Senior Director of Marketing and Communications

Senior Director of Marketing and Communications

Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer Team: Marketing

Supervisory: Supervisory Position FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Location: Washington, DC Salary Range: $115,000 to $135,000

Application Review: Reviewed on a rolling basis beginning March 27, 2026.

Who We Are

Americans for the Arts (AFTA) strengthens the arts from the ground up – supporting advocacy that empowers communities, develops arts leadership, and produces field-informed research. We shape national arts policy to reflect the realities and aspirations of artists, organizations, businesses, and communities nationwide. We champion the arts as a unifying and essential force in American life.

About the Team

Led by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), our team creates a clear and powerful voice for AFTA across all platforms. We handle media relations, share the stories of our advocates, manage the organization’s digital outreach, and work alongside our government affairs, programs, research, and development teams and the Arts Action Fund (AAF) to make the case for the arts. We are a growing team of creators and strategists dedicated to ensuring the arts remain a national priority.

The Marketing team is currently comprised of the Chief Marketing Officer, Director of Communications, Web Developer, and external consultants. The Senior Director of Marketing and Communications is a new role to AFTA, helping us to build our capacity, add to our expertise, and push innovation.

About the Position

The Senior Director of Marketing and Communications is a strategic leader and storyteller who amplifies AFTA’s mission into a powerful national voice. In this role, you will drive audience growth and champion the arts as an essential force in American life. You will serve as the strategic architect between high-level vision and creative execution, translating the CMO’s goals into human-centered content and high-impact advocacy campaigns.

Success in this role relies on collaborative leadership. The Senior Director will lead a growing team and set the strategic and creative vision for the organization’s marketing and communications efforts, working closely with the Director of Strategic Communications to bring that vision to life. By aligning marketing efforts with advocacy messaging and overseeing the Web Developer and external consultants, the Senior Director will turn complex operations into high-impact content that moves our community to action.

Preference will be given to applicants who are proficient in Spanish.

This role may occasionally require travel, including some weekend events.

Division of Labor between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)

This role is considered a matrixed role, responsible for duties that support both Americans for the Arts (501(c)(3)) and the Arts Action Fund (501(c)(4)), which are legally two separate entities. You will be responsible for tracking your time worked across both organizations, having some responsibility associated with collaborative mission-driven marketing and advocacy communications between AFTA and the AAF (within legal and tax parameters). Approximately 25% of your hours worked will be allocated to the AAF 501(c)(4).

Key Responsibilities*

Team Leadership & Cross-Department Collaboration

• Lead a dedicated, results-oriented marketing team to execute AFTA’s strategic goals, ensuring our collective work demonstrates every day that the arts are vital to a healthy, thriving society.
• Partner across divisions of the organization to synthesize complex research and policy priorities into inspiring, accessible stories that resonate with donors, advocates, and the public alike.
• Manage the resources and creative partners needed to power AFTA’s biggest stages, including AFTACON, the ArtsVote campaign, and arts advocacy days.
• Build a culture of curiosity and mentorship where your team feels empowered to experiment, lead, and grow alongside a rapidly changing cultural landscape.

Content Strategy & Development

• Own the AFTA narrative alongside the CMO, ensuring our voice is unmistakable, authoritative, and inspiring across everything from high-level press releases to daily digital content.
• Guide world-class writers and consultants to produce persuasive marketing and media materials that grab the attention of everyone from local artists to the halls of Congress.
• Oversee—in partnership with the Director of Strategic Communications—a dynamic content calendar that spotlights AFTA’s leadership and grassroots voices nationwide, ensuring our advocacy is as heart-centered as it is evidence-based.
• Ensure our best research and resources aren't just published, but found, by using smart digital tactics to put AFTA’s tools in the hands of those who need them most.

Creative Development

• Modernize and protect the AFTA visual identity, ensuring every image and design reflects an inclusive, professional, and vibrant arts movement.
• Serve as the creative engine behind our video, photography, and design projects, collaborating with top-tier agencies to bring our mission to life visually.
• Lead the creative design for major national campaigns, using powerful visuals to make complex policy issues feel personal, urgent, and worth fighting for.
• Set the bar for design excellence, ensuring every piece of print or digital collateral is a world-class representation of the American arts community.

Digital Strategy & Advocacy Campaigns

• Design and launch—with our staff and consultants—high-energy digital campaigns that mobilize thousands of advocates to protect arts funding and influence cultural policy at every level of government.
• Drive the strategy for AFTA’s digital ecosystem—from a dynamic social media presence to high-performing emails—to keep our community engaged and growing.
• Use clear, simple metrics to track success, constantly refining our digital approach to better find donors, support members, and win advocacy battles.
• Partner with the Web Developer to experiment with new technologies that improve our digital reach and cut through the noise.
• Partner with the development team to design and execute digital strategies that drive revenue, expand the donor pipeline, and convert engaged audiences into financial supporters of Americans for the Arts.

This position is expected to perform similar duties in coordination with the Arts Action Fund, our affiliate 501(c)(4) organization.

Experience and Skills That Matter Most

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in spearheading marketing and communications plans, with a proven track record of cultivating talent, maximizing budgets, and delivering high-impact results across visual communications, digital engagement, and strategic campaign development, in addition to:

• A deep commitment to advancing AFTA’s mission, with a demonstrated ability to integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into all marketing strategies and internal team management.
• Minimum 6–8 years of experience in non-profit marketing, driving issue-specific advocacy campaigns and elevating organizational visibility.
• Expertise in writing and editing compelling materials, including executive talking points, press releases, and position statements, tailored for diverse public and political audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior leadership, board members, and industry stakeholders across the political spectrum to align communications with institutional goals.
• Strategic oversight of content development, editorial calendars, and brand stewardship, ensuring consistent visual and verbal identity across all platforms.
• Working knowledge of SEO best practices and CRM systems, using a data-driven approach to optimize organic search performance and digital marketing engagement.
• Experience managing visual communications, including design management and photo/video direction, to produce storytelling assets that highlight the transformative power of the arts.
• A creative and entrepreneurial spirit, with the ability to flex with rapid change.
• Proficiency in Spanish (preferred)

More About Americans for the Arts

The State of AFTA

Following a period of significant organizational change, AFTA is continuing to evolve in ways that will increase its effectiveness and build trust within the field.

The onboarding of our new CEO in March 2025, a new Chief Programs Officer in June 2025, and our new CMO in November 2025 laid the foundation for steady long-term leadership to meet the needs of our staff, members, stakeholders, and the public. The hiring of the Sr. Director of Marketing and Communications is the next step to equip AFTA with the framework necessary to meet the challenges ahead.

This position is essential to establishing AFTA as a leader in the current and future economic, political, and cultural environment of America in 2026 and beyond.

Work Hours & In-Office Requirements

AFTA is open weekdays, operating on a 37.5-hour work week (7.50-hour day), with the core business hours of 10:00 – 4:00 pm ET. Our in-office policy requires employees to work from the office at least one day per week.

The total compensation package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, 403b employer contributions, and a generous time-off package, including paid parental leave. Employees are also eligible to participate in short-and-long-term disability, life insurance, Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and professional development opportunities.

Preference will be given to applicants who are proficient in Spanish.