Communications Director

The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) invites applications
for a full-time Communications Director to join its team and help
drive narrative change in the criminal legal systems of the Deep
South.

About SCHR

The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) is working for
equality, dignity, and justice for people impacted by the criminal
legal system in the Deep South. SCHR fights for a world free from
mass incarceration, the death penalty, the criminalization of
poverty, and racial injustice.

Over our forty-six-year history, SCHR has litigated
precedent-setting cases in hostile climates across the South,
against all odds. SCHR has forced county and state governments to
reduce overcrowding in prisons and jails, provide adequate medical
and mental health care, and abate violence and abuse. We have
argued and won five death penalty cases at the US Supreme Court,
four of which challenged profound race discrimination in capital
trials. Our combined litigation and policy advocacy helped bring
about the creation of a statewide public defender system in
Georgia. For more information about SCHR, visit www.schr.org.

About the Position

We are looking for someone with a deep and authentic commitment
to the inherent dignity of our clients and our mission to create a
world free from mass incarceration, the death penalty, the
criminalization of poverty and racial injustice. This is not a
simple communications role but rather an opportunity to share your
visionary leadership in an organization where we all give 100% in
an environment that tends to be high stakes, high energy and
doesn’t conform to traditional 9 to 5 schedules. Achieving our bold
mission often requires weeknight or weekend hours and a can-do
attitude while we also strive to support our staff in their
work-life balance through our benefits package and positive,
passionate work environment.

The Communications Director is a leader in the
organization who helps us engage in transformative storytelling
that advances our clients’ interests and our vision for a new way
of addressing harm. To that end, the Communications
Director is responsible for directing, developing, and overseeing
SCHR’s communications strategy to successfully execute dynamic
messaging and communications campaigns in furtherance of SCHR’s
litigation, advocacy, and policy efforts. The Communications
Director is a creative and visionary thinker with a deep
understanding of the history of the criminal legal system in the
Deep South and an abundant vision for racial justice. This position
is responsible for content and messaging generation for diverse
audiences, platforms, and stakeholders and continuing to grow
SCHR’s leadership and expertise in the field of criminal and racial
justice.

This position reports to the Deputy Director and supports SCHR’s
cases and campaigns in conjunction with legal, advocacy, policy,
and development staff. The Communications Director also works
closely with the Marketing Director in coordinating
communications-related web development, photography, and graphic
design.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee strategic communications for SCHR’s litigation,
  advocacy, and policy campaigns.
• Leads message work for the organization and its
  campaigns/cases.
• Cultivate and sustain SCHR’s relationships and visibility in
  traditional and alternative media, including social media, with an
  emphasis on building relationships with journalists, media
  personalities, and outlets operated by and centering the stories of
  BIPOC communities.
• Supervise a full-time Communications Associate.
• Work with the Communications Associate in developing materials
  based on original and secondary research, such as issue or policy
  briefs and SCHR statements.
• Develop a system for pitching local and national media on SCHR
  litigation, advocacy, and policy campaigns, and coordinating
  responses to all media inquiries, including on-the-record comments,
  quotes, and media appearances.
• Final review/editor of press materials, social content,
  materials, etc.
• Provide training and support for the SCHR team to prepare them
  for media interviews, support their communications fluency,
  encourages their storytelling, helps staff become fluent in
  messaging while becoming effective ambassadors of the
  organization.
• Develop, execute, and evaluate the effectiveness of SCHR’s
  “Movement Law School for Journalists,” and foster educational
  opportunities for continued engagement.
• Attend unit meetings and read legal filings to stay
  knowledgeable of litigation, advocacy, and policy campaigns.

Qualifications and Experience

You will be successful at this role if:

• You are a strong writer and editor.
• You have significant experience working in a
  communications-related position, preferably for an advocacy or
  social justice-oriented organization.
• You have significant experience directing communications
  strategies and narrative shaping with documentable impact.
• You clearly articulate a vision for racial justice and
  commitment to anti-racism.
• You have experience working with and a commitment to serving
  low-income communities, BIPOC communities, and all those targeted
  by the criminal legal system.
• You can hold and balance both long-term vision and daily
  tasks.
  You have a high attention to detail, can prioritize and delegate
  projects to meet deadlines, and possess strong interpersonal
  skills.
• You have impeccable verbal and written skills to articulate
  complex ideas and issues concisely and persuasively.
• You have experience and/or knowledge of the criminal legal
  system and its failings.
• You can balance personal and organizational reputation,
  identity, and brand.
• You are committed to centering the organization’s mission,
  clients, and values in all communications work.
• You have experience supervising, training, and mentoring staff,
  and managing work across multiple titles and teams.
• You have prior experience working in a law office or legal
  setting.

Commitment and Compensation

Start date is negotiable, but we would love for our next
Communications Director to start as soon as possible! Salary is
commensurate with experience, within SCHR’s modest, public interest
pay scale of $75,000 – $90,000. SCHR offers an excellent, 100%
premium paid benefits package including medical, dental, vision
care, and life insurance. Additional benefits include modest
stipends for transportation and wellness, access to a flexible
spending account, and childcare assistance (if eligible).

This position is in-person at our Atlanta office. Our office
maintains a hybrid schedule, with staff required to be in-person
three days of the week (absent travel, illness, or other excused
absences), and flexibility to work remotely the remaining two days.
Accordingly, all applicants should be willing to live in the
Atlanta area.

TO APPLY

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the
position is filled. Those who are interested are encouraged to
apply immediately. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
Email careers@schr.org with the following:

• Statement in the subject line of the e-mail that you are
  applying for the Communications Director position;
• Letter of interest and resume;
• Writing sample (could be a press release, blog post, or any
  professional writing that shows your style and voice); and
• Contact information for three references, including one from a
  person you supervised.

The Southern Center for Human Rights is an equal opportunity,
affirmative action employer, which welcomes qualified applicants of
all races, ethnicities, genders, gender-identities, sexual
orientations, abilities, nationalities, military status, as well as
those who have personal experience with the criminal legal
system.