About Urban Institute:
At the Urban Institute, we believe in the power of evidence to improve lives and strengthen communities. As a nonprofit focusing on social and economic policy, our researchers and policy entrepreneurs open minds, shape decisions, and identify transformative solutions to the most pressing issues of our time.

Our Mission
To open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions through economic and social policy research.

Our Values
Collaboration, Equity, Inclusivity, Independence, and Integrity
For more information on the Urban Institute, please visit https://www.urban.org
.

The Opportunity:
Central to Urban’s mission is fostering a truly inclusive community that ensures ongoing relevance to a changing world. As Urban ramps up ambitious programmatic areas focusing on mobility, we are expanding our strategic communications capacity with new leadership roles on our Communications team.
The director of communications, WorkRise, will lead visibility, impact, and engagement campaigns in support of its mission: to create a more equitable and resilient labor market that expands opportunity and strengthens economic mobility for low-wage workers. See full posting here: https://urban.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Urban-Careers/details/Director-of-Communications-Workrise-Office-of-Communications-_R-801303

The director of communications, upward mobility initiatives, will lead the communications strategy for an expanding program of work focused on shaping policies and practices that boost mobility from poverty. They will grow Urban’s capacity to deliver high-impact cross-cutting research and field-building support. See full posting below.

Director of Communications, Upward Mobility Initiatives
The Urban Institute is seeking a director of communications to lead visibility, impact, and engagement efforts for a flagship program designed to increase upward mobility for people and communities. They will work across the institute, partnering with a core program leadership team in Urban’s Research to Action LAB, communications leadership, and external communications experts, to lead an overarching communications strategy that utilizes the full strength of Urban’s expertise in pursuit of program goals.

The director of communications will lead integrated campaigns that grow and engage with diverse audiences of local decision makers, including voices traditionally left out of decision-making, and provide them with avenues to create more equitable communities where everyone can thrive. They will ensure that Urban’s data and research insights are accessible to a wide range of users, working to package and deliver actionable information in ways that maximize opportunities to impact policy and practice, and then track that impact. They will position Urban to better serve organizations and leaders in the upward mobility field to collaborate for greater impact.

Because economic mobility cuts across nearly every policy domain and research center at Urban, the director of communications will play a central communications leadership and management role, to ensure that we’re thoughtfully engaging target audiences with clarity and consistency. They will help streamline internal Communications infrastructure in ways that build strong, interdisciplinary teams who work together to enhance the visibility, engagement, and impact of Urban’s economic mobility expertise.

What You’ll Do:
Reporting to the senior director of strategic communications, with a dotted line to the director of program development, the communications director will 1) oversee and track the overarching communications strategy for a specific program of work at Urban focused on upward mobility, 2) lead communications for all program work in partnership with upward mobility program teams while nesting it within Urban’s broader mission and institutional priorities,
3) together with Urban’s brand and audience engagement team, collaborate on integrated outreach campaigns to engage with leaders in the mobility field; and deliver mobility insights and tools to diverse target audiences across channels and capture impact,
4) partner with teams of communications staff specializing in digital communications, email engagement, advertising, media strategy, events, writing and editing, and visual communications, in outreach campaign design and execution, 5) conceptualize and direct projects with external communications partners and consultants, and 6) enhance communications team infrastructure to deliver Urban’s cross-cutting mobility insights in ways that maximize opportunities for impact.
Note: This position will have the support of Urban’s in-house communications team and external firms with the means to bring on new staff and resources.

Program Communications Strategy: Upward Mobility

• Ensure that the Upward Mobility program of work has an innovative, overarching communications strategy that weaves together tactics across channels to advance program goals and objectives.
• Develop and lead large-scale visibility, impact, and engagement campaigns to promote adoption of the mobility metrics framework

, to help local decision makers drive the changes necessary to boost mobility from poverty over the long haul.

• Partner with integrated teams of Urban’s central communications staff specializing in digital communications, email marketing, advertising, media strategy, events, writing and editing, and visual communications, in the design and execution of program communications campaigns.
• Proactively identify opportunities (media, events, etc.) to position the upward mobility framework for visibility and impact.
• Lead innovations in how Urban communicates its offerings, always working to center target audience members in product design and to package research findings in ways that inspire action and application.
• Establish KPIs and systems to report progress against goals, with an emphasis on tracking how leaders are using and applying mobility tools and resources into local practice.
• Serve as the primary communications advisor to program leadership and ensure all program staff and communications staff, including external firms, understand communications goals and are working in partnership to achieve them.
• Oversee messaging strategy for the program, crafting messaging for high-profile visibility opportunities, including research releases, web product launches, and events.
• Advise on a ramp-up and digital content strategy for

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• Partner with Urban’s central digital communications staff and external firms to ensure that it consistently provides useful, actionable, and engaging tools and content.
• Ensure robust promotion and outreach plans are in place to drive traffic and engagement with the site.

