Communications Manager

About FCYO

The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) is a
philanthropic intermediary that brings funders and youth organizers
together to ensure that young people have the resources,
capacities, and infrastructure they need to fight for a more just
and democratic society. FCYO believes that to move toward justice,
BlPOC youth, working-class young people, young women, and queer and
trans youth have a critical role to play in transforming economic
and social conditions. To build this kind of power, youth
organizing must build bases at significant scale, develop broad
strategic alliances, and elevate public narratives that promote our
vision of social justice and true democracy. Our work is grounded
in our close relationships with the youth organizing field and a
commitment to meaningful partnerships between funders and youth
organizers.

Position Summary 

FCYO seeks a highly-organized, passionate, and multi-talented
candidate with a commitment to youth leadership and social change
to join our team as Communications Manager. Reporting to the
Learning & Development Director, the Communications Manager
will lead the development and implementation of a holistic
communications strategy that elevates FCYO’s leadership across the
youth organizing and philanthropic sectors and strengthens our
ability to realize our vision of a stronger youth organizing field.
In addition to robust experience both developing and implementing
communications strategy, the ideal candidate will bring a
sophisticated analysis of social justice issues, exceptional
writing and storytelling skills, familiarity with philanthropy, and
the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fluid, and fast-paced workplace
environment. 

FCYO is a fully remote organization. Staff can be located
anywhere in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia only.
Some travel is required though FCYO is conscious of COVID-safety
and will continue to monitor the ongoing conditions. 

Responsibilities:

Communications Strategy and Brand Management (45%)

Develop and lead a consistent, substantive, and engaging
communications strategy that reaches target audiences and leads to
measurable action. This includes: 

Serving as editor and content manager
of FCYO’s key communications platforms, including FCYO’s website,
biweekly newsletter, organizational eblasts, and Annual Report
Developing and leading a high-impact
social media plan, including scheduling engaging social media
content on a regular cadence and interacting with social media
audiences  
Driving the creative direction of the
FCYO brand, including overseeing all graphic design projects,
creating templates for organizational materials, and maintaining
brand consistency across all organizational materials to enhance
visual identity, elevate brand recognition, and engage audiences
effectively
Identifying and pursuing strategic
public relations and media opportunities
Managing all freelance designers,
photographers, videographers, web developers, and other consultants
as needed to support FCYO’s communications efforts 

Strategic Narrative (20%)

Develop and lead a strategic narrative refresh that aligns
FCYO’s organizational voice with our 10-year strategic vision. This
includes: 

Participating in FCYO’s strategic
visioning process and, upon completion in June 2024, outlining an
updated organizational strategic narrative that reflects and works
to advance this vision 
Preparing and conducting
comprehensive messaging training for FCYO staff, board members, and
grantees, ensuring they are well-equipped with impactful
communication skills and strategies
Updating all organizational materials
and communications platforms to work in service of the new
narrative

FCYO Program and Events Support (15%) 

Support organizational communications needs for a diverse range
of programming and events, including grantee convenings, board
meetings, webinar series, funder briefings, and other engagements.
This includes:

Developing digital and social
outreach and engagement content strategies for FCYO programs and
events and managing their implementation, including coordinating
FCYO staff and liaising with contractors (ex: photographers,
journalists) as needed
Designing impactful event signage,
banners, and other FCYO-branded materials

Funder Organizing and Research Publication Management 
(10%)

Represent FCYO in in the
philanthropic arena, including attending briefings and conferences
and acting as a spokesperson for the organization, where
relevant
Support the creation of engaging
funder facing content such as briefing documents, one-pagers,
toolkits, and other materials that illustrate the impacts of youth
organizing to new funders 

Admin and Program Support (10%)

All FCYO staff members are expected to complete ongoing
administrative tasks (such as credit card reports and timesheets),
attend internal meetings, and participate in organizational
strengthening activities (such as staff retreats or training), and
workplanning. In addition, as FCYO has a small staff team
supporting a wide community of youth organizing groups and
philanthropic institutions, team members are often required to
support organizational programming, including grantee convenings,
board meetings, and funder briefings as needed. 

Skills & Qualifications

At FCYO, we consider a wide range of professional experiences,
volunteer work, coursework, and other transferable skills born of
experience to be relevant qualifications. You do not need to
possess all the skills and qualifications listed to be considered
for this position.

Minimum of 4 years of experience in
social justice work with deep commitment to racial, economic, and
gender justice and demonstrated knowledge of the national youth
organizing landscape
Minimum of 4 years experience in
communications with a clear record of success leading high-impact
narrative strategies and communications plans that advance an
organization’s long-term vision across owned media, website, social
media, media relations, events, and marketing
Excellent written and verbal
communicator with proven ability to clearly communicate complex
ideas to diverse audiences across multiple writing styles and
forms
Proactive approach to project
management and problem solving alongside a demonstrated ability to
develop and implement work plans, manage multiple projects, and
deliver quality work on time
Familiarity with digital
communications platforms, including social media management tools
and analytics platforms (experience with Mailchimp and Sprout
Social preferred)
Proficiency in graphic design and web
maintenance (experience with Canva and WordPress required)
Strong interpersonal skills with the
ability to build relationships and communicate effectively and
professionally with a diverse range of people in a fully remote
work environment
Strong skills with MS Office and
Google, including Excel and Google Sheets 
Experience with philanthropy and/or
funder communications preferred
Second language fluency is a
plus 
Experience in public relations and
engaging with the media a plus 

Work Environment and Physical Demands

The person in this position frequently interacts and
communicates with staff and stakeholders, both remotely and in
person. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as
computers, video conferencing tools, and phones. Must be able to be
on camera and exchange accurate information in these
situations.  

All staff members support organizational activities that involve
national travel by airplane, handling on-the-ground logistics for
convenings, traveling and meeting with multiple vendors, and
transporting meeting materials.  Must be able to remain in a
stationary position for 2-3 hours at a time; move documents and
supplies weighing up to 25 lbs; and position self to file and
retrieve documents.

Travel Requirements: 2-4 days of national
travel per month. 

Location: Remote (in the US 50 states and
District of Columbia, only) 

Job Type: Full-Time, exempt.

Process: We are accepting applications for this
position through January 22, 2024. Accounting for planned travel
and a busy programming season, we expect to make an offer by
mid-March with an anticipated start date in April 2024.

Start Date: April 2024

Compensation

Salary is $80,000-$85,000, commensurate with experience. In
addition, FCYO offers a full benefits package including medical,
dental, vision, and long and short term disability coverage; 401K;
generous paid vacation and sick time off; and other types of paid
leave.

EEO Statement

FCYO is a project of and fiscally sponsored by Bend the Arc: A
Jewish Partnership for Justice.  FCYO and Bend the Arc value a
diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, and provide equal
employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without
regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status,
citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or
conviction, or any other legally protected status. Women, people of
color, people with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are strongly
encouraged to apply.

This job description is intended to convey information essential
to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be
an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities
associated with the position.

Applications

Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter
(in Word or PDF file) that describes your experience, commitment,
and any relevant personal background to https://fcyo.smapply.io/prog/comms_manager.
We are committed to the full inclusion of candidates with
disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations in
the application and interview process.  Please advise in
writing of any needs at the time of application.  And
questions should also be addressed to Helena Wong, Associate
Director at [email protected] . Please put “Communications Manager”
in the subject line of your message. No phone calls
please. 

Applications will be accepted through January 22,
2024.