Director, Strategic Communications

Who We Are:

American Oversight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that advances truth, accountability, and democracy by enforcing the public's right to government records. We use multiple tools, backed by aggressive litigation, to fight attacks on democratic institutions, threats to civil rights and liberties, abuses of power, and erosion of government transparency. We expose and disrupt these attacks, and the officials and networks behind them, by forcing the government to turn over records officials would rather keep secret.

Since our founding in 2017, American Oversight has:

• Shut down Trump's bogus "voter fraud" commission.
• Revealed the Trump-sanctioned pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government by forcing the Trump administration to turn over records initially withheld from Congress.
• Uncovered rampant preventable deaths of immigrants in federal custody.
• Unmasked taxpayer-funded sham "audits" of the 2020 election.
• Obtained the fake electors' forged certificates submitted by fake electors during the 2020 election.
• Exposed networks of election denialists and subverters around the country.
• Halted the impeachment of a newly elected state supreme court justice in Wisconsin.
• Blocked state election board members in Georgia and Wisconsin from taking anti-democratic actions in secret.

For more information, please visit our website: www.americanoversight.org 

About the Role: 

Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director, American Oversight is seeking a Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations to join its team. 

The Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations is a key member of the leadership team at American Oversight. This role leads and drives the organization’s media strategy to deliver creative, high-impact media engagement. In addition to recruiting, developing, and managing a best-in-class team, the Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations is responsible for advancing American Oversight’s mission to strengthen democracy through compelling narratives and media savvy – while always upholding the organization’s reputation for accuracy and integrity.

What You Will Do:

• Develop strategic communications plans that position American Oversight as a leader in the pro-democracy, government accountability movement, ensuring messaging that aligns with American Oversight’s strategic goals.
• Drive American Oversight’s media outreach strategy, leading a media relations team to execute strategic communications plans that use the full complement of tools and tactics available to elevate the organization’s impact, profile, and reputation.
• Advise the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, and other departmental directors on crisis communications, communications strategy, message development, and American Oversight branding.
• Build an inclusive and equitable work environment, with responsibility for recruiting, developing, and managing an effective and agile team.
• Serve as a member of the senior management team, collaborating with multiple departments to leverage the impact of American Oversight’s work.  Identify opportunities to increase American Oversight’s organizational profile and drive improved understanding of the organization’s work.  Contribute to creating conditions for accountability and systemic reform through media engagement.
• Oversee the development of media campaigns and messaging materials that help drive accountability based on American Oversight’s priorities and information uncovered through its work.
• Draft, edit, and produce communications products, including, but not limited to, statements, press releases, media advisories, and talking points, as needed.
• Work with American Oversight leadership to ensure consistency and alignment in American Oversight’s messaging and partner engagement.
• Maintain and enhance American Oversight’s high standards of accuracy and quality for all messaging materials and media outreach. Approve all external content created by the media relations team.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with media, identifying outlets and individuals best suited to maximize organizational impact and reach.
• Prepare American Oversight team members for media appearances and interviews. Serve as an on-the-record spokesperson for the organization.
• Select, manage, and collaborate with external vendors and consultants.

What You Will Bring:

• 10+ years of experience in strategic communications or media relations, including in roles that involve generating earned media or engaging in fact-based advocacy. Within the years of experience:
  • 5+ years of experience working on issues related to U.S. politics, government, or public policy;
  • 3+ years developing communications strategy and executing an organization’s comprehensive media relations efforts; and
  • 2+ years hiring, developing, and managing a team of media professionals at a manager level or above.
  • Experience working with and advising leaders of a complex organization on communications strategy and execution.
• Experience building and managing a team, including hiring, supervision, delegation, and establishing best practices in communications.
• Experience working for other pro-democracy organizations, political campaigns, or congressional offices with high standards of responsiveness and accuracy.
• A keen interest in American Oversight’s mission of government accountability and transparency; commitment to public interest advocacy.
• Exceptional skills in the following areas: 
  • Strategic Thinking and Planning: Thinks strategically and tactically to advance American Oversight’s mission and priorities while effectively executing detailed communications plans; anticipates and adapts to challenges, proactively identifies opportunities for impact, and develops targeted communications plans that align with organizational short- and long-term goals; develops innovative solutions to achieve organizational objectives.
  • Project Management: Plans, organizes, and executes multifaceted communications initiatives from concept to completion; manages timelines and resources while ensuring alignment with strategic goals; coordinates cross-functional teams, manages stakeholder expectations, and delivers high-quality results under tight deadlines.
  • Communication:
    • Oral: Conveys information and ideas in a clear, confident, concise, and persuasive manner; uses language that is appropriate and understandable and can adapt for different audiences.
    • Written: Analyzes and synthesizes complex material and communicates it in a clear, succinct, and compelling manner; ensures written content is free from factual, grammatical, and spelling errors; adapts language or style to target audiences; reviews and edits high volumes of work for accuracy, consistency, and thoroughness.
  • Judgment and Decision Making: Carefully assesses information and weighs competing priorities before making sound decisions that lead to effective outcomes; predicts likely results based on patterns, experiences, and logical inferences; considers potential consequences and ensures alignment with American Oversight’s values and objectives.
  • Relationship Building: Builds and strengthens relationships with media partners that establish and reinforce American Oversight’s reputation as reliable, informative, and valuable; manages expectations of media partners.
  • People Management: sets clear goals and expectations; leads, motivates, and develops team to achieve organizational goals; tracks progress towards those goals and provides timely and constructive feedback; builds an inclusive team environment, and invests in the development and growth of staff members; resolves conflicts, manages diverse perspectives, and aligns individual contributions with broader team objectives.
  • Collaboration: Comfortable working in a fast-paced, agile, and collaborative environment; is an inclusive, highly engaged team player who recognizes cross-organizational opportunities to help achieve shared goals.
• Experience supporting and preparing others for media engagement and public appearances.
• A sophisticated understanding of the political, policy, and media landscape in which American Oversight operates, as well as an ability to quickly assess information for relevance and newsworthiness.
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity. A commitment to high journalistic standards of quality and accuracy.
• Experience working in remote first environments with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Strong technology skills with an aptitude to learn quickly to ramp up on new platforms or technology:  media management and email marketing platforms (e.g., Cision, MailChimp); Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides); and project management platforms (e.g., Asana, Monday, Airtable).
• Must be available to work East Coast business hours with evening and weekend hours as needed.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in journalism, communications, or related field.
• Strong working knowledge of limitations on public communications related to 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.
• Prior on-the-record experience.
• Ability to attend in-person work-related events and functions, and work on-site as needed in American Oversight’s Washington, DC office.

We encourage individuals to apply even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications. 

What We Offer:

American Oversight offers its employees a generous and comprehensive benefits package that includes 80% of health, dental, and vision premiums paid by the organization, a retirement plan with a matching contribution, and remote office reimbursements for personal devices and wireless connectivity.

Location:

American Oversight is a remote-first location. This position may require travel to attend in-person work-related events and functions, and work on-site as needed in American Oversight’s Washington, DC office.

Salary Range:

$135,000 to $150,000 (commensurate to experience)

Application Deadline: 

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by December 9, 2024 to ensure consideration of your application. Following this deadline, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace:

At American Oversight, we value and strive to hire, develop, and grow a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer, and encourage applications from all individuals without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local laws. We strongly encourage individuals to apply for opportunities at American Oversight even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications.

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