Communications Director

Position Overview

The Communications Director is responsible for guiding core strategic communications, which includes public relations, marketing, content creation, and crisis response for the Homelessness is Solvable campaign.

The Communications Director will report to the Campaign Executive Director and will interact with the Community Solutions’ Board of Directors and Executive Team.

Background

Community Solutions is a “field catalyst” working to align and mobilize actors, locally and nationally who impact homelessness toward the shared goal of making homelessness rare and brief, everywhere. The organization directly supports more than 140 communities in the US in implementing accountable, community wide efforts that drive measurable reductions in homelessness. This solutions-focused approach involves rigorous collaboration of public and private efforts, comprehensive, real-time information on those experiencing homelessness and increased access to housing. By 2027, Community Solutions’ network aims to reach a tipping point where homelessness is widely perceived to be solvable and public opinion has measurably shifted to support solutions; reductions in homelessness have been achieved in a diverse and growing array of communities, and solutions focused policies increasingly drive federal, state and local responses.

Achieving this “tipping point” requires the political will of elected officials, which in turn requires the expectation and support of community leaders.

Through the Homelessness is Solvable Campaign, the Communications Director is responsible for advancing the expectation that homelessness is solvable among targeted audiences and engaging support for solutions focused policies, and driving the activities that will lead to a measurable tipping point.

In concert with the Campaign Executive Director, the Communications Director is responsible for advancing the expectation that homelessness is solvable. The Communications Director will develop strategies and content to drive a measurable shift in public opinion, support local campaigns in targeted communities, and amplify the evidence that homelessness is solvable-and how-to advance solutions-focused local, state and federal policies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Communications

• Serve as a key public spokesperson and ambassador for the Campaign’s priorities with media, policymakers, community partners, and other audiences.
• Support network partners and allies nationally in aligning their communications to support a shift in public opinion and expectations.
• Stay abreast of rapidly evolving housing and homelessness issues and be prepared to respond to time-sensitive requests from media and policymakers.
• Serve as an operational and thought partner to the President, CED and Campaign team members, responding to internal and external needs for communications support, inclusive of the preparation of speeches, presentations, funder meetings, media interviews, and the like.
• Lead in leveraging communications — affirmatively and reactively, externally and internally — to anticipate, mitigate, and prevent crises, and to address time-sensitive opportunities as they arise.
• Establish and execute strategy for generating and publicizing high-impact and mission-aligned content.
• Devise and track meaningful outcome metrics and participate in the preparation of required grant reports and Board of Director quarterly reports.
• Ensure clarity and consistency for Campaign messaging alignment and quality assurance across organizational channels (which includes, but is not limited to, earned, social, digital, and shared media).

Media Relations

• Support and maintain relationships with key media contacts to secure coverage of the Campaign.
• Proactively pitch stories and respond to media inquiries in a timely and effective manner.
• Manage and maintain media lists and track engagement of relationships.

Advisory Support

• Provide bespoke support to select communities on communications strategy and provide communications content and support for traditional and social media.
• Develop strategic communication toolkits and robust open-source content and ensure effective distribution and utilization.
• Lift up bright spots and broadly share examples of community progress, channeling the stories of communities and leaders that are demonstrating the practices that reduce homelessness.
• Amplify local communications in targeted communities.

Team Supervision

• Supervise staff and as-needed external partners; ensure they have clarity on their role and expected contributions to the Campaign.
• Establish collaborative, inclusive spirit, open to a wide range of allies.
• Model key behaviors for learning and progress, including accountability, curiosity, non-partisanship, agility, adaptation, and assumption of positive intent.
• Model Community Solutions’ values.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of high-performance writing and editing with proven results - preferably in whole or in part for a network and/or broad-based communications campaign.
• Experience in electoral campaigns, issue-based advocacy or relevant marketing campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with organizations across the political spectrum and willingness to cross boundaries and work with diverse people, including with unlikely allies, to achieve shared goals.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and gain the trust of professionals working in diverse geographies and sectors across the US, including community-based organizations, elected and appointed public sector officials, business and faith leaders and people experiencing housing insecurity.
• While not a requirement, preference for demonstrated understanding of housing policy and the homeless response system.
• Experience communicating about, or driving campaigns related to complex issues and the ability to simplify concepts and objectives.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills.
• Marketing and research experience is a plus.

Work Environment, Travel and Position Structure

The position provides for the flexibility to work from a remote US location without the standard support available at an office. Travel may be required to meet with communities, partners and strategic, and other on-site convenings.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $150,000 to $175,000, commensurate with experience and geographic location, in addition to a competitive benefits package.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit your resume and a thoughtful cover letter that succinctly responds to the following three questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Questions

1. Tell us briefly about a time that you used communications to support an electoral campaign or an issue-based advocacy campaign.
2. What experience do you have engaging journalists?
3. How will you foster cohesion across a fully remote team?

Software/Apps Used:

• Google Business Apps (docs, sheets, slides etc.)
• Asana
• Zoom
• Slack
• Salesforce
• Mural

Diversity and Inclusion:

We strive for inclusivity and diversity by attracting extraordinary people from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We seek to employ an all-star team of people who vary by their race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, culture, religion, veteran status, physical and mental abilities. We promote equal opportunity in the recruitment, selection, training, compensation, promotion, and benefits of all employees. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.