Director, Strategy, Growth & Communications - What Work Cities

Results For America•Washington, DC

2h•$147,041 - $191,386•Remote

About The Position

Results for America is hiring a full-time Director, Strategy, Growth & Communications for its What Works Cities (WWC) initiative. The Director is accountable for developing and executing WWC’s growth strategy, expanding its reach and influence across current and emerging markets, and advancing opportunities to embed the What Works Cities Standard throughout the local government ecosystem. The role leads the Strategy, Growth & Communications portfolio and oversees the WWC Communications team, including the initiative’s communications and marketing strategy, international brand visibility, outreach, and partnership development. The Director supervises the Associate Director for Strategy & Growth and the Associate Director for Strategic Communications. The role works closely with the Senior Vice President & Managing Director for What Works Cities, City Experience leadership, and Operations & Planning teams to align growth strategies with organizational priorities, program capacity, and market opportunities. The position is based in a home office anywhere in the United States, Canada, and/or Latin America, with international travel of up to 40% annually potentially required. The role combines strategic growth and market expansion, integrated communications and marketing, senior partnership development, team leadership, and cross-functional operations. The successful candidate will bring strategic thinking, adaptive leadership, critical thinking, executive presence, inclusive team-building ability, and skill translating complex data-driven strategies into actionable insights and storytelling that drive growth and impact.

Requirements

12 or more years of relevant work experience.
Bachelor’s degree.
Experience developing and leading growth, business development, partnership, or market expansion strategies.
Demonstrated success developing and executing integrated marketing and communications strategies across digital and traditional platforms.
At least 5–10 years of experience supervising multiple full-time staff and building multi-layer, high-performing teams.
Experience managing annual budgets and strategic initiatives.
Experience cultivating and managing senior-level partnerships and stakeholder relationships.
Deep understanding of the current media and communications landscape, especially at the local government level.
Strong media relations track record and experience managing high-profile or sensitive issues.
Demonstrated ability to set, lead, and ensure accountability for program or product efficacy and long-term projects with organization-wide strategic impact.
Strong attention to detail and ability to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
Ability to design, develop, and engage stakeholders in new or revised programs, products, and services.
Ability to set and collaborate on ambitious program or product goals and lead others to meet them within a designated budget.
Confident communication across diverse professional settings and with a wide range of stakeholders and audiences, including executive-level leadership.
Adaptive approach and ability to anticipate unplanned variables in dynamic contexts.
Critical-thinking ability and use of data, research, and feedback to inform decisions at program, product, or service level.
Alignment with Results for America’s mission and organizational values.
Valid U.S. work authorization that does not require visa sponsorship for employment authorization in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

Experience in city or local government, public sector consulting, philanthropy, or government innovation organizations.
Experience working across multiple countries, regions, or international markets.
Master’s degree in MPP, MPA, MBA, International Affairs, Public Policy, or a related field.
Experience scaling a program or initiative, preferably with international experience.
Expertise in communications and/or media, particularly in nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
Familiarity with Salesforce, Google Suite, Asana, Slack, Zoom, Tableau, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

Responsibilities

Lead development and execution of WWC’s growth strategy across North, Central, and South America, while evaluating future growth opportunities.
Set annual growth goals and KPIs aligned with WWC’s current and future needs.
Lead the Strategy & Growth team in meeting annual targets through performance monitoring and development of implementation practices, models, and initiatives.
Identify trends, opportunities, and risks in target markets and translate findings into strategic recommendations.
Lead city segmentation, engagement pathways, and recruitment strategies to increase awareness, participation, and conversion, including opportunities involving priority cities, regions, sectors, and institutions.
Identify, cultivate, and maintain strategic relationships with senior government leaders, partners, and key networks.
Develop and execute a global communications and marketing strategy to establish WWC as a leading international benchmark for data-driven government.
Advance external growth strategies to embed the What Works Cities Standard and its criteria across partner institutions and regional networks.
Set annual communications goals and KPIs, ensuring metrics align with grant reporting, impact, and evaluation deliverables.
Lead performance-management and reporting cadence with the SVP & MD, WWC, and other leadership as directed.
Develop the overarching WWC strategic communications plan, aligning messaging, tactics, brand governance, and thought leadership with organizational priorities.
Manage editorial content for brand consistency, tone, and strategic alignment, including certification announcements, media pitches, press releases, editorial content, and thought leadership events.
Lead storytelling and narrative development across earned and owned platforms, including blogs, op-eds, press releases, social media, and reports, to highlight WWC and municipal government successes.
Set strategy for and manage WWC’s presence at major conferences and activation events, including panels, keynotes, workshops, and sponsorships.
Coordinate media relations and develop targeted PR campaigns to promote thought leadership and WWC’s value proposition and attract strategic partnerships.
Lead the Strategy, Growth, and Communications team to achieve annual and individual goals.
Build systems, processes, and operating norms that support team execution, collaboration, and accountability.
Lead, coach, and develop a diverse team while fostering an inclusive, collaborative, innovative, learning-oriented, and results-focused culture.
Generate actionable market insights to inform strategy, outreach, and partnership engagement.
Support experimentation with new engagement models, partnerships, and growth initiatives; capture and share lessons from key tactics and strategies.
Help manage communications agencies, PR firms, freelance writers, designers, and other vendors, ensuring timely delivery and budget alignment.
Serve as a core member of the WWC leadership team and collaborate with City Experience and Operations & Planning counterparts.
Integrate Strategy, Growth & Communications workflows within WWC systems and processes, aligning outreach, engagement, and communications objectives.
Champion Results for America and WWC’s values, culture, and commitment to excellence.