Senior Director Of Communications and Marketing

The Center•New York, NY

1d•$150,000 - $165,000•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 strengthen the department’s systems and team, establish communications as a proactive partner to Development, Programs, Operations, and Advocacy & Government Affairs, and help grow The Center’s reach and community engagement. Joining while The Center completes its Strategic Resiliency Planning process, the Senior Director will translate the plan’s priorities into an integrated communications strategy and recommend the structure and resources needed to develop the function over time. The position oversees communications operations, marketing technology and vendors, audience strategy and measurement, storytelling and brand, media and crisis communications, executive communications, and team development. This is a full-time, exempt, hybrid position based in New York City. The position must be on-site at The Center at least three days per week. The typical schedule is Monday through Friday, generally 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with workdays and hours subject to change based on scheduling needs. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. The salary range is $150,000 to $165,000.

Requirements

Significant progressive experience and deep expertise across 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, and the 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, ideally in a multi-service nonprofit, advocacy, or community-based organization.
Proven ability to set strategic direction, advise executive leadership, and prioritize competing needs.
Experience assessing and strengthening a communications function, including its systems, processes, and planning structures.
Ability to write, edit, and guide execution while also building the function 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 with transparency and care.
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), web platforms (such as WordPress), social media, and analytics tools sufficient to diagnose problems and direct the work.
Exceptional writing and editing skills, including the ability to explain complex program, impact, and policy work clearly to diverse audiences.
Executive speechwriting experience and experience with media relations and crisis communications.
Proven people leadership, including hiring, recruiting, coaching, and developing staff and leading teams through growth and change.
Deep personal and professional alignment with LGBTQ+ communities and 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 partner with leadership to prioritize team time and resources.
Advise the CEO and Management Team, including during Strategic Resiliency Planning, and translate the final plan into an integrated communications strategy.
Evaluate departmental needs and recommend the structure, staffing, and resources needed to grow the function.
Assess and improve department systems, workflows, tools, planning, editorial and email calendars, roles, and intake and approval processes.
Design an operating model that balances proactive priorities with organization-wide requests, determining what the team produces, what other departments can produce with templates and tools, and what should be outsourced.
Oversee the marketing technology stack, including mass email, website, social media, and analytics, and manage relationships and budgets for agencies, designers, PR support, and freelancers.
Establish regular communications planning with Programs, Development, Operations, and Advocacy & Government Affairs, and set shared expectations for internal partnerships.
Partner with program leaders on campaigns that encourage community members to participate in services and activities, including behavioral health, community programs, arts and culture, and advocacy.
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 and develop audience segmentation and reach strategies aligned with fundraising, program, and engagement goals.
Develop outreach strategies to engage communities historically under-reached across New York City’s boroughs and diverse LGBTQ+ communities.
Set campaign and channel KPIs with internal data and systems colleagues, and use results to refine strategy and allocate effort.
Develop a unified narrative about The Center, its programs, its history, and its role in the LGBTQ+ movement, 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 the creation of institutional publications, including annual reports, brochures, membership materials, and press kits.
Lead strategy and writing for the CEO’s speeches, remarks, and public messaging.
Build shared understanding of The Center’s brand and maintain practical brand 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 through clear goals, performance expectations, and growth paths, while building a collaborative and inclusive team culture.