Communications Manager | Apply by August 9, 2024
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Hours: Salaried, 30-hour work week across the organization
Salary: $75,000 (plus annual cost of living adjustment)
Benefits: Eligible for full-time benefits including PTO, QSEHRA health care reimbursement, sick days, professional development stipend
Location: 100% remote; occasional travel to attend meetings and events
Reports to: Executive Director
Who we are: Agrarian Trust is dedicated to expanding community ownership of farmland to benefit next-generation farmers. We are inspired by worker self-directed organizations where staff collaborate to create programs and policies to guide them. We have built a staff structure with decision making held by teams in program circles rather than in a hierarchy. We welcome new staff to join us in continuing to evolve our workplace to support democratic decision making and creative collaboration across our small team. Though we are a national organization, we consider ourselves to be community-based in that our work is based on mutual partnerships and led by local communities.
We are hiring a Communications Manager to:
(1) Develop and implement our communications strategy in collaboration with our team
(2) Be part of building strong relationships with partners to advance mutual goals
(3) Document and share our learning to support collective approaches to land access
We are looking for someone who:
- Initiates projects and sees them through
- Brings their full self and maintains healthy work-life boundaries
- Offers clear and frequent communication and can give and receive feedback
- Builds, tends and mends, and cultivates relationships, and is comfortable navigating conflict
- Loves to learn and is curious about collective ownership and stewardship
- Has an intersectional analysis of systems related to food, agriculture, and the environment
Major Responsibilities
COMMUNICATIONS AND FUNDRAISING (50% / ~15 hrs/wk)
- Lead development and implementation of our communications strategy
- Lead transition to new website in collaboration with our team and contractors
- Manage communications calendar and media requests; track and evaluate progress on goals
- Support project-related and operations fundraisers
- Collaborate with the team and lead the creation of newsletters, blog posts, videos, press releases, social media, web pages, presentations, graphics, and other print/online materials
- Perform communications research to guide and refine strategy; create style guides
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH (25% / ~8 hrs/wk)
- Document grant-funded project learning and successes
- Assist team with assessing, reporting, and communicating socioeconomic impacts
- Develop multimedia content to promote learning among partners and participants
- Develop print materials (booklets, brochures, factsheets, case studies, etc)
- Occasionally assist with preparing for and delivering public presentations
- Support the success of two 5-year grant projects including the USDA Regional Food Business Center Program (KY, OH, WV, Southwest VA, Western PA, Western MD, and TN) and the USDA Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (National)
MEDIA RELATIONS AND OUTREACH (~15% / 4 hrs/wk)
- Communicate with media outlets and journalists; coordinate interviews
- Develop and maintain media toolkits for partners/public use
- Develop and maintain relationships with media contacts
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE (10% / ~3 hrs/wk)
- Participate in staff decision-making, culture-building, and organizational development processes
- Contribute to ongoing critical discussion and integration of equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism into our operations and project work
Qualifications & Experience (Note: Please consider applying if you meet our required skills.)
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Experience in public-facing roles in communications, media, fundraising, marketing, or community outreach
- Organizational skills: Planning, coordination, budgeting, and project management
- Technical skills: Web design and maintenance, social media management, analytics, and CRM management
- Storytelling skills: Creative approaches to storytelling, interviewing skills, multimedia experience (video, photo, writing)
- Writing skills: Copywriting, editing, and proofreading
- Design skills: Layout and graphic design for print/online materials, flyers, banners, apparel, etc.
DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE (Not required)
- Experience with and interest in participating in a democratic and non-hierarchical workplace
- Experience living or working in geographically diverse communities, rural communities, and/or with BIPOC farmers or food businesses owned/managed by people of color
- Knowledge of sustainable food production, land justice, and/or the work of land trusts and nonprofits in transforming agriculture
- Experience tracking and communicating about major organizational or governmental policy developments
- Professional working proficiency in Spanish
Desired Location & Remote Work
Agrarian Trust staff is an all-remote team. This means that staff members must embody proactive virtual communications and that this position will engage with the team in all U.S. time zones. This position requires access to high-speed internet and a reliable phone. A new work computer will be provided. This position will collaborate primarily with our Executive Director located in the Southeast. While we have a preference for an East Coast time zone for this hire, we welcome candidates from across the U.S. to apply.
To Apply
Applications for this position will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until August 9, 2024. We hope to fill the position by September 1, 2024. Please submit a cover letter, resume, a 1-2 page portfolio highlighting video, written, and/or design work, and three references to [email protected] with “Communications Manager Application” in the subject line of your email.
Agrarian Trust works toward practicing the relational culture that we support in our projects and is developing greater participatory governance. Staff have opportunities to create agreements that define our mutual expectations and create supportive spaces for all of us to work in. We encourage people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities, women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people to apply.