Communications Manager

Movement Law Lab seeks an agile, creative, and practical Communications Manager. This person will execute MLL’s new communications strategy and branding across multiple digital channels, as well as some print contexts. The successful candidate will be committed to liftng up Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color as the true drivers of social movements. This person must also be adept at narratively and graphically situating lawyers as integral partners of those movements.

WHO WE ARE:

Movement Law Lab’s purpose is to organize lawyers, decolonize the law, and grow social-movement power — to win a just world. We cultivate new ways of understanding and using the law, in the US and transnationally, to defend human dignity, multi-racial democracy, and ecological harmony. We are rooted in seven core values of adaptability, interdependence, creativity, dignity, radical politics, integrity, and sustainability.

WHO YOU ARE:

You will thrive in this role if you are this kind of person:

• You’re a digital native who loves rapidly creating and putting out narrative and graphic content;
• You’re a brave builder excited about shaping this new role and function in our organization;
• You’re a positive team player, with the ability to be a constructive and creative force for communications growth with our leadership team and the entire staff.
• You’re emphatically values-centered, including an established commitment to racial, gender, and sexual-orientation equity. See MLL’s full statement of values for a sense of where we are seeking alignment.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Communications production & coordination

• Collaborate with MLL leadership team to establish new goals and metrics for MLL’s communications strategy; and then regularly track and report on those goals and metrics;
• Collaborate with Program Directors to identify communications goals for various projects, make recommendations for content and roll-out plans, and bottom-line the production of deliverables;
• Train and support MLL staff in sharing aspects of communications planning and execution;
• Produce MLL’s outgoing communications including newsletters, mass emails, donor updates, reports, digital campaigns, animations, and possible podcasts;
• Manage MLL’s social-media platforms;
• Project manage the redesign of MLL’s website; update and monitor the website as needed;
• Propose, find, vet, and manage consultants or vendors needed to support MLL’s digital communications work; and
• Manage communications-related budget and resource needs.

Digital organizing

• Analyze and segment MLL’s existing contact lists and high-priority potential audiences for long-term growth, engagement, and activation; and
• Create and strategically sequence content for MLL’s email lists, website, social media channels, and other venues.

External media engagement

• Monitor, and report to MLL leadership team about, online conversations, high-profile events, and narrative trends that provide opportunities to build organization visibility and thought leadership;
• Promote thoughtful coverage of our work and issues by creating and maintaining a press list, and developing relationships with reporters and other influencers; and
• Support MLL staff experts in writing, editing, and placing op-eds and commentaries for publication to advance and promote the organization’s programs, strategic initiatives, and expertise.

SUPERVISION & ACCOUNTABILITY

• Your primary and overall supervisor will be our Director of Growth. At times, you will be working closely with specific project teams and will report to those project leaders for project-specific tasks and goals.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and gender justice.
• No minimum education requirement.
• At least 3 years experience in a professional communications setting, with extensive experience communicating for and to social-justice organizations and social movements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience developing and producing (whether directly or in collaboration contracted designers) attractive branding and marketing designs and collateral.
• Computer skills: Strong proficiency with online and desktop software including Slack; monday.com (or comparable project-management software); Google Workspace apps; Action Network (or comparable CRM); Squarespace (or a comparable website design & hosting tool), Airtable; Canva and/or Adobe Creative Suite (or a comparable graphic design tool set); Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• Strong proficiency with social media, including familiarity with emerging trends in digital organizing and a demonstrated ability to measurably increase audiences and engagement.
• Location & hours: This job can be performed remotely from anywhere in the continental U.S., provided that the employee has consistent access to high-speed internet. Partial reimbursement for co-working space rental and/or internet service costs is available. Must be available 40 hours per week during regular business hours with occasional evening and weekend hours.
• Travel: Must be available to travel by plane up to 5 times a year, up to 5 days per trip, for overnight events and meetings, anywhere in the continental U.S.
• COVID-19 vaccination: All NEO Philanthropy employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis, to the extent required by law.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience writing, editing, and successfully pitching press releases, op-eds, and analysis pieces for publication in earned media;
• Experience working with lawyers, law schools, or legal organizations;
• Experience doing communications work in U.S. and international contexts;
• Ability to speak multiple languages, especially Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Arabic.

SALARY:  $70,000 — $85,000, commensurate with skills and experience

BENEFITS:

Movement Law Lab is fiscally sponsored by NEO Philanthropy, Inc. Through NEO, this position comes with a full benefits package, including 100% medical coverage for the employee and 90% medical coverage for dependents; 100% coverage for vision, dental, life insurance; long-term disability; a 401k retirement savings plan with employer matching; medical FSA; commuter benefits; Employee Assistance Program; generous paid time off; and other benefits.

WHAT ELSE YOU WILL GET:

• Growth & Transformation: We are invested in your growth and we only hire people that want to grow. We provide a range of opportunities for all team members to grow and transform including:  a staff political education series, professional development funds, and leadership training and coaching.
• Willingness to Experiment: We believe the current moment requires us to do things that haven’t been done before. We encourage creative thinking and innovation and utilize an experimental approach where we diagnose conditions, develop hypotheses, build and test betas, and scale solutions. If your brain works like this, you’ll fit right in.
• Love & Rigor: We pride ourselves on being an awesome place to work that balances love and rigor. While we are results driven and high-performing, we are also deeply committed to having a humanistic workplace that is people-centered, respects difference, and is positive and affirming. You’ll find we like to have fun here, too.

HOW TO APPLY:

MLL, as part of NEO Philanthropy, is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, women, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and people with past involvement in the criminal-legal system are strongly encouraged to apply.

Click the “Apply for Job” button below to apply. Once at that webform, there will be a place for you to upload the following materials combined into a single PDF document:

• Cover letter;
• Résumé;
• Three references;
• A writing sample, preferably something that was published in some way. If you prefer, a link in your résumé to the online publication is acceptable; and
• A graphic design sample. If you prefer, a link in your résumé to where this is viewable online is acceptable. If the above writing sample also contains graphics created by you, that will suffice.

This opportunity will remain open until filled. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so applying sooner is better.