Associate Director of Communications

Urban Design Forum seeks a full-time Associate Director of Communications to lead day-to-day communications and support strategic efforts to amplify our impact. We’re a small, energetic team that believes in a collaborative, supportive work environment. We seek an Associate Director of Communications who can manage a high volume of weekly communications, sharpen our advocacy for a vibrant city, and expand our reach to broader audiences. This role is an exciting opportunity for an early- to mid-career professional to shape our communications portfolio with hands-on mentorship from our leadership.

Under the guidance of the Managing Director and in coordination with program staff, you will produce all organizational communications, lead press engagement, and develop storytelling strategies to advocate for progressive change in the built environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Associate Director of Communications will be a highly detail-oriented professional that brings sharp writing, a keen graphic eye, and strategic thinking to amplify our work to our members and the broader public.

External Communications — 50%

• Establishes and manages editorial calendar for newsletter, web and social content
• Writes and edits three monthly newsletters for members and the broader public: Forum Update, Field Notes, and Q Train
• Produces web content, social media content, press releases, and other communications to our audience of 80,000+ subscribers
• Produces graphic layouts for newsletters, web and social media content based on existing templates
• Cultivates a brand for Urban Design Forum, ensuring it is consistent and distinguishable throughout all materials
• Attends organization events and leads related storytelling efforts
• Maintains the organization’s photography library, cataloguing for efficient use across team, and editing photos as necessary using Adobe Photoshop
• Maintains website with regular updates and occasional functional upgrades
• Manages review by staff and leadership for key external outputs
• Maintains the organizational style guide and ensure all outputs accord with style guide

Project Management & Coordination — 30%

• Own and maintain the editorial calendar, coordinating deadlines and production timelines with program staff
• Establishes and maintains timelines for production of event invites, newsletters, social media calendar with program and development staff
• Lead production and publishing of policy reports in close collaboration with Fellows and program staff
• Works closely with program and development staff on policy reports and publications, program launches, key announcements, and campaigns
• Project manages graphic design, photography, and print projects with external consultants, to align with internal production timelines

Strategic Impact — 20%

• Liaises with our members to gather news, events and opportunities from our network
• Liaises with industry press to publicize research, events, policy recommendations, and member-authored op-eds
• Maintains awareness of current events and announcements for opportunities to amplify our advocacy
• Evolves our communications strategy to deepen organizational impact, in collaboration with our program staff and leadership

QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong collaboration and project management skills; with the ability to integrate feedback from multiple sources.
• Excellent writing skills and a sharp eye for copy editing.
• Fluency with graphic design and visual communications.
• Experience with email marketing and/or social media.
• Familiarity with Mailchimp, WordPress, Adobe Creative Suite.
• Effective time-management skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Superb attention to detail.
• Interest in the use of AI to develop templates, edit content, and accelerate communications workflows.
• Deep commitment to and passion for addressing urban inequity.
• Broad curiosity on issues in the built environment, including housing, economic development, mobility, and climate.
• Experience in storytelling for social impact, media engagement, and/or video editing software is a plus.

We hire candidates based on the responsibilities of the role, rather than years of experience. We expect that a successful candidate may bring 4-6 years of relevant work experience, but we are open to candidates with more or fewer years of experience who believe they fit the role.

Employment data show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, we encourage you to apply.

LOCATION & SCHEDULE

Our team works together in our New York City-based office three days per week, and remotely two days per week. We also offer several weeks per year when everyone is welcome to work remotely. We host events on nights and weekends and offer flexible scheduling when staff are expected to work at those times.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact submissions@urbandesignforum.org.

URBAN DESIGN FORUM

Urban Design Forum connects and inspires New Yorkers to design, build and care for a better city.

We are a member-powered organization of 1,200+ civic leaders committed to a more just future for our city. We believe the built environment—our neighborhoods, buildings, public spaces and infrastructure—shapes our city’s health, culture and economy. We bring together New Yorkers of diverse backgrounds and experiences to learn, debate, and design a vibrant city for all.

We envision a city where every New Yorker can thrive in a healthy neighborhood, with a stable home, dignified workplace, safe commute, lively public spaces and dynamic arts and culture—and we believe everyone has a role to play in creating that city.

The salary for this position will be $82,500. In alignment with our efforts to support pay equity across our team, the starting salary for this position is not negotiable. We believe in investing in our team’s growth, and there will be opportunities for candidates to advance within the organization.

We offer a competitive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employer contribution); generous vacation benefits (starting at 18 days); a professional development stipend; and retirement benefits.