Communications Manager

The Opportunity

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones. Our community includes cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender expansive people, elders, and young people.

After twelve years of building an active membership across California and beyond, Essie is deepening its base-building and leadership development strategies with the 1 in 4 women with incarcerated loved ones to propel bold decarceration agendas across the nation. We seek to transform the criminal legal system and create a Black feminist future rooted in care, equity, community safety, and liberation. In a period of continued organizational growth, Essie seeks a strategic, highly motivated Communications Manager to drive narrative work and campaigns that upend systems of control and confinement.

As opportunities to communicate the necessity of our base, our unique politic, and our movement impact continue to emerge, the ideal candidate is a storyteller who spots openings others miss to shift narrative and advance a political perspective across audiences. Creative, savvy, and versatile, they're as confident developing precise messaging as they are creating and overseeing compelling content, digital campaigns, and inspiring graphic collateral. With a pulse on emergent, mainstream trends and movement moments, the Communications Manager seizes timely cultural and digital opportunities to advance our membership's social change agenda. 

This role owns a major part of Essie's communications arc — from strategy and brand stewardship to hands-on content creation, storytelling, and performance analytics — experimenting with creative ways to share our Black feminist perspective, the vital testimonies of women with incarcerated loved ones, and our political messaging in service of our organizational and movement goals.

Core Responsibilities

Organizational Branding & Messaging: Develop messaging that elevates Essie's brand, Black feminist and abolitionist politic, and race- and gender-justice perspective, and lead a team to make our messaging live in the world.

• Manage 1–2 communications staff, including roles focused on content and digital strategy.
• Develop and implement content and messaging strategies that inform and inspire our audiences across all platforms and channels.
• Develop and oversee the implementation of Essie's social media, content, and digital strategies across all platforms and channels.
• Manage the development and distribution of all print and electronic publications including: emails, programmatic collateral, and donor outreach materials.
• Manage visual assets and creative contractors including graphic designers, photographers, and videographers.
• Design or oversee the design of Essie-branded swag for organizational events and programs.

Content Strategy & Creation: Lead the content creation process and publish compelling, on-brand content that reaches our audiences and inspires action, using Essie's Black feminist lens.

• Create and manage a comprehensive content calendar, keeping it current with political happenings, cultural opportunities, and Essie priorities.
• Draft and ensure the publishing of strategic and engaging content across socials, website, email, press releases, blog posts, and other outlets; proofread and copy edit content before publication.
• Research target audiences and maintain current knowledge of content, platform, and audience trends to ensure Essie is using the most effective messaging and channels.
• Develop a fresh range of voices and formats for different platforms and purposes while maintaining consistency and alignment with the Essie brand.

Digital Strategy & Analytics: Manage a sophisticated digital communications program that strategically leverages Essie's member-led work, and use data to continuously refine strategy.

• Coordinate digital strategy in sync with overall communications goals, with an eye for cross-functional cohesion across all channels.
• Understand and apply effective SEO, SMO, and PPC techniques and keyword research to maximize reach and search engine traffic.
• Oversee social media strategy and platforms, email strategy and platforms (e.g., Campaign Monitor), and other emerging tools especially during key moments
• Track and analyze content and digital performance metrics; prepare analytics reports, KPI updates, and strategy recommendations to improve messaging and reach.
• Research and report on strategic social media and digital trends, including policy changes, platform features, and industry news.

Media, Thought Leadership & Campaign Communications: Co-develop and further Essie's original political analysis and thought leadership pieces to influence the political opportunities and realities that we organize and campaign within.

• Manage media contacts and cultivate relationships with local and national journalists and media personalities; manage media or communications consulting forms.
• Propose and implement new ideas for partnerships and public awareness campaigns that expand Essie's audience.
• Regularly propose and/or write op-eds, statements, and other organizational responses to current political and pop culture events that uplift Essie's political analysis and the constituency of women with incarcerated loved ones.
• Conduct media training, provide coaching, develop talking points, and secure media opportunities for Essie spokespeople.
• Develop and lead the implementation of strategic campaign communication plans in collaboration with the Associate Director of Communications; create or oversee the creation of press kits, campaign collateral, messaging, and graphic content.
  

Who We're Looking For
Ideal Qualifications

• 3-5 years relevant professional experience in communications, with hands-on experience in content creation,digital/social media strategy, and media relations.
• Proficient in email marketing platforms (e.g., Campaign Monitor), multiple social media channels, content management systems (e.g., WordPress and Avada), and design tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite or Canva).
• Impeccable and beautiful writing, editing, and verbal communication skills, with a portfolio showcasing strong content creation; strong attention to detail.
• Experience writing reports and publications, organizational emails, op-eds, and speeches/talking points.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic communication plans, content calendars, and digital/social media strategies.
• Working knowledge of SEO, SMO, and PPC (e.g. Google Ads) best practices, and experience tracking and reporting on content/digital analytics and KPIs.
• Ability to lead communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Track record as a collaborative leader who excels in managing multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong project management skillset and familiarity with project management tools (e.g. Asana)
• Experience managing relationships with multiple stakeholders including Essie’s members, partners, Board members, media, and donors.
• Experience supervising creative professionals, either in-house or outside vendors.
• Demonstrated skill in creative problem-solving and embracing change.
• Adept with Mac operating systems and Google Suite.
• Commitment to the beliefs and values of Essie, specifically in gender justice, race justice, and ending mass incarceration, with a demonstrated ability to create content from a Black feminist lens.
  

Qualities

• A uniquely skilled, empathetic communicator. You are someone who uses your highly developed sense of empathy to tap into what motivates others to act. Because of your belief that everyone benefits from the type of future for which our membership fights, you find ways to make meaningful connections to our work for individuals who may not have had any direct experience with poverty, incarceration, or race, gender, or heteronormative bias.
• An astute strategist. While creativity and intuitive innovation fuel your work, your analysis of methods and tactics are rooted in an ability to apply data and metrics to strategy. You understand how to craft targeted messages to reach specific demographics or audiences. You make thoughtful plans and can pivot nimbly to meet your goals, with an eye on how lessons learned can drive the program forward.
• Discernment and honesty we can trust. You are a thoughtful team member who acts in alignment with your integrity and are unfailingly trustworthy. You earn rather than demand the trust of people by listening and making decisions thoughtfully.
• Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth, problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a positive approach, can-do attitude, and authentic kindness wherever you go.
  

The Position
The Communications Manager is a full-time, salaried, exempt position. This position is supervised by the Associate Director of Communications. The salary for this position is between $90,000-$95,000 depending on experience, with full medical, dental, and vision benefits, optional 401(k), a substantial vacation package, and a monthly personal wellness stipend. The position is based in one of Essie's offices in Oakland or Los Angeles, California.

To Apply
Please address a personal, specific, and thoughtful cover letter to the “Essie Hiring Committee” and submit along with a resume through our hiring portal (https://essiejusticegroup.bamboohr.com/jobs). Your resume tells us what you can do; your cover letter should tell us who you are and why you want to work with Essie.

Essie Justice Group provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and skills. Essie does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Essie values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones; formerly incarcerated people; people of color; women; queer, transgender, gender expansive, and gender fluid people. 

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, performance assessment, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

About Essie Justice Group
Essie Justice Group is a non profit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Our award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is Great Place to Work-Certified™ by Great Place to Work. 

Learn more at www.essiejusticegroup.org.