A Way Home Washington Strategic Communications Director

Seattle, WA, United States

Strategic Communications Director

Hybrid/Washington State (Seattle)

Over 13,000 unaccompanied young people are surviving homelessness on their own in Washington state. Black, Indigenous, and other youth of color as well as LGBTQ+ young people appear among that number in heavily disproportionate rates over their white, straight, cisgender peers. Lack of housing stability, supportive connections, and necessary services significantly impact a young person’s transition to adulthood, leaving their economic, social, civil, and political rights unrealized. But what can be done? Is this an unchangeable inevitability? Or is it possible to not just prevent, but ultimately end youth and young adult homelessness in our state?

A Way Home Washington answers that final question with an unequivocal “yes.”

Who We Are

A Way Home Washington (“AWHWA”) is a statewide movement to prevent and end youth and young adult homelessness, prioritizing the existing disproportionality of homelessness rates among young people of color and LGBTQ+ youth. Partnering with young people, communities, agencies, and leaders across Washington state, we work to realign local and state youth-serving systems to meet the needs of young people in ways that matter most to them and result in safe and stable housing. By engaging stakeholders on a local level and creating a statewide network, we connect communities and provide opportunities to discuss common barriers and solutions for ending youth and young adult homelessness.

Throughout our history, we have focused on integrating evidence-based practices with quality, real-time data. We apply Continuous Quality Improvement to test, learn from, and develop innovative solutions to systemic barriers. Ending youth homelessness won’t be achieved by maintaining the status quo; outside-the-box thinking is required to create cutting-edge initiatives and measurable results. We are guided by the principle “Nothing about us without us,” knowing our duty to ensure that youth and young adults hold key roles in shaping and influencing the systems change that lead to ending youth homelessness and housing insecurity.

A Way Home Washington is a fiscally sponsored organization of Third Sector New England, Inc.

What We Need

AWHWA is currently seeking a Strategic Communications Director to drive the narrative of our work, lead marketing and communications strategy, and champion our mission and the young people we serve. We are looking for a professional with strong experience in creating effective strategies and managing organizational and initiative communications that achieve targeted goals. Our ideal future colleague will have the proven ability to grow understanding and activate change through public and political will building. We are looking for someone with a demonstrated ability to establish and maintain trust across various internal and external marketing and communications channels. This individual will bring a nuanced understanding of homelessness and housing insecurity among young people, as well as the historical and systemic inequities that create those circumstances. We are looking for a commitment to preventing and ending homelessness for all youth and young adults and, crucially, a firm belief that doing so is possible.

Responsibilities of the Strategic Communications Director include:

Marketing and Communications

Develop and manage the implementation of an integrated, dynamic strategic marketing and communications plan to increase awareness and support for A Way Home Washington and to advance its mission of preventing and ending youth and young adult homelessness.

Develop tailored marketing and communications strategies for initiatives, projects, and campaigns aligned with the organization’s strategic plan.

Strategically craft and target effective marketing and communications tailored to different audiences to grow awareness, increase understanding, increase support, and activate change.

Oversee A Way Home Washington’s brand identities, branding assets, and messaging to ensure consistency of voice and influence, high-quality external communications, and internal alignment with the organization’s brand and strategy.

Forge relationships with external partners creating opportunities for collaboration and leveraging impact.

Develop, measure, monitor, and report on departmental strategy and plans to understand, adjust, and improve the effectiveness of A Way Home Washington’s communications strategies and implementation efforts.

Integrated Channel Management

Oversee design, production, and distribution of the organization’s communication channels, including the website, email, social media, newsletters, blog, stories, toolkits, reports, key messages, talking points, presentations, and other publications and materials.

Develop and oversee an annual marketing and communications calendar for the planning and timely dissemination of all activities, including a content calendar and social media calendar.

Oversee the creation of visual assets for all communication channels.

Develop and manage media and press relations to build positive coverage and increase the visibility of AWHWA and its initiatives, special events, public announcements, and key news, activities, and achievements.

