Content and Communications Specialist

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund

Center for Protest Law & Litigation

• Priority Deadline: October 13th

Full-time position, potentially geographically remote in Eastern time zone with strong preference given for location in Washington, D.C. The Washington, D.C. office operates on a hybrid schedule.

Who We Are and What We Do:

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) brings high-impact free speech, civil rights and constitutional rights litigation and provides criminal defense to those who are targeted for prosecution because of their First Amendment-protected viewpoints and advocacy for justice. We protect and advance the rights of protestors to organize, assemble, and demand justice around the country.

For over 30 years, the PCJF has been a leading voice in the legal fight to defend democracy and advance constitutional rights and social justice by litigating landmark civil rights, civil liberties, and First Amendment cases and by providing legal defense to justice movement organizations and activists targeted for the First Amendment-protected speech and activities. Our litigation work is integrated with outreach, education, and advocacy in partnership with other civil rights lawyers, affected communities, activists, and organizations in racial, social, and environmental justice movements. Our work is focused ultimately on creating meaningful social, political, and legal changes and dismantling systems of repression.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a West Coast office in the Bay Area, we litigate around the country.

The Position

If you are passionate about the mission of the organization and digital media, design, and storytelling we want to hear from you! We are hiring an experienced and creative Content and Communications specialist to join our team. We are looking for a sharp, meticulous, creative content creator who is an excellent writer and who possesses graphic and video design skills.

The position requires understanding the importance of the underlying issues at stake and being able to distill those issues and elevate the narrative and voices that define the struggles for justice and constitutional rights, all in an active, compelling, engaging and professional voice. Previous experience and work in aligned advocacy and/or First Amendment legal issues is a plus.

We are looking for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, team-centric environment and is a dynamic self-starter. A key member of our team, the Content and Communications Specialist will work closely with the Executive and Legal Directors to execute the organization’s communication strategy and will also collaborate with our grassroots and coalition partners, locally and nationally, to amplify crucial issues in the struggles for civil rights and free speech.

Key Responsibilities:

• Translate our work and messaging into social, email, web and other content that is polished, professional, and compelling while maintaining legal accuracy and message precision. Draft and post concise and effective communications to grow our audiences including activists, constituents, media, and the general public, including press releases, emails, newsletters, and social media posts (Instagram, BlueSky, X, and Facebook). Increase social media engagement and following.
• Create and publish visual and written content at volume weekly to include social media posts, direct to camera scripts and regular website updates. Write, shoot, and produce short, engaging, and timely videos, including attorney explainer videos, that dive into key focus issues. Locate images that accompany and resonate with the topical messages of each post. The ability to produce reels and video product in rapid response to current events is essential.
• Develop compelling narratives that demonstrate the organization’s expertise and the importance of both the constitutional rights at stake and the social change issues underlying our impact litigation and defense. Understand and adopt the organization’s unique voice and identity to develop impactful messaging advancing our mission and priorities.
• Tell the stories of our cases, our courageous clients, their fights for justice, and the impactful and often groundbreaking legal issues undergirding those fights.
• Have a campaign mindset and facilitate the organization’s ability to impact and inform national discourse in response to breaking events to achieve the organization's priorities and programmatic objectives.
• Create and execute online campaigns and calls to action, toolkits and other educational, engagement, and outreach efforts.
• Be constantly attuned to the news, to government repression of dissent and to issues of legal importance in order to propose communications and respond to breaking events.
• Develop and execute a communications calendar and create content nimbly and in rapid response to breaking events and critical issues. This involves working with partner organizations, mapping out activation moments, amplification requests, scheduling posts for algorithmic optimization, and relating all content back to the organizational strategies.
• Be an all-hands person who possess a roll up your sleeves, no job too small approach to tasks.
• Monitor analytics and compile reports, make recommendations on digital communications strategy and optimization of digital presence; seek to grow communities and reach. Articulate objective criteria for the success of our engagement and communication strategy.
• Maintain the organization’s constituent and press lists and database through the CRM system.
• Keep the website up to date, including uploading news and press releases, refreshing visuals and maintaining site organization.
• Coordinate with website developer to fix technical issues.
• Track media coverage of our work as well as online discussion and news related surrounding law, policy, case developments, politics, and other issues related to the organization’s work.
• Chronicle organization and social justice movement activities with visuals by capturing images on the ground at social justice events, protests, and actions.