• Serve as the primary communications advisor to a field-building effort to disrupt forces currently perpetuating barriers to equitable upward mobility.
• Provide strategic guidance to Urban and its partners on the development of an overall communications plan for this workstream, ensuring alignment across Urban’s mobility portfolio.
• Advise on the development of new communications channels and help build the infrastructure to support broader field engagement.
• Provide strategic partnership for effective management of external communications consultants and vendors to advance the goals of this emerging effort

Communications Leadership and Management

• Ensure that the mobility program communications strategy aligns with Urban’s institutional goals and priorities, including integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and maximizing the policy impact of our work.
• Enhance internal strategic communications infrastructure in ways that increase Urban’s capacity to 1) promote research insights on economic mobility to target audiences, and 2) make connections for mobility audiences across policy domains (e.g., housing, education, safety).
• Help launch internal communications working groups focused on visibility, impact, and engagement strategies for specific policy research areas.
• Develop best practices for working group structure and function.

• Oversee and manage communications staffing and budgets:
• Identify capacity gaps and hire as needed to support economic mobility communications.
• Monitor workflows and make adjustments to streamline collaborations and efficiently move the work forward.
• Partner with operations leadership to monitor communications budgets and run procurement processes.
• Partner with integrated teams of Urban’s central communications staff specializing in digital communications, email marketing, advertising, media strategy, events, writing and editing, and visual communications.
• Lead ongoing communications efforts with external strategic communications firms and consultants and bring on new partners as needed.

Who You Are:
Essential Skills

• An advanced degree in communications, journalism, public policy, public relations, political science, nonprofit management, or equivalent experience.
• Six to 10 years of strategic communications experience with a record of increasing responsibility.
• Six to 10 years in a leadership position, such as senior manager, director, or similar role.
• A well-rounded strategic communications thinker and planner who can keep teams focused on big picture goals and priorities.
• An avid news consumer with a strong command of the changing media landscape and good news judgment.
• A leader committed to creating an inclusive culture and representative workplace, who embraces diversity of thought and experience.
• A tenacious go-getter who’s excited by new challenges and stays positive in the face of adversity—and can translate those values to a team.
• A strong written and verbal communicator, who can work with multiple groups and stakeholders and lead cross-functional teams.
• A relationship builder who can quickly establish rapport internally and externally.

Technical Skills

• Demonstrable experience developing integrated strategic communications plans, and knowledge of best practices in messaging, digital content, and brand and audience and engagement strategies.
• Media strategy and relations, with a demonstrated record of achieving earned coverage that advances an organizational strategy.
• Message development and an ability to translate complex technical information into digestible talking points for broad audiences.
• Ability to coach others, including senior leaders, in strategic communications best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large cross-functional teams.
• Expertise in change management and guiding teams toward innovations in practice.

Preferred Knowledge

• Knowledge of economic mobility and its audiences, with an emphasis on local government, nonprofit advocates, and community leaders.
• Experience leading and implementing communications practices that incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion.

What You’ll Experience:
No matter your role with Urban, you will contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference for people and communities across the country. And whether you call the Washington, DC area or elsewhere home, you can expect to be part of a welcoming and hybrid workplace. We are committed to cultivating a community and working in a manner defined by collaboration, equity, inclusivity, independence, and integrity.

Urban’s greatest asset is our people.
Urban is committed to supporting our staff’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being through a robust benefits package for yourself, eligible dependents, and domestic partners. It includes generous paid time off, including nine federal holidays, medical (including prescription), dental and vision insurance, and transit benefits. Urban is unique in that we offer 403(b) retirement plan participation immediately after you’re hired and a generous employer contribution after five months of service and 1,000 hours, with immediate vesting. You’ll also have access to a health advocate, personal finance coaching, an Employee Assistance Program, and educational assistance for undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

As a federal contractor, Urban will comply with Executive Order (EO) 14042 that requires federal contractors, subcontractors, and their respective employees to comply with Covid-19 vaccinations. All Urban Institute employees must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and comply with masking and distancing requirements, regardless of responsibilities or work location. New hires must also be fully vaccinated before starting work. Employees may request exemption from vaccination against COVID-19 based on either a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief that prevents them from being vaccinated. Where such an exemption is approved, Urban will discuss with each employee potential accommodation.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned. This posting is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and requirements. Urban management reserves the right to amend and change duties, responsibilities, and requirements to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

The Urban Institute is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender or gender identity, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, veteran status, pregnancy or family responsibilities, matriculation, disability, political affiliation, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you have a physical and/or mental disability and are interested in applying for employment and need special accommodations to use our website to apply for a position, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@urban.org
. Reasonable accommodation requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Job Type: Full-time

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