Director of Communications (Media Relations and PR)

RAINN•Washington, DC

3d•$130,000 - $145,000•Remote

About The Position

RAINN is seeking a Director of Communications with expertise in developing and placing stories, building editorial relationships, and maximizing public relations efforts. This role is for a sharp, instinctive PR and media leader who can identify opportunities for RAINN to be featured in relevant media outlets, from major news publications to podcasts and digital platforms. As the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, RAINN is at the forefront of critical conversations about prevention, justice, and healing. The Director of Communications for Public Relations will lead RAINN's earned media strategy, bridging the gap between programmatic work and public discourse. The position reports to the VP of Communications and collaborates with the Director of Marketing, Content Strategist, Creative Director, and external PR partners. The role includes supervising the Entertainment Partnerships Manager and developing RAINN's spokesperson bench. The ideal candidate has a strong contact list and a proven ability to secure positive media placements.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive communications experience with a demonstrable record of placed coverage — not impressions, not reach decks. Stories that ran, in places that matter, because of you.
Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, Political Science, English, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
Existing, active relationships with reporters, producers, podcast hosts, and editors.
A reputation in the room before you walk in.
Experience managing PR firms and getting more out of them than the SOW promised.
Fluency across the full earned-media surface area: legacy print and broadcast, of course, but also podcasts (where the long, smart conversations happen), YouTube and creator channels, Substack and independent journalism, TikTok and short-form, and the talk-show, late-night, and streaming entertainment ecosystem.
A point of view on which platforms move which audiences, and the judgment to know when Pod Save America matters more than the Today show — and when it doesn't.
Experience cultivating partnerships with celebrities, athletes, musicians, creators, or entertainment industry professionals — or a track record that makes clear you would be exceptional at it.
Comfort working with publicists, agents, managers, and talent, and the discretion and judgment to be trusted in those rooms.
Outstanding writing across formats — pitches that get opened, op-eds that get placed, press statements that journalists quote, talking points that survive contact with a hostile interview.
An editor's eye and a reporter's nose. Knows what the story is, often before the reporter does.
Can take dense programmatic, legal, or research material and make it land.
On-camera and on-mic confidence — comfortable as a spokesperson when needed, and able to step in credibly during high-volume news moments.
Demonstrated experience media-training executives, experts, or advocates — and the instinct to know what makes someone good on air versus what makes them safe.
Steady under pressure, including in crisis communications and rapid-response moments where minutes matter.
A respect for RAINN's mission and a sophisticated understanding or fast-study of sexual violence as a public issue — including the care, sensitivity, and competency required to communicate about trauma and with survivors with integrity.
The judgment to know when not to chase a moment, and the spine to say so.
Demonstrated technical proficiency in G Suite, including the ability to effectively use and manage tools such as Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar.
Comfortable learning and leveraging new communications technologies, collaboration platforms, and digital tools.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Identify which platforms move which audiences toward which behaviors, and build coverage strategies that match.
Hunt for and land earned media wherever it serves the mission — legacy print and broadcast, digital-native publications, the podcast ecosystem, YouTube and creator channels, talk radio, newsletters with real subscriber loyalty, Reddit and Discord communities where the conversation is already happening, and the next platform none of us has heard of yet.
Build a real, working press list — not a database but a relationship-base. Know reporters, producers, hosts, and creators by beat, by deadline pressure, by what they're chasing. Be the call they take.
Identify the news pegs and cultural moments where RAINN's expertise is the missing piece, and move fast enough to be in the story while it's still the story.
Place op-eds, ghostwrite for leadership, and pitch original story ideas that journalists actually want to write about sexual violence, its challenges, and our solutions in prevention, justice and healing.
Translate the VP of Communications' entertainment vision into clear strategic objectives — annual priorities, quarterly targets, signature moments — and partner with the Entertainment Partnerships Manager to build the execution roadmap that gets us there.
Support the higher-level tactical work alongside the VP: helping shape the asks to top-tier partners, sitting in on the meetings where the Director's presence sharpens the strategy, and making sure earned media muscle is ready to amplify whatever the partnership produces.
Consult closely with the Entertainment Partnerships Manager on the day-to-day execution — strategy refinement, message alignment, navigating tricky moments, evaluating cross-departmental talent requests, and providing the air cover and guardrails that let them build a program with real autonomy.
Identify culturally resonant moments — premieres, album drops, awards seasons, championship runs, viral conversations — and partner with the Entertainment Partnerships Manager on how RAINN shows up.
Connect entertainment partnerships to earned-media outcomes: making sure a talent partner's moment with RAINN gets the press, podcast, and platform coverage it deserves, and that the story travels well beyond the activation itself.
Offer strategic guidance for the work of the Entertainment Partnerships Manager as they work directly with talent, managers, agents, publicists, studios, leagues, labels, and creator networks. Help them get the meeting, make the ask and close the partnership.
Conceive and lead signature editorial projects — reports, original research narratives, documentary collaborations, podcast series, landmark moments — that make RAINN's expertise unmissable and give media a reason to come to us.
Translate RAINN's programmatic work, public policy advocacy, survivor services data, and research into compelling stories that inform, engage, and inspire action.
Partner closely with RAINN's Public Policy team to elevate federal and state legislative priorities, policy initiatives, and advocacy efforts through timely, strategic communications that advance RAINN's mission and public impact.
Support the Vice President of Communications with internal communications and crisis communications.
Build and run RAINN's spokesperson bench: train, prep, and coach the CEO, senior leadership, victim service and policy experts, and survivor advocates to be sharp, confident, and on-message across broadcast, print, podcast, and digital.
Develop talking points, message frameworks, and rapid-response materials that hold up under pressure and sound like a human being — not a position paper.
Run pre-interview prep, mock Q&A, and post-interview debriefs. Build the muscle so RAINN's experts get better with every hit.
Be media-ready yourself, comfortable on the record, on camera, and on a hot mic and step in as a spokesperson when the moment, the outlet, or the topic calls for it.
Support the VP of Communications in crisis communications management when coordination and cool heads make all the difference.
Add to the organization's editorial muscle in close partnership with the Senior Manager of Content and Community and Marketing Director — sharper press releases, faster rapid response, better op-eds, smarter long-form, and a unified voice across every platform.
Translate complex programmatic, legal, and clinical material into language that lands with reporters, lawmakers, and the public.
Develop and execute integrated communications strategies that advance the visibility and impact of RAINN's federal legislative priorities, state policy advocacy efforts, and survivor-centered initiatives through earned media, executive messaging, strategic thought leadership, digital storytelling, and localized media engagement.
Lead, mentor, and manage performance expectations for the Entertainment Partnerships Manager.
Engage across the Comms team to measure, report and elevate our work in our owned channels and within the organization.
Mentor team members on strategic instinct, relationship building, and the craft of getting things placed.
Build collaborative relationships across programs and support teams so the communications shop is a force multiplier, not a service desk.