Director, Program Influence (Communications & Advocacy), USPP

The Rockefeller Foundation•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Influence team helps advance The Rockefeller Foundation's programmatic “Big Bets” and strategic priorities by using communications, policy, and advocacy as tools for influence — translating program strategy and evidence into public narrative, policy engagement, and stakeholder mobilization that strengthen the Foundation's institutional narrative. The Director, Program Influence (Communications & Advocacy), US Program and Policy (USPP) spends roughly 85% of their time on US Program priorities and 15% on cross-program and institutional work. The U.S. Program and Policy team advances the mission of The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) by partnering with communities, policymakers, employers, and other stakeholders to expand economic opportunity and improve outcomes for people across the United States. Reporting to the SVP, Program Integration, with secondary reporting lines to the SVP, US Program and Policy and SVP, Strategic Communications, the Director, Program Influence (Communications & Advocacy) operates as a hands-on individual contributor, delivering results through close partnership with program leadership, fellow Program Influencers, and institutional colleagues in Communications.

Requirements

Generally expected to have 10+ years of strategic communications, policy, and advocacy experience
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Strong understanding of U.S. economic opportunity and workforce development and preferable experience working with domestic policymakers.
Ability to manage multiple workstreams and stakeholders in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
Exceptional stakeholder engagement and coalition-building skills; comfortable working with senior leaders and external partners.
Experience managing complex initiatives, with multiple vendors and stakeholders.
Ability to translate complex technical concepts into compelling stories and narratives, with strong command of the new media environment (social, podcasts, creator and influencer channels, and emerging digital platforms).
Proven exceptional writing, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, and professional presence.
Skilled in media relations, digital strategy, and content creation.
Experience in handling sensitive information, including crisis management.
At ease navigating among nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors both domestically and globally.
Self-motivated, creative, and entrepreneurial, with a strong work ethic.
Experience designing and leading high-profile convenings and events, and representing an organization at external forums

Responsibilities

Develop and execute an evidence-based program influence strategy — identifying priority audiences and building outreach and engagement plans that advance program objectives, expand media engagement, and deepen public, private, and philanthropic investor interest.
Partner with program leads to surface proof points and impact stories, and pipeline them to Communications and Policy on a standing cadence so the institutional narrative stays credible, current, and grounded in programmatic impact.
Craft a unifying external narrative for the program that amplifies its impact and builds on the Foundation’s institutional message architecture, which the Communications team manages, translating complex program work into persuasive messaging for policymakers, partners, and philanthropic audiences.
Lead the identification and execution of strategic convenings and tent-pole moments, and represent the Foundation and its leadership at regional, global, and multilateral events.
Advance the program’s ideas, solutions, and partnerships by working through institutional channels — Communications, Policy & Advocacy, Connected Leaders, and the media accelerator — rather than building parallel capacity, coordinating closely with fellow Program Influence colleagues so strategies are built together rather than in isolation.
Partner with the Communications team to develop the program’s annual channel and content plan — priorities, formats, and platforms — and execute against it.
Use audience insight and analytics to track reach, recognition, and influence, and refine the plan with Communications accordingly.
Work within institutional editorial standards, message architecture, prioritization, voice, and visual identity across all program content and channels.
Help shape where USPP’s evidence base can be most persuasive with policymakers, and work with regional teams to monitor policy risk and validate impact claims before they are used externally.
Serve as a thought partner to program leadership on narrative positioning, and contribute to cross-Foundation learning on storytelling, audience engagement, and influence.
Oversee a project management system tracking milestones and deliverables, contribute to Board-level materials as needed, and select and manage grantees, consultants, and vendors.
Support colleagues on other programs and institutional projects as assigned, deliver against annual goals covering both the program’s Big Bet objectives and the coherence of its narrative with the institutional story, set jointly with Program Strategy and Communications, and participate in the weekly institutional communications meeting, applying the Foundation’s communications playbook to decisions about what the Foundation says publicly.