Key Requirements and Qualifications

• At least 3 years of professional experience in communications, graphics production, social media posts, public facing communications, short videos, and/or other demonstrable skills that show polished and well written content in the context of non-profit work, advocacy, or a related field.
• An excellent writer possessing the ability to reflect the organization’s voice and tone while engaging with multiple audiences and to move between the different voices needed for different platforms. Ability to write in rapid response to events in an engaging and active manner, with the ability to distill, persuade, and advocate.
• Excellent editing and proofreading skills, with keen attention to detail. Able to translate complex legal and policy language into understandable messages that inform and engage. Must be able to produce content that is professionally presented and that does not require others to proofread.
• Ability to maintain a high volume of tasks at one time, to multi-task, and to pivot immediately to breaking issues with adaptability. Demonstrated ability to plan, coordinate, and juggle a variety of detailed outreach projects, sometimes under a very tight deadline.
• Demonstrate initiative, including proactively identifying and addressing issues and making recommendations.
• Experience working with social justice movements preferred.
• High level of awareness as to current political/social issues and grassroots movements for justice, with a passion and talent for creating stories that move public opinion in favor of and inspire people to take action.
• Strong proficiency with social media, including experience maintaining organizational social media accounts and familiarity with emerging trends in digital organizing.
• Demonstrated graphic design skills and the ability to produce brochures, one-pagers, newsletters, reports, infographics, etc.
• Experience in developing and growing networks of digital supporters and capacity to develop an effective plan to do so.
• Mastery or high proficiency with graphic design and video editing software such as Canva, Adobe InDesign, CapCut, etc.
• Experience with WordPress and CRM software preferred.
• Experience with development a plus.
• Familiarity with free speech and/or civil rights legal issues a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems, anticipate next steps, take initiative, exercise discretion, and apply sound judgment.
• Ability and willingness to perform occasional evening and weekend work in response to breaking events, justice uprisings, or major legal case deadlines or outcomes. Consistent monitoring of incoming communications emails and Teams messages to ensure that critical press messages or breaking events are not missed.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, sense of humor, and ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to get the information, input, and perspective necessary to produce quality work.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with the priority deadline of October 13th.

START DATE: ASAP

SALARY

The salary is expected to be within the range of $70,000 - $80,000 and will depend on the applicant’s experience and qualifications. Persons with extensively greater experience than listed above will be considered for a higher range. Benefits include outstanding health and dental insurance that is 100% employer paid; 15 days of paid vacation; additional personal and sick leave; 11 paid federal holidays; a 401(k) plan with employer contribution (after one year of service); Life insurance and AD&D insurance; Short Term Disability insurance; Long Term Disability insurance; and available vision plan.

Please send a cover letter detailing why you are interesting in this position at the PCJF, your resume, and a link to a portfolio showing past digital content that you’ve created (graphics, social media copy, emails, videos, etc.) to recruitment@justiceonline.org putting “Job Application: Digital Communications, [your full name]” in the subject line of the email.

Your cover letter must answer these three questions:

1. Explain your motivation for wanting to communicate the issues and areas we work on outwardly to a broader audience, what about our organization’s work speaks to you, and what you believe makes the PCJF distinctive.
2. Detail your experiences and strategy using communications as an educational and organizing tool.
3. What is a recent campaign or initiative that you have seen from another entity that you thought was creative, persuasive, and well-executed and why?

We prefer you not use AI in writing your cover letter so we can see how you personally think and write. If you do use AI, please note how and for what portions you used AI to support your work. Evidence of AI use without a note may disqualify your application.

Applicants invited to move forward will be contacted for an initial phone screen. Applicants who move forward after the phone screen will be asked to complete a short flat rate compensated skills assessment. The work will not be used by the organization beyond the interview process. Applicants who move forward after the skills assessment will be invited to interview over Zoom.

NOTE: We are only accepting applications electronically submitted. Please do not make any inquiries about the position or the status of your application as we cannot respond individually to each application. We will contact those applicants that are of interest directly.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, formerly incarcerated person status, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Benefits include outstanding health and dental insurance that is 100% employer paid; 15 days of paid vacation; additional personal and sick leave; 11 paid federal holidays; a 401(k) plan with employer contribution (after one year of service); Life insurance and AD&D insurance; Short Term Disability insurance; Long Term Disability insurance; and available vision plan.