VP, Communications, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law at LeaderFit

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Vice President, Communications
Washington, DC

ABOUT THE LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW
Formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real

LCCRUL is dedicated to supporting and advancing diversity within its workforce and board. Because our commitment to diversity and inclusion is inextricably linked to our pursuit of equal justice for all, we strive to work with a broad and diverse coalition of partner organizations.

For more information about LCCRUL, visit: https://www.lawyerscommittee.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY
The Vice President of Communications (VP) is a new leadership position designed to maximize impact through strategic communications. Reporting to the President and serving on the Executive Management Team, the VP will be the organization’s pace-setter on efforts to both inform the public about the organization’s work and also to influence public discourse and narratives about racial justice overall. The VP will lead all external communications, including traditional and social media engagement, public relations, branding, marketing, website, external presence of the President, both reactive and proactive media outreach. The VP will also be responsible for coordinating some internal communications functions and ensuring proper support for key coalitions, including the Election Protection Coalition, which LCCRUL has convened for nearly 20 years.

The VP will have the opportunity to build the largest Communications team in the organization’s history, adding significant capacity by hiring full-time employees and engaging expert consultants. The VP will work collaboratively across departments to develop and implement an innovative communications strategy that increases awareness of and engagement with LCCRUL’s mission and work, support special events, and produce collateral.

The top VP candidate is an expert communications professional with a demonstrated commitment to advancing civil rights and racial justice. The VP will bring a proven record of building a successful communications infrastructure and strategy for a mission-driven organization, including hiring and developing a robust in-house communications team. The VP also will be an expert storyteller and teacher, weaving together LCCRUL’s diverse work streams into a compelling narrative that inspires positive action. The VP will be a team player who proactively seeks opportunities to engage colleagues, welcomes diverse perspectives, and embraces constructive feedback. The VP is both a strategist and tactician, encouraging innovative ideas to address future challenges while executing on the key priorities today and tomorrow.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Communications Strategy, Vision, and Leadership
• Design and implement a strategic communications plan that maximizes impact by increasing awareness of LCCRUL’s work with key audiences including policymakers, partners, funders, and community leaders
• Ensure the organization’s goals are clear no matter the audience or the forum in which it is communicating.
• Create a marketing and public relations plan that enables LCCRUL’s leaders to cultivate and enhance relationships with the media and key influencers
• Develop and implement a media engagement strategy and drive digital and editorial content
• Drive innovation in new communication channels to help amplify messages and cases
• Work closely with the Vice President of Development to ensure that the external communication materials and events align with the organization’s brand, vision, and mission.

Communications Operations
• Collaborate with staff and consultants to promote a compelling brand platform that resonates with diverse audiences
• Create compelling multi-media campaigns, collect key data on the success of the campaign, and continually pilot new tools and tactics
• Establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with communications professionals in partner organizations and the media
• Work with key LCCRUL partners to develop stories to share with a broader audience
• Develop and maintain a compelling and engaging website and organizational collateral
• Identify creative opportunities for LCCRUL leadership to be represented in media outlets and positioned as experts in the field at local and national events
• Maintain current knowledge of relevant information and news in the shared LCCRUL community
• Develop content for the website, collateral, partner communications, blogs, etc.

Team Leadership and Management
• Recruit, onboard, train, and manage a team of communications professionals to support the growth strategy
• Promote a culture of high performance and animate the values of the LCCRUL within the Communications team and across the organization
• Coach, mentor, and help develop staff with a collaborative and supportive approach in a consistent way

QUALIFICATIONS
• Substantial communications experience with fifteen or more years of experience, ideally in a combination of non- and for-profit organizations, proven success leading an integrated marketing communications strategy across internal and external audiences
• Demonstrated experience with the current civil rights and racial justice landscape, including key stakeholders, policymakers, influencers, and media
• Expertise working across all communication channels: print, broadcast, digital, and social media
• Demonstrated success developing proactive, creative media relations campaigns
• Prior experience working in organizations that advance multiple priorities
• Reputation for being a trusted convener, internally and externally
• An understanding of narrative change, policy change, and lifting up research
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with experience motivating, coaching, and developing high-performing teams
• Ability to distill complex policy issues into effective communications materials for diverse target audiences
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage a variety of projects in a highly dynamic environment while maintaining focus on high-level organizational goals
• A savvy, creative, smart, and innovative leader with keen public relations intuition, exceptional judgment, and excellent writing and presentation skills

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The Lawyers’ Committee embraces diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We strongly encourage candidates of color and candidates from underrepresented communities to apply. The Lawyers’ Committee does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, personal appearance, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or any other status protected under law.

ACCESSIBILITY ASSISTANCE
Although calls will not be accepted regarding questions about the position, if you are an individual with a disability and need assistance completing the online application, please send an email with the subject line “Applicant Accommodation” to [email protected].

COMPENSATION
LCCRUL is committed to equity in its approach to compensation and will pay the selected candidate within the following range: $200k - $225k.