Senior Communications Director

Climate Cabinet • Chicago, IL

51d • $140,000 - $160,000 • Remote

About The Position

We’re looking for a Senior Communications Director to lead Climate Cabinet’s organization-wide communications function. In this role, you will report to the Executive Director and work closely with the Executive Team to define and execute the communications approach for impact and scale. Climate Cabinet’s communications function should supercharge programmatic work and fundraising, uplift climate leaders across America, and amplify the importance of state and local governments for addressing climate change.
This new role will be our most senior communications leader and will hold decision authority over strategy development, organizational and campaign narrative, product and campaign execution, systems, staff management, and brand coherence. You will collaborate deeply across the organization, working side-by-side with Policy, Political, Data and Fundraising department heads and Executive leadership to achieve a consistent national brand presence and drive effective communication to donors, partners, and lawmakers.
The ideal candidate has deep experience in the climate movement in a communications leadership role. They are a systems thinker, powerful writer, and team player who is excited to define powerful strategies and operationalize strategy into execution. This is an exciting opportunity to shape Climate Cabinet’s voice in national and state climate solution spaces while building a high-performing communications function – building upon a solid foundation.

Requirements

• Strategic Thinking & Positioning: Maintains a systems-level view of climate, policy, political, and organizational context; applies deep insight to position Climate Cabinet within the broader landscape.
• Excellence in Communication: Masterful writer and communicator; Leads compelling storytelling that resonates across diverse audiences, simplifying complex policy and governance information while retaining appropriate nuance.
• Operational Leadership & Team Enablement: Builds the conditions for strong execution by defining team workflows, decision boundaries, and systems; manages and coaches staff to deliver on outcomes; designs systems and rhythms that enable deep collaboration and collective ownership of results.
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Demonstrates a growth mindset—seeks feedback, iterates processes, experiments with new tools, and fosters team learning.
• Climate Movement & Policy Experience: Has led or significantly contributed to climate policy communications campaigns and policy reports.
• Political & Advocacy Experience: Has experience leading political or advocacy campaigns and nonprofit structures; has a track record of shaping communications that reflect political realities and advance strategic influence. Fully fluent in nonprofit and political structures, rules, and multi-entity compliance.
• CRM & Data-Driven Metrics Fluency: Proficient with CRMs and analytics for communications platforms and list management, leveraging analysis for measuring impact and honing strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define Climate Cabinet Communications Strategy across all platforms and channels.
• Build and deploy communications campaigns with clear content pillars to support program work, fundraising, and positioning.
• Drive analysis to make strategic decisions about list management and communication channels.
• Position Climate Cabinet and its leaders for impact in the national landscape; drive thought leadership across organizational and individual staff channels.
• Define state-specific and issue-specific communications campaigns in partnership with program staff.
• Support the programmatic teams in producing technical policy reports as well as accessible materials for lawmaker and partner engagement.
• Leverage the team’s data analysis capabilities for powerful data storytelling to support communications goals.
• Translate program work into compelling deliverables that support fundraising and external engagement.
• Ensure communications strategies strengthen fundraising effectiveness and support institutional and individual donor goals.
• Strengthen and steward systems to support the communications function, including content calendars, messaging guidance, and processes to operationalize strategy.
• Train and coach staff to strengthen organization-wide narrative capacity and ensure compliance with brand and messaging guidance.
• Manage the Communications team, including management of staff, consultants, and budgets.
• Approve public materials to ensure quality, coherence, and strategic alignment.
• Represent Communications function on the leadership team to support organization-wide priorities, inform strategy, and define strategic organizational positioning.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, with the organization covering nearly 100% of employee premiums and 50% of dependent premiums
• Unlimited PTO
• Basic life insurance and long-term disability
• Health FSA and Dependent Care FSA
• 401k employer contribution
• Paid parental leave
• Computer reimbursement stipend

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees