Chief Communications Officer

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the nation’s first and largest organization dedicated to serving the 2.5 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from their first day home to the rest of their lives. IAVA strives to build an empowered generation of veterans through programs in four key impact areas: Health, Education, Employment and Community.

• Health - IAVA makes it a priority to ensure that both mental and physical health needs are being effectively addressed in our community, and has provided support to over 20,000 returning veterans nationwide.
• Education - With nearly a million new veterans headed back to school under the New GI Bill, IAVA has provided over 500,000 with the tools and support needed to make informed decisions about their education.
• Employment - No veteran should come home from Iraq or Afghanistan to an unemployment check. To fight shockingly high joblessness rates, IAVA’s Combat to Career initiative helped over 270,000 veterans in their transition to civilian careers in 2011.
• Community - Less than 1% of the country served in Iraq and Afghanistan – a stark contrast to the 12% that served during WWII. Building community, both online and on the ground, is a critical factor in fulfilling IAVA’s mission, which means bridging geographical divides to create a united, supported and proud movement of new veterans

An exciting opportunity exists for an exceptional individual to help lead IAVA’s efforts to serve our nation’s heroes as Chief Communications Officer.

The Chief Communications Officer will be responsible for overseeing the Engagement Division of IAVA, developing and establishing the organization’s internal and external communication strategy, brand and marketing development and membership and supporter engagement.

IAVA’s Engagement Division is comprised of Communications, Digital Engagement and Marketing and is a leader in new media, technology and online organizing. Together, