External Communications Contractor

Request for Proposals: External Communications Contractor(s)

• Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA)
• Contract Duration: 6 months (with potential for renewal)
• Time Commitment: 20–25 hours per week total (across both roles)
• This is a remote role but priority will be given to candidates in the DMV, Cleveland, OH, or Boston, MA regions
• Apply here

Overview

About The Community Purchasing Alliance: CPA is a member-owned cooperative that leverages the power of group purchasing to save community institutions time and money. We have several purchasing programs - HVAC, janitorial services, electricity, natural gas, commercial insurance, to name a few - that help organizations spend less on their buildings so that they can spend more on their people and mission.

CPA has its largest local co-op in the DMV, smaller local co-ops in OH and MA, and several hundred additional participants spread across the country. CPA is an organization built on relationships. Our growth has been fairly organic and most of our referrals are word-of-mouth. As we expand the co-op’s reach, we are looking for support to help us build our brand, standardize and streamline our communications, and reach new audiences.

CPA is seeking contractor support across two key external communications functions:

1. Material Production & Editorial Workflow Management
2. Marketing & Audience Engagement

We welcome proposals from individuals who can perform both functions or from contractors interested in one of the two areas.

Role #1: External Materials Production & Editorial Workflow (Content Manager)

Key Responsibilities

• On-Demand Material Creation:
  • Produce external-facing materials such as flyers, slide decks, and other promotional assets based on staff requests.
  • Develop and manage a clear intake and production process to handle requests efficiently.
  • Video production skills are not required, but are preferred.
• Ongoing CPA Communications:
  • Own the planning, production, and publication of:
    • Monthly blog posts
    • Quarterly newsletters
    • Quarterly investor updates
    • Additional ad hoc communications
  • Coordinate with internal staff to plan and schedule content creation.
  • Develop and maintain a content calendar with key deadlines, assignments, and approval steps.
• Blog Content Management:
  • Build a blog content library sufficient for 6–8 months of publishing.
  • Manage all aspects of the blog production workflow using CPA’s established process (transcription/prompt → editing → final formatting → publishing to Squarespace).

Role #2: Marketing & Audience Engagement (Marketing Lead)

Key Responsibilities

• Social Media Management:
  • Manage and grow CPA’s presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).
  • Establish and maintain a consistent publishing cadence with a mix of:
    • Infographics
    • Case studies
    • Short-form video (from existing materials)
    • Curated third-party content
  • Actively engage with the online community (respond to comments, join relevant groups, build relationships).
• Lead Generation & Campaign Management:
  • Design and execute email marketing campaigns:
    • Write and edit copy
    • Set up automation and workflows
    • Implement A/B testing
    • Track performance and adjust based on results
  • Support CPA’s virtual presence at conferences (e.g., logistics, content prep, follow-up).
  • Explore and test other outbound marketing activities:
    • Paid digital advertising
    • Print advertising and signage
    • Other creative outreach strategies

Ideal Qualifications (for Either Role)

• Experience working with nonprofit or mission-driven organizations
• Excellent written communication and editorial skills
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Familiarity with tools such as Mailchimp, Squarespace, Google Suite, Canva, or similar
• Experience in social media and/or digital marketing
• Comfortable working collaboratively in a remote team environment

How to Apply

Please apply here. If you have any questions, email recruit@cpa.coop.

As these are new functions at the co-op, we are very open to suggestions from applicants about how the role(s) can be structured, the time needed for each, etc. We are looking forward to working with the right contractor(s) on the set-up that makes the most sense.

We anticipate that contractors will spend 1 - 1.5 hours a week on internal meetings and the remainder of their time on the responsibilities described above.

CPA recognizes that there are emerging AI tools in this marketplace. We are still exploring our approach to these tools and if they can be implemented in support of our mission. Candidates should be prepared to describe how they use AI in their work (if at all).