Director, Public Affairs Campaigns

Earthjustice•Washington, DC

16h•Hybrid

About The Position

Earthjustice is the nation's leading environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat climate change. We are here because the Earth needs a good lawyer . Driven by a passion for justice, inclusion, partnership, and excellence, our core values lead us to seek a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds to achieve our mission and maintain an inclusive environment where all staff are valued and respected. In addition to a talented cadre of environmental lawyers and legislative advocates, Earthjustice has an amazing Communications department that works in partnership with every other department at the organization. The Director of Public Affairs Campaigns leads the design, development, and implementation of select advocacy communications campaigns to drive advocacy outcomes in collaboration with strategic litigation and lobbying efforts. This position will serve as an architect for long term advocacy campaigns, which will include campaign management, develops key narratives and messaging in support of policy issues, oversee relevant research, identifies and targets key decision makers and stakeholders, engages and organizes partners, and leads cross-team efforts on advocacy, storytelling, media and public outreach, and government relations. This is a supervisory position that manages the work of other staff and contractors. The Director of Public Affairs Campaigns is expected to work a full-time (37.5 hours/week) schedule, and may work hybrid from the following locations: Washington, D.C. (preferred) or remotely (within the US).

Requirements

10+ years in public policy advocacy, communications and government relations.
3+ years of experience managing direct reports and teams.
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in relevant fields, such as journalism, political science, communications, environmental studies, public policy desired, but not required.
Direct experience designing and implementing advocacy campaigns.
Experience leading coalitions
Proven experience with successfully placing media stories, opinion pieces, and narratives that influence policy conversations.
Outstanding project management and organizational skills with demonstrated ability to prioritize, plan and coordinate a variety of detailed outreach projects, sometimes under very tight deadlines.
Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with internal and external partners from diverse cultures and backgrounds; strong interpersonal skills to lead teams and coordinate projects across coalitions to meet shared goals.
Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
Ability to translate complex issues into compelling, accessible communications.
Demonstrated commitment to Earthjustice’s values of Justice, Excellence, Inclusion, and Partnership.
Skill in leading diverse teams with emotional intelligence and cultural competence; fosters growth through mentorship, effective communication, and constructive feedback while hiring and developing team talents to align with organizational needs.

Responsibilities

Build comprehensive advocacy campaign plans, including identifying stakeholder engagement, policy goals, communications strategies, and incorporation of litigation.
Lead strategic communications design, planning, alignment, and execution of a select number of long-term advocacy communications campaigns, in partnership with key program and communications staff, managing attorneys, policy and legislation staff, directors, and vice presidents.
Work collaboratively across teams to build and/or execute integrated strategies that support institutional and departmental priorities.
Externally represent the organization as a communications leader in the movement.
Use a data-informed approach, including market research/polling/focus groups, to set measurable advocacy goals, key messaging, target audiences, and innovative communications strategies.
Adopt a flexible approach to meeting rapid response moments and pivot strategies where needed.
Lead internal teams around key advocacy campaigns, including Litigation, Policy and Legislation, and Communications.
Create earned media strategies and generate press coverage of priority issues in target media.
Engage partners and stakeholders to popularize policy goals with the public; influence decision-makers using owned, earned, and paid channels to achieve advocacy outcomes.
Manage internal staff, partners, and clients in developing coalition strategies for issue advocacy, public outreach, media and government relations.
Identify potential partnerships with other local and national organizations and community groups to amplify key issues.
Create campaign coalitions with external groups around long term advocacy campaigns.
Build Earthjustice’s external presence on key issues and develop internal message guidance.
Partner with marketing staff in Communications and Development on major marketing and fundraising initiatives.
Drive storytelling and advocacy projects ;partner with content production and promotion teams to develop compelling, creative content strategies that advance our advocacy, marketing and fundraising goals.
Draft content for Earthjustice’s digital and print mediums.
Review, edit, and approve content developed by Communications and Development staff to ensure tonal and message consistency.
Produce accurate, quality, and timely work in an ever-shifting landscape of news, technology, politics, and law.
Directly supervise 1-3 staff, while overseeing the work of Public Affairs and Communications strategists and contractors.
Uphold Earthjustice’s mission and values by fostering a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative work environment, providing clear direction and feedback, and promoting a culture of learning for all team members.
Oversee relevant administrative, budgeting, and personnel management of direct reports, ensuring that all organizational policies and standards are met.
Partner with Communications leadership on rolling out change management initiatives.
Actively pursue professional development and contribute to a culture of learning by building skills and sharing knowledge.
Maintain an ongoing understanding of innovative, best-in-class communications best practices and movement trends to ensure Earthjustice leads, not just follows.