Director of Communications

St Anthony Foundation•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

Founded in 1950, St. Anthony's is the most comprehensive safety net service center in San Francisco, directly providing food, clothing, medical care, addiction recovery services, access to technology, job training, and other critical resources to the community. Every day we support and are supported by thousands of San Franciscans. Everyone who comes through our doors joins the St. Anthony's team and helps us create a future where all people flourish. The Director of Communications is St. Anthony's chief storyteller and the organizational architect of a unified institutional voice. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, this position provides enterprise-wide communications leadership, setting the strategic direction, narrative framework, and message discipline that aligns Development, Programs, Events, Volunteers, and Public Affairs around a single, coherent story rooted in St. Anthony's Franciscan mission and values. This position serves the entire institution, ensuring that every division has the messaging support, tools, and narrative clarity to communicate consistently and with purpose. In the spirit of our Franciscan values and heritage, our team provides compassion and care daily. As a steward of healing and social justice, this position is expected to:

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public affairs, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in strategic communications, public affairs, or media relations, including at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
Exceptional storyteller with demonstrated experience developing narrative frameworks, educational campaigns, and impact content that reaches and moves diverse audiences, including donors, media, community members, and institutional partners.
Proven ability to translate complex social issues, including homelessness, poverty, recovery, and health equity, into compelling, accessible narratives without sacrificing accuracy or nuance.
Proven ability to develop and manage ethical guest storytelling frameworks, including consent protocols and trauma-informed content practices, that center lived experience while protecting dignity and privacy.
Demonstrated experience as a spokesperson and media strategist, with a record of securing earned media and managing sensitive communications situations.
Proven track record of working across organizational divisions, not only within a communications function, to align messaging, build shared planning systems, and advance institutional goals.
Experience integrating communications strategy with fundraising and development objectives, including campaign messaging, donor cultivation content, and stewardship communications.
Experience managing teams, agencies, and vendor relationships with accountability and collaborative leadership.
Deep knowledge of San Francisco's civic, philanthropic, and nonprofit landscape strongly preferred.
Commitment to social justice and the Franciscan mission of St. Anthony's; experience working with communities experiencing homelessness or poverty preferred.
Availability for evening and weekend events, including major organizational events during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Commitment to St. Anthony Foundation Statement of Values and a desire to work for a social services agency serving the poor.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a non-profit or community-based social service agency with people experiencing homelessness or poverty is desired.

Responsibilities

Directly supervise and develop the communications team, including the Strategic Communications Manager, Communications Coordinator, and Design & Digital Media Manager.
Set clear goals, monitor performance, and provide timely and regular ongoing feedback for staff performance and professional development.
Responsible for training staff in standard operating procedures for the department.
Ensure staff are professional, demonstrate good customer service skills towards guests and other community members.
Role model and set the expectation that staff treat all individuals with dignity and respect.
Facilitate regular meetings and team huddles for staff.
Lead the development of an integrated, multi-year communications strategy that advances St. Anthony's Five-Year Plan, unifies organizational messaging, and positions the Foundation as a trusted, non-partisan authority on homelessness, poverty, and community renewal.
Build and steward a durable narrative framework, rooted in St. Anthony's mission and values, that provides a shared story architecture for Development, Programs, Events, and Public Affairs, ensuring every touchpoint reinforces the same voice, urgency, and vision.
Create and lead storytelling campaigns that help people see the full picture of St. Anthony's work, not just one program or one moment, but the way everything connects to support a person from their first visit to a life rebuilt.
Serve as a strategic communications resource and counsel leaders across the organization, including Programs, Events, Volunteers, Development, and Public Affairs, driving a culture of collaboration through shared planning tools, editorial calendars, and messaging frameworks that reduce fragmentation and amplify impact.
Serve as primary spokesperson and media strategist, building relationships with local, regional, national, and specialty press, and ensuring message discipline in all public-facing communications.
Develop and maintain crisis communications protocols aligned with Franciscan values, ensuring the organization can respond to sensitive situations with speed, accuracy, and institutional coherence.
Lead the design and execution of communications campaigns that educate key audiences, donors, partners, media, policymakers, and the broader community about the depth, dignity, and impact of St. Anthony's work across all program areas.
Oversee a tiered publishing strategy, including annual impact reports, program outcome briefs, and thought leadership content, that builds institutional authority, deepens public understanding, and supports Development's cultivation and stewardship goals.
Champion ethical, guest-centered storytelling practices across the organization, including consent protocols, trauma-informed approaches, and narrative frameworks that honor the dignity and agency of every person St. Anthony's serves.
Direct the earned media strategy, placing experts, seeding stories, and securing coverage that reinforces St. Anthony's voice as the leading community resource in the Tenderloin and beyond.
Lead the integration of communications strategy into Development planning, including major gift cultivation narratives, fundraising campaign architecture, annual fund messaging, and donor stewardship content, ensuring communications is a measurable contributor to revenue growth.
Partner with the Chief Advancement Officer and Development leadership to build communications systems that support donor acquisition, retention, and the full donor lifecycle.
Establish Key Performance Indicators that connect communications activity to organizational outcomes, and present regular performance reports that translate data into strategic recommendations for leadership.
Manage external agency and vendor relationships, including consultants, photographers, videographers, designers, translators, and media partners, ensuring quality, accountability, and alignment with organizational priorities.
Complete digital and written reports with clarity, accuracy, and attention to detail.
Enter data and information electronically as required.
Look up data and reports electronically through a database as requested.
Understand and follow the organization's programs, policies, and procedures.
Participate in regular training and development opportunities to increase personal capacity to apply innovative approaches to daily workflows, organizational goals and strategies, and functions of the position.
Participate in relevant meetings supporting team communication and the program's capacity to fulfill organizational goals and mission.
Collaboratively works with others to achieve team success.
Manage stress and pressure situations calmly and responsively.
Maintain the capacity to control reactions and to be aware of how their behavior or responses can impact others.
Consistently demonstrate integrity while working and representing St. Anthony’s.
Practice direct, respectful, open, and honest communication with their colleagues.
Proactively seeks support from team members or management.
Demonstrate cooperation with coworkers, management, and the community at large.
Attend relevant functions and community events to promote the foundation’s mission, values, and integrated, whole-person services.
Treat all guests with empathy, dignity, and respect.
Seek to understand the other person's perspective and experience.