Communications Manager

At Walk San Francisco, we believe when you walk out the door to go to work, to school, to the park – anywhere – you shouldn’t be risking your life by simply crossing the street. But every day an average of three people are hit while walking in San Francisco.

Walk SF exists to change this. Every day, we push for solutions to make our streets dramatically safer for everyone, of every age and ability. We believe San Francisco can become the most pedestrian-friendly city in the nation. When walking is truly safe and joyful for all, this will bring so many health, equity, economic, and environmental benefits to our city.

We’re looking for a new team member to help us with our lifesaving mission.

The Communications Manager serves a crucial role in the organization. This role helps Walk SF to: engage more people in our work in more ways, including on social media; tell stories that help shift the narrative around traffic crashes and show the urgent need for safe streets; support our advocacy campaigns with compelling content, public communications, and policy writing; and level-up how we’re using data and systems to support more effective communications.

You’ll enjoy this position if you’re someone who has both creative and data-loving sides; likes learning new things and working across teams and topics; and is excited about writing and creating content to make change in the world. This position is very involved in the day-to-day campaign and advocacy work for the organization, so if you’re interested in transportation planning, policy, and city government, you’ll enjoy this job even more.

The Communications Manager is supervised by and works closely with the Communications Director. This position also works with the whole team in supporting their communications and marketing, and participates in weekly program team meetings.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

Principal responsibilities of the Communications Manager include, but are not limited to:

Core Communications: Social Media, Email, Press, and Website

• Lead Walk SF’s social media strategy and content creation across Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn; develop and own the editorial calendar for Walk SF and Bay Area Families for Safe Streets (FSS) accounts, ensuring content strategy aligns with campaign priorities and organizational voice.
• Track, analyze, and set communications and marketing metrics and targets (social media, newsletters, media hits, web analytics) to identify trends, optimize content strategy, and grow audience engagement; summarize learnings in monthly Director's Reports and Board updates; and initiate changes to improve results.
• Build and steward relationships with followers and community partners on social media, including responding to comments and amplifying partner content
• Draft and distribute press releases related to traffic fatalities and key events; track media hits and maintain media database
• Draft, edit, and publish Walk SF’s newsletter, the FSS newsletter, and Vision Zero Coalition newsletter in MailChimp; monitor and respond to the MailChimp inbox; manage subscriber lists from online actions and RSVP forms.
• Oversee website content strategy and conduct all updates and additions; ensure content is current, on-brand, and optimized for engagement
• Draft talking points for key campaigns and translate policy positions into clear, accessible public-facing content and public comments
• Work with the Communications Director to ensure a consistent voice, copyediting, and alignment with Walk SF’s core messaging across all communications
• Pursue goals and strategies to grow Walk SF’s audiences on social media, through its newsletter, and other ways, in partnership with the whole staff

Advocacy Campaign Communications

• Attend weekly campaign team meetings to stay aligned with the advocacy team’s priorities and communications needs
• Create visuals, messaging, and digital promotion for major advocacy campaigns and events
• Draft and send standalone advocacy action emails; manage online actions using Action Network, including drafting content, publishing, and tracking participation

Marketing and Development

• Create and execute marketing plans and content for Walk SF’s signature fundraising events (e.g., Stair Challenge, Peak2Peak) and membership and year-end fundraising campaigns
• Work with the Development team to enhance the marketing strategy for Walk SF’s membership program to grow this in a variety of ways
• Support Development team’s email campaigns, and coordinate between the teams with online actions and other pipelines of new people; help us move toward increasing segmentation of audiences

Graphic Design and Photography

• Create a wide range of graphics and videos using Canva, including social media assets, website banners, flyers, signs, and fatality response signs; coordinate with commercial printers as needed
• Maintain and implement Walk SF’s design and style guide
• Photograph and video events, rallies, and public meetings; edit and organize photos and videos in Walk SF’s photo library
• Support special photography or videography projects
• Help staff create effective slide decks with strong visuals

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS OF OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE

While no one person will embody every quality, our ideal candidate will bring many of the qualifications and attributes listed below:

• 3+ years of applicable experience in communications, marketing, or a related field, ideally in a nonprofit or advocacy setting
• Exceptional writer and editor across formats – press releases, newsletters, social content, policy summaries, and public-facing advocacy materials – with a consistent, accessible, action-oriented voice
• Social media expertise, including experience managing organizational accounts, analyzing performance data, and translating insights into strategy; demonstrated success growing audiences and increasing meaningful engagement over time
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to juggle multiple campaigns and deadlines across teams without dropping the ball
• Confident public communicator, with experience or strong interest in media relations and public speaking on behalf of an organization
• Graphic design proficiency, particularly with Canva; photography and basic video editing skills a plus
• Hands-on experience with tools across CRM, email, social media management, online action, and content management; Walk SF uses Salesforce, MailChimp, Hootsuite, Action Network, and WordPress
• Proficiency with web and communications analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Hootsuite), with the ability to turn data into clear, actionable recommendations
• Genuine commitment to Walk SF's mission of safe, equitable streets, and familiarity with or strong interest in San Francisco transportation policy and city government

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing
• Motorskills for typing, grasping mouse, carrying computer from one worksite to another
• Stand and lecture students in a classroom environment
• Carrying, adjusting, or moving objects up to 15 lbs in all directions

MORE ABOUT US

Our staff is focused on making positive change in the world, honors and supports diversity in the workplace, and is committed to being intentionally inclusive in all our relationships.

Walk SF sees our work to contribute to ending systemic racism as ongoing, and our Board and staff identify and take meaningful actions internally and externally as an organization in support of this. We recognize that transportation policy can play a key role in creating a more equitable city and world.

Walk SF is committed to providing a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law in employment or service policies and practices.

Currently, we have a hybrid working environment with 2 days minimum in-office each week. Our office is in the Mission District and is ADA accessible and close to transit and bike share. We are a flexible, family-friendly, collaborative workplace that makes time for team bonding and volunteer service.

Walk SF’s strategic plan commits our organization to determine our highest priority projects and campaigns through an equity lens. Walk SF focuses our program activities on communities and/or geographies where issues of equity are most at play. Crash data shows that San Francisco’s residents living in communities of concern suffer the most from traffic violence. These are communities with the most low-income people, immigrants, communities of color, seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Benefits include three weeks of PTO and 10 national holidays (plus our office is closed between Christmas and New Year’s); sick time; medical benefits plus a wellness flex fund; professional development funding; and 401k match.