Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs

New School for Child Development • Los Angeles, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs develops an integrated approach to organizational visibility, government, and public agency relationships, community partnerships, public relations, marketing, events, and volunteer engagement. the VP ensures that these efforts strengthen Help Group's reputation, advance organizational priorities, and expand awareness of programs serving children, young adults, and families across Los Angeles County. The VP sets the strategy for Help Group's organization-wide events and volunteer engagement program, including priorities, budgets, and measures of success. They also personally build relationships with the mayor's office, county supervisors' offices, and other elected and civic leaders. Across this work, the VP collaborates with executive leadership, program leaders, Development, and other departments to align external engagement with Help Group's priorities and maintain a consistent voice.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, public affairs, public policy, non-profit management, business or a related field.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in communications, public affairs, government relations, community engagement, corporate partnerships, or a related field including at least five years leading teams or major functions.
• Demonstrated experience personally building and sustaining relationships with elected officials and their staff.
• Candidates should be able to describe the relationships they developed, their individual role, and the results of that work.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing strategies that strengthen organizational visibility, stakeholder relationships, and community presence.
• Experience setting strategy for events, volunteer engagement, or other community-facing initiatives and directing staff responsible for execution.
• Experience managing managers or multidisciplinary teams, with the ability to set priorities, support professional growth and hold staff accountable for results.
• Strong knowledge of the nonprofit sector and the Los Angeles civic, government, corporate, and community landscape
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentations skills, with sound judgment and discretion.
• Experience overseeing budgets, external vendors, multiple projects and completing deadlines.
• Commitment to Help Group's mission and to respectful. inclusion engagement with neurodivergent individuals, people with disabilities, families and community partners.

Nice To Haves

• A master's degree is preferred.
• Experience in human services, behavioral health, special education, disability services, workforce development, or a related field.
• Established relationships with Los Angeles- area elected offices, public agencies, corporate partners, coalitions, or community organizations.
• Experience with media relations, issues management, crisis communications, and executive positioning.
• Familiarity with California systems serving children and adults with developmental, behavioral educational or mental health needs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an organization-wide communications and public affairs strategy aligned with Help Group's mission, strategic plan, program priorities, and growth objectives.
• Translate organizational priorities into annual goals, work plans, performance measures, and coordinated external engagement activities.
• Advise the leadership team on external trends, stakeholder opportunities, reputational considerations, and emerging issues that may affect Help Group.
• Coordinate communications and public affairs activities across programs and campuses so outreach, messaging, events, volunteer engagements, and partnerships reinforce shared organizational priorities.
• Represent Help Group at community meetings, sector convenings, public events, and other external forums as appropriate.
• Personally build and maintain relationships with the Los Angeles mayor's office, county supervisors' offices, city council members, other elected officials, and their staff, and civic leaders whose work affects Help Group and the people it serves.
• Develop a nonpartisan civic and governmental relations plan that increases understanding of Help Group's programs, community impact and priorities.
• Monitor relevant local and state policy development and coordinate timely organizational responses with executive and program leadership.
• Prepare briefing materials, talking points, testimony, correspondence, and meeting plans for leadership engagement with public officials and agency partners.
• Arrange site visits, briefings and meetings, that allow civic leaders to see Help Group's work firsthand.
• Prepare the leadership team for high-priority meetings and ensure timely follow-up.
• Identify opportunities for public recognition, government partnerships, and participation in policy or community initiatives.
• Develop and steward relationships with corporations, civic organizations, coalitions, community-based organizations, and other partners, that can extend Help Group's reach and support its priorities.
• Create partnership strategies that generate program referrals, volunteer engagement, event participation, in-kind support, sponsorship opportunities, and other mission-aligned value.
• Work with program leaders to identify partnership opportunities that respond to the needs of program participants and the communities Help Group serves.
• Coordinate with Development on corporate relationships and sponsorship opportunities to ensure clear ownership, consistent communication and effective stewardship.
• Strengthen Help Group's presence in priority communities through targeted outreach, coalition participation, and relationship development.
• Provide strategic oversight of marketing, communications, brand management, digital strategy, content development, and creative services through the Senior Marketing Manager.
• Ensure external communications, clearly convey Help Group's mission, programs, impact, and value to families, referral partners, public agencies, supporters, and the broader community.
• Lead public relations and reputation strategy, including media relations, executive visibility, thought leadership, and coordination with outside public relations partners.
• Guide communications for sensitive or high-profile matters in partnership with executive leadership and other appropriate departments.
• Establish standards for message consistency, editorial quality, brand compliance, accessibility, and approval of high-visibility materials.
• Use audience, campaign, website, media and engagement data to assess performance and improve communications strategy.
• Lead, coach, and evaluate direct reports while establishing clear responsibilities, shared goals, and strong coordination across the communications and public affairs team.
• Build effective systems for project planning, internal communication, quality review, and accountability across marketing, communications, events and community engagement.
• Develop and manage the communications and public affairs budget, monitor spending, and make recommendations about staffing, consultants, technology and other resources.
• Select and manage external agencies, consultants, and vendors, define scopes of work, and assess performance against agreed deliverables.
• Provide regular reports to the Senior Vice President and executive leadership on progress, outcomes, risks, and resource needs.

Benefits

• Insurance plans for Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance - options for 100% employer sponsored plans
• 403b Retirement Plan
• 529 College Savings Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Account
• Vacation and Sick Leave
• Benefit Hub - Employee Rewards and Incentives
• Pet Insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive