Vice President for Campaigns and Communications

The Position

The Vice President for Campaigns and Communications (VP) is a senior leader responsible for shaping the public voice, visibility, and narrative impact of the Law Center. As a member of the senior leadership team, the VP will lead the organization’s efforts to build awareness, engage key audiences, and advance cultural and policy change through strategic communications, public storytelling, and integrated advocacy campaigns.

Working across the institution and reporting to the Chief External Affairs Officer, the VP will drive a modern, integrated communications, campaigns, and marketing strategy that connects policy, advocacy, and culture. This leader will harness digital engagement, media strategy, narrative change, grassroots mobilization, and public education to elevate the Law Center’s work and expand its reach and influence.

The VP oversees a $2M operating budget and leads a high-performing team of nearly 20 staff across four core functions—campaigns, content, media relations and storytelling, and events—responsible for the organization’s owned, earned, and paid communications efforts. Current direct reports to the VP include 2 Senior Directors and 1 Director, with team members reporting into their roles. This role requires a strategic communicator and organizational leader who understands the interplay between law, policy, and culture, and who can translate complex policy work into compelling public narratives that move audiences to action. The VP will bring a strong understanding of the rapidly evolving media and digital landscapes, a passion for building and mentoring talented teams, an understanding of the legislative process, and a commitment to gender justice. The VP will be a strong and experienced leader of people, and will inspire, motivate and effectively guide a team of highly qualified professionals They will thrive in a dynamic environment and contribute to the Law Center’s culture of collaboration, learning, and impact.

This is a full-time, exempt role of 37.5 hours per week.

The Organization

The National Women’s Law Center fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.

We use the law in all its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of us—especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families.

The National Women’s Law Center Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) affiliate of NWLC, aiming to drive progressive change in our policies and laws so that all women and girls can live, learn, and work with safety, dignity, and equality. Another affiliate, the National Women’s Law Center Fund LLC, houses and administers the Legal Network for Gender Equity and the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Development

• Provide vision, transparency and clear priorities as well as strong day-to-day leadership and oversight of the team’s work, and lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing communications, marketing, and campaigns team of nearly 20 staff.
• Foster a collaborative, creative, and inclusive team culture focused on innovation, accountability, and impact.
• Oversee departmental planning, budget management, and resource allocation to ensure strategic use of the department’s $2M operating budget.
• Strengthen cross-team collaboration across policy, litigation, development, and executive leadership.

Strategic Communications and Narrative Leadership

• Lead the organization’s overall communications and campaigns strategy to expand awareness, shape public narratives, and drive engagement around gender justice.
• Translate complex legal and policy work into compelling public storytelling that resonates with diverse audiences and advances cultural and policy change.
• Identify emerging narrative opportunities and cultural moments to elevate the Law Center’s voice and leadership nationally.
• Ensure communications strategies are integrated across research, litigation, policy advocacy, and organizing efforts.

Public Visibility and Awareness Building

• Grow the Law Center’s national visibility through coordinated earned media, digital strategy, partnerships, and public engagement.
• Oversee a modern media strategy that positions the organization’s experts and leaders as trusted voices in national conversations.
• Expand reach across digital platforms and emerging channels to engage new audiences and deepen supporter engagement.
• Guide message development and framing to ensure consistency, clarity, and impact across all communications.

Campaign Strategy and Public Engagement

• Lead integrated advocacy campaigns that mobilize grassroots and grasstops audiences and connect policy goals to public engagement.
• Align communications, digital organizing, and field strategies to drive participation and action.
• Partner with external coalitions, advocates, and cultural influencers to expand campaign reach and impact.
• Ensure campaign strategies support both the c3 and c4 entities while maintaining strategic alignment.

Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a key strategic advisor to the Chief External Affairs Officer, President and CEO, and senior leadership team.
• Help guide institutional strategy by bringing insights from public engagement, communications trends, and narrative analysis.
• Represent the Law Center externally with partners, coalitions, media, and stakeholders

Qualifications

The Law Center recognizes that one candidate will likely not bring the full collection of experiences listed here and is open to candidates with a broad set of experiences and competencies. NWLC seeks a candidate with:

• Senior-level experience (at least 12 years) successfully building and managing a collaborative and diverse team; strong interpersonal, problem-solving, and mentoring skills; demonstrated success applying an equity lens to leadership and management;
• Demonstrated skill in transparently framing organizational vision for departmental staff to ensure clarity in the successful execution to external audiences.
• Deep knowledge of and experience with running successful, national, multi-platform, issue-based campaigns;
• Experience with a broad range of media—print, broadcast, and digital—and with a proven track record that demonstrates an ability to leverage an organization’s content and expertise in the media;
• Experience with tactical and/or strategic oversight of digital programs, and data-driven approaches to increasing supporter reach and engagement;
• Ability to manage and stay on deadlines, especially in a rapid response environments, and to adapt and be nimble and creative in a fast-paced, evolving organizational culture;
• Exceptional writing, oral communications, and editing skills with an ability to translate complex theories and approaches into lay-audience-accessible language;
• Political savvy, with the ability to create and lead constructive partnerships; experience with influential personalities is preferred;
• Ability to work effectively with and gain the respect of multiple constituencies, including senior executives and decision-makers, team members at all levels, and staff across departments;
• Demonstrated experience steering an organizational brand and identity, ideally within a legal, policy, or campaign context;
• Ability to partner with fundraising staff to develop and implement integrated grasstops and grassroots campaigns and donor events that appeal to and engage a broad range of supporters, and that generate substantial unrestricted revenue;
• Past experience working with non-profit or movement leaders, legal scholars, policymakers, and/or attorneys is preferred.

Key Relations

The VP for Campaigns and Communications reports to the Chief External Affairs Officer and oversees a team of nearly 20 employees, including direct and skip-level reports. Additionally, the VP of Campaigns and Communications will collaborate closely with all teams across the law center’s issue areas and operations functions.

Compensation & Benefits

A salary within the range of $237,982-274,116 will be provided to the successful candidate with at least 12 years of experience, consistent with the National Women’s Law Center’s compensation framework. The successful candidate’s salary within this range will be determined by the number years of relevant experience they bring to the role.

The Law Center offers generous leave and a comprehensive benefits package — including a match of up to 3% of the employee’s compensation to their 403(b) retirement plan account along with a non-elective contribution of 6% of the eligible employee’s salary, after they successfully complete their 90-day probation period.

NWLC is a non-profit organization whose headquarters and staff are based in Washington, D.C. at our new office at 1350 Eye Street N.W. This role is based in D.C. and will be eligible for some telework while also being expected to work in person on a regular basis. The successful candidate will need to live in or relocate to the DMV (broadly defined as DC, Maryland, or Virginia).

The first 90 days of employment will be considered a probationary period.

Classification

This position is a management role and as such is not included in the union-represented bargaining unit, NWLC United, affiliated with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union/IFPTE Local 70.

To Apply

To apply, please submit a resume and a cover letter outlining how your professional background is a good fit for this position. Resumes should include exact start and end dates (month and year) of employment, as well as the average number of hours worked per week in each job. Applications accepted until position is filled.

Applicants will be contacted if selected for an interview. We kindly request that interested parties refrain from calling, emailing, or visiting NWLC’s offices to express interest or check on the status of their application.

The National Women’s Law Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values a diverse workforce. We strongly encourage and seek applications from people with disabilities; people of all genders, gender identities and sexual orientations; people of color; and veterans. 

At NWLC, our diversity is our strength, and the variety of lived experiences that connect our teammates to the mission of gender justice is our superpower. We know that members of marginalized groups tend to apply for positions only if they believe they are a 100% match for the role. If you are passionate about NWLC’s mission and think you can be successful in this role, please apply. We’d appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

Reasonable Accommodations

If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email NWLCHR@nwlc.org.