Vice President, Marketing & Communications

United Way of Greater Los Angeles•Los Angeles, CA

1d•$175,000 - $210,000

About The Position

United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) is seeking a Vice President, Marketing & Communications to elevate the organization's visibility and storytelling. This role is crucial for amplifying UWGLA's voice, growing its reach, and inspiring action. The Vice President will report directly to the President & CEO and lead the Marketing & Communications department, ensuring brand, reputation, and storytelling are integrated into all aspects of organizational strategy and decision-making. UWGLA focuses on expanding educational opportunity, advancing economic mobility, strengthening community resilience, and helping people thrive in L.A. County.

Requirements

Bachelorâ€™s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, public relations, or related field required
Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in a marketing communications team, ideally in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization required.
Minimum 3 years of experience supervising and developing direct reports
Understanding of the value of racial equity as an organizational operating principle and committed to continued learning on issues related to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Strategic thinking ability, seeing the big picture and translating it into actionable communications and marketing strategy.
Donor-centered mindset, with a strong understanding of donor motivations, retention strategies, and philanthropic communications, and skilled at framing narratives that inspire generosity and partnership.
Proven revenue and engagement track record, having driven revenue growth and donor engagement through integrated marketing and communications.
Empowering leadership style, leading with strong emotional intelligence and building a positive, respectful, and accountable team culture.
Audience-focused communication approach, tailoring messaging and channel strategy to the audience and desired outcome.
Excellence in cross-functional collaboration, building trust and alignment across development, programs, and executive leadership, and comfort engaging directly with the Board of Directors.
Executive presence, representing UWGLA confidently with donors, media, elected officials, and other high-visibility audiences.

Nice To Haves

Creative agility, with a bias for quickly testing new approaches and translating strategy into executable steps.
Data and AI fluency, comfortable experimenting with AI-enabled marketing tools and CRM/analytics platforms, with an appetite for adopting new technology to improve donor personalization and team efficiency.
Nonprofit sector experience, having worked in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.
Change leadership experience, having led a team through a new system, tool, or strategic pivot.
Cause marketing experience, including sponsorship activation or corporate partnership work.
Strong external relationship building skills, with established relationships with Los Angeles media, elected officials, or corporate leaders.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the marketing and communications strategy that advances UWGLAâ€™s five-year revenue goal of $40M, including a Year 1 target of $18.8M across all revenue segments.
Serve as chief brand steward, ensuring consistent, mission-aligned messaging across UWGLAâ€™s three focus areas: Education and Workforce Access, Economic Empowerment, and Resilient Communities.
Serve as strategic communications advisor to the CEO, fundraising leadership, and Executive Team, aligning marketing investments with UWGLAâ€™s community impact, revenue & engagement, and marketing implementation plans.
Partner with Development leadership and technology consultants on the donor data, CRM, and AI infrastructure that powers personalized donor communications at scale, supporting UWGLAâ€™s goal of deploying AI tools across functions.
Lead integrated marketing campaigns and donor engagement strategies, in partnership with the fundraising team, that grow acquisition, retention, and lifetime value across.
Own marketing strategy and execution for the under-$1,000 donor segment, deploying digital advertising, email, social media, direct mail content, and online giving optimization to drive acquisition, retention, and upgrade across UWGLA's broadest donor audience.
Direct donor and funder communications: stewardship templates, segment-specific case materials, and a donor journey map from first gift through major-gift cultivation.
Oversee website, email, social media, and digital advertising to grow online giving and next-generation donor acquisition, targeting a 25% increase in social media reach and engagement and growth of the online giving channel toward a $400K target.
Oversee direct mail messaging and content development across the full donor pyramid, in partnership with Development who owns overall strategy and execution, growing toward a $450K five-year target.
Partner with the Development department to create fundraising collateral for tentpole events, cause marketing campaigns, and initiative launches.
Lead cause marketing and corporate sponsorship activation, including co-branded campaigns and peer-to-peer fundraising tools, targeting two cause marketing campaigns annually.
Lead UWGLA's donor-facing event strategy and production, including WalkUnitedLA, Tocqueville Society experiences, leadership giving roundtables, and donor cultivation and recognition events.
Direct UWGLAâ€™s impact storytelling: publish the annual impact report and build a library of stories, data snapshots, video, and photography across the three focus areas that inspire giving and strengthen reputation.
Create a communications cadence and calendar for United Wayâ€™s key constituents: corporate partners, individual donors, foundations, community partners, Board of Directors, and United Way team.
Lead strategic media relations and serve as spokesperson, securing coverage that elevates UWGLAâ€™s role as the regionâ€™s leading force multiplier for economic mobility, education, and resilience.
Represent UWGLA in policy and civic dialogue on economic mobility, education, homelessness, housing affordability, and racial justice, advancing UWGLAâ€™s role as a trusted sector convener and thought leader.
Partner with the Executive Team to anticipate and respond to issues, building a framework for stakeholder messaging during moments of crisis or opportunity.
Ensure communications advance equity, use inclusive language, and amplify the voices of those with lived experience.
Lead UWGLA's tentpole and community events strategy and production, including WalkUnitedLA, a Future Workforce Summit, Community College site visits, impact forums, and campaign launches, deepening community connection and advancing UWGLA's sector leadership positioning.
Select and manage external vendors, agencies, and consultants to extend team capacity and use resources efficiently.
Manage the marketing and communications department budget, allocating resources to the programs with the clearest return on investment (ROI) against revenue and engagement goals.
Establish marketing and communications KPIs and reporting on brand awareness, donor acquisition and retention, digital engagement, and campaign performance, including the real-time impact dashboards for Board and leadership visibility.
Evaluate and improve the marketing technology stack to close integration gaps and strengthen data quality.
Lead and develop an integrated team spanning brand and creative, communications and PR, digital marketing, content, social media, events, and analytics, providing mentorship, guidance, and strategic direction to achieve organization-wide goals.
Foster collaboration across the team and with stakeholders in fundraising and community impact to execute the strategic planâ€™s priorities.
Provide direct but respectful constructive feedback in real-time and during formal review periods to elevate team performance, maintain accountability, and reach goals.
Other responsibilities as assigned.