Senior Director of Communications and Community Engagement

THE SEARCH

Oxfam America, one of the nation’s most innovative, agile, and influential international development organizations, seeks a talented, strategic and entrepreneurial leader with a passion to bring pro-poor change to the world to head its communications, marketing and constituent building activities. The Senior Director will bring solid experience in communications, campaigning and marketing and will have successfully used and kept pace with a wide range of traditional and non-traditional, digital-age marketing, media and communications tools to achieve results.

Oxfam America is a dynamic organization that has grown tremendously over the past decade. It has a staff of over 300 people with headquarters in Boston and offices in Washington DC, the Gulf Coast and in six other countries spanning the globe.

BACKGROUND

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 25 countries, Oxfam America saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice. Its activities encompass relief and development in humanitarian emergencies, as well as campaigning to change the global policies and practices that keep people in poverty.

Oxfam works with partners and allies to determine the programs and policy platforms needed to secure change at the local, national, and in some cases, international levels. Our support to partners is linked to a growing policy and campaigning capacity that takes core elements of the Oxfam knowledge agenda and focus it to drive change in the attitudes of both decision makers and the public on a global level.

The organization has an office in Washington DC staffed with policy advisors, researchers, and advocates. It also deploys a national constituency of over one million supporters, a website that attracts over 1.6 million visitors, a stable of celebrity ambassadors, professional designers, writers, web developers, community organizers, and media officers to support public education and advocacy around Oxfam’s issues and to achieve program and policy impact.

In 1996, Oxfam America became a founding member of the Oxfam International (OI) confederation, a union of 14 independent Oxfam affiliates around the world engaging in strategic collaboration in the areas of advocacy, grant making, marketing and communications, research, and emergency response. OI was formed under the belief that collectively the members could achieve greater impact on the causes of poverty and powerlessness worldwide, and that they could and should ensure that the name Oxfam stands for a clear and consistent set of values and approach.

The Communications and Community Engagement Department plays a pivotal role in supporting organizational goals by ensuring the media, constituent engagement and other communications and outreach activities are effectively prioritized and aligned.

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The vision and agenda for Oxfam America is ambitious and far-reaching. The organization’s growth in complexity, size, and influence has placed increasing demands on and opportunities for its communications and community engagement team. The Senior Director will inspire, motivate and lead a high performing and creative staff of 40 individuals and supervise the functions of brand development, editorial, design, video production, web, new media, community engagement, public relations, internal communications and media relations. This position offers an opportunity to leverage one million constituents including over 350,000 online supporters, creative services, the web, celebrity ambassadors, media strategies, community outreach and events, spokespersons from the organization, regional communications teams and other communications assets to achieve policy and program impact, brand, and revenue goals. This position will also foster a team-based work environment that models core values of respect and appreciation of diversity.

The broad responsibilities of the new Senior Director of Communications and Community Engagement include:

• Working collaboratively and effectively in managing and developing aligned teams to carry out cutting edge strategies to raise revenue, build constituency and brand, achieve policy objectives and reinforce Oxfam’s reputation as a leader in creating positive changes for poor people.
• Ensuring consistency and focus in message and quality in all public communications including by all spokespersons. Maintaining consistent image and brand integrity in all communications, materials and events—supported by organization wide guidelines and protocols.
• Serving as an integral member of the senior staff, acting as a consultant, advisor, subject matter expert, facilitator, and business partner on internal and external communications, brand and marketing, public and media relations, campaigning support and community engagement.
• Collaborating with the Vice Presidents of Programs and of Policy and Advocacy to ensure communications is an integral and strategic part of development programming and advocacy and with the Vice President and Directors of Development and Marketing to support fundraising communications.
• Developing long term priorities and strategies and viable operating plans for the department.
• Ensuring engagement activities are designed with the constituent’s experience in mind, informed by research and analysis. Designing cost effective engagement strategies at all levels from community volunteers to influential supporters.
• Ensuring emphasis is given to being ahead of the curve on digital media and communications, social networks and other new communications techniques including the intersection of offline and online supporter recruitment and retention.
• Leveraging opportunities to position spokespersons to represent OA in visible and impactful ways. Developing a public relations strategy to support organizational positioning and objectives.
• Creating reporting functions that can track, measure and analyze performance of communications and engagement channels and programs in meeting revenue, constituency and advocacy impact goals.
• Ensuring representation within Oxfam International to advance the global branding, media, communications, and digital communications objectives.
• As appropriate, serving as a spokesperson with the media and other external constituents.
• Managing the internal workings of the department. Develop staff members by coaching, mentoring, on the job training, and developmental training programs.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERTISE

Education:

• Successful candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts or relevant field.

Experience and Core Competencies

Successful candidates must have:

A track record of success in leadership and management, including senior management experience.

• At least 15 years of hands on marketing and communications experience working in multiple channels and technologies and a real zeal for the mission.
• Experience in media, brand management, publications, marketing, research, data analysis, constituent engagement and relations and digital age communications and new media channels and approaches.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with both numerical and narrative data.
• Strong interpersonal skills, as well as the charisma and cultural sensitivity to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.

Additional considerations: It is preferable for candidates to also have:

• Communications experience in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), or not-for-profit organization
• Experience with organizing, campaigning, and/or activism.
• Experience working with advertising and public relations firms.
• Ability to communicate in Spanish or French.

Interested candidates should send their application to:

Chuck Curti, Senior International Recruiter
Oxfam America
226 Causeway Street 5^th floor
Boston, MA 02114
ccurti@oxfamamerica.org