Establish and manage integrated, effective contact databases for the organization, initiatives, and media and communications activities.

Track the effectiveness of reach and engagement via all communication channels; monthly reporting of reach and engagement; and identify opportunities to grow reach and increase engagement.

Department Management

Manage the Strategic Communications Manager, setting clear and ambitious goals and serving as a coach and advisor to ensure strong outcomes.

Work collaboratively across departments to consistently provide informative internal communications that engage employees and ensure integrated, collaborative, brand-consistent communications across A Way Home Washington.

Develop, carefully manage, and track the departmental budget.

Other departmental tasks and projects related to the job as needed.

Who You Are

No one person is likely to have every attribute that defines success for this position. Examples of professional and personal abilities or experiences that a successful incumbent has, or can demonstrate the ability to obtain, include:

Commitment to using strategic marketing and communications to advance AWHWA’s core goal of ending disproportionality in youth homelessness.

At least 7 years of successful experience in marketing and communications with the proven ability to advance an organization's mission and goals. A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in marketing, communications, journalism, or a related field is required. A master's degree is preferred.

Embeds the values of anti-racism and diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the work.

Excellent written and verbal communication.

Proven ability to effectively communicate complex ideas to a variety of audiences.

Public speaking and presentation skills.

Ability to meet deadlines, manage competing priorities, and advance multiple projects.

A demonstrated ability to establish working relationships with external stakeholders including the media.

Strong experience managing staff; helping them to grow professionally and coalesce as members of a supportive, goals-driven team.

Creative, highly motivated, goal-oriented, and organized.

Familiarity with trauma-informed practices and the ability to engage economically, socially, and culturally diverse people who may be experiencing or impacted by homelessness and/or other traumatic situations with compassion, tact, sensitivity, and respect.

Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.), Google Suite, Canva, Adobe Suite, WordPress, social media marketing software such as Loomly, Hootsuite, Mailerlite, MailChimp, Constant Contact, and other tools as needed.

In the spirit of “nothing about us without us,” we strongly encourage BIPOC, persons with disabilities, persons with lived homelessness experience, and LGBTQ+ individuals to apply. We are a non-discriminatory workplace and equal employment opportunity employer committed to building an organization reflective of the community it serves. We believe that everyone has their own superpower that brings niche expertise into their work. We value the unique lived experiences of every individual, and we hope you’ll share your superpower with us.

What We Offer

The starting salary range for this position is $97,850-$123,600 annually, dependent on experience and internal equity within AWHWA. The full salary range possible within the role in the future is $97,850-149,350 annually, dependent on experience and performance.

Compensation package also includes:

Health, dental, and vision benefits;

Health and dependent care flexible spending accounts;

Life insurance and long- and short-term disability coverage;

Employer-contributed pension after one year of employment, along with an employee contributed pension;

Time-off benefits including vacation, personal holidays, and sick time.

How To Apply

If this job sounds like a fit for you, please submit your application via the recruitment portal on Third Sector New England (TSNE)’s website. A complete application includes a resume and cover letter.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Selected candidates will be contacted for interviews as applications are received and reviewed in the weeks following posting, with fewer interviews being scheduled the further we advance into the process.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

TSNE/AWHWA strives to achieve excellence through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that embraces all of our individual and collective differences. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Middle Eastern and North African, Bilingual and/or Bicultural candidates, and LGBTQ2SIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We value and honor the unique talents, learning styles, and lived experiences of each individual that enrich and strengthen our workplace culture, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

All employment conditions are based on an individual’s performance and job qualifications. TSNE/AWHWA prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, creed, color, religion, native language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, race-based hairstyles, or any other protected characteristic stated by federal and state law. Regardless of any class’s protection under the law or lack thereof, TSNE/AWHWA celebrates diversity and values the strengths that come with having a diverse team of employees. It is represented in our workplace culture, and it is who we are.

TSNE/AWHWA's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.

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