Senior Director Of Communications and Marketing

The Center•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director of Communications & Marketing is a strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Team, and Management Team, leading The Center’s communications, marketing, and audience engagement strategy and execution. The role will assess and strengthen the department’s systems and team, position communications as a proactive partner across the organization, and help translate the Center’s Strategic Resiliency Plan into an integrated communications strategy. The Senior Director will also evaluate the structure and resources the function needs to grow over time. The position oversees communications and marketing operations, including workflows, planning and approval processes, the marketing technology stack, vendors, and budget. It works closely with Programs, Development, Operations, and Advocacy & Government Affairs to advance program engagement, fundraising, advocacy, and community outreach. The role uses audience data and meaningful performance measures to guide strategy and broaden reach among communities that The Center has historically under-reached. The Senior Director leads institutional storytelling, brand development, executive communications, media relations, and crisis communications. They manage, coach, and develop staff, fostering a collaborative and inclusive team culture. The position is based at The Center in New York City under a hybrid schedule, with on-site work required at least three days per week. The schedule is generally Monday through Friday, typically 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with hours that may shift according to organizational needs. Occasional evening and weekend work is required for press moments, community crises, signature events, and key program activities.

Requirements

Significant progressive experience and deep expertise in nonprofit communications and marketing, including integrated campaign planning, digital and email marketing, content strategy, and brand.
Current knowledge of how audiences find, engage with, and act on nonprofit messaging; ability to guide colleagues outside the communications field while valuing their program and community knowledge.
Senior-level leadership of a multi-person communications or marketing function; experience in a multi-service nonprofit, advocacy, or community-based organization is identified as ideal.
Proven ability to set strategic direction, advise executive leadership, and guide prioritization across competing needs.
Experience assessing and strengthening a communications function, including its systems, processes, and planning structures.
Comfort writing, editing, and guiding execution while also building for the longer term.
Experience managing budgets, vendors, and a marketing technology stack.
Demonstrated success partnering across fundraising, programs, operations, and policy teams; ability to influence without formal authority, build trust, and navigate competing priorities transparently and thoughtfully.
Experience assessing audience data, developing segmentation and reach strategies, and setting marketing KPIs.
Working fluency with marketing automation or CRM tools such as Pardot/Salesforce or similar, WordPress, social media, and analytics tools, sufficient to diagnose problems and direct the work.
Exceptional writing and editing skills, including the ability to turn complex program, impact, and policy work into clear messaging for diverse audiences.
Executive speechwriting experience.
Experience with media relations and crisis communications.
Proven people leadership, strong hiring skills, and a track record of recruiting, coaching, and developing staff and leading teams through growth and change.
Deep personal and professional alignment with LGBTQ+ communities, with an equity lens grounded in understanding structural racism and intersectionality.

Nice To Haves

Experience at an LGBTQ+ organization or community center.
Established New York City media relationships.
Experience supporting policy or advocacy campaigns.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead an organization-wide communications and marketing strategy aligned with The Center’s goals, and help leadership prioritize the team’s time and resources.
Advise the CEO and Management Team on communications, including during the Strategic Resiliency Planning process, and translate the final plan into an integrated communications strategy.
Assess departmental needs and recommend the structure, staffing, and resources needed to develop the function over time.
Evaluate and improve systems, workflows, planning and editorial calendars, roles, and intake and approval processes.
Design an operating model that balances proactive, priority-driven work with day-to-day requests, determining what the team produces, what departments can handle using templates and tools, and what should go to outside vendors.
Oversee marketing technology, including mass email, website, social media, and analytics tools; manage relationships and budgets for agencies, designers, PR support, and freelancers.
Build regular communications planning cadences with Programs, Development, Operations, and Advocacy & Government Affairs, and establish shared expectations for internal partnerships.
Partner with program leaders on campaigns that increase participation in behavioral health, community programs, arts and culture, and advocacy services.
Partner with Development on digital fundraising, donor acquisition, campaigns, signature events, and stewardship materials.
Partner with Advocacy & Government Affairs on rapid-response messaging, public policy and legislative campaigns, and government communications.
Assess audience data across email, web, social, and program channels; develop audience segmentation and reach strategies aligned with fundraising, program, and engagement goals.
Develop outreach strategies to engage communities that The Center has historically under-reached across New York City’s boroughs and diverse LGBTQ+ communities.
Set meaningful campaign and channel KPIs with internal data and systems colleagues, and use results to refine strategy and focus effort.
Develop a clear, compelling institutional narrative and equip leaders and staff to communicate it consistently.
Turn program work and data, including client and community voices, into impact stories for fundraising, programs, and public channels; lead institutional publications such as the annual report, brochures, membership materials, and press kits.
Lead writing and strategy for the CEO’s speeches, remarks, and public messaging.
Build shared understanding and ownership of The Center’s brand and maintain practical standards across digital, print, and on-site channels.
Build proactive press relationships, lead media outreach, and oversee crisis communications planning and response.
Manage, coach, and develop staff with clear goals, performance expectations, and growth paths, and foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture.