appreciate them. We actively work with and learn from everyone—across all demographics, backgrounds, ideologies, and geographies. We identify areas where we differ and, for the good of the organization and each other, we explore and engage with differing perspectives.
• We are gracious and grateful in all that we do. We invest in our relationships with warmth and a sense of humor. We express gratitude to all our colleagues and stakeholders. While we strive for excellence, we recognize that no one is perfect. We give others the benefit of the doubt and act with kindness and integrity.
• We are attentive and intentional. We are aware of the needs of the world and those around us so that our work has a real impact. Our work is mission-driven and we know the “whys”—both large and small—behind what we do. Recognizing that details matter, we are equally committed to quality.

C&S offers a generous benefits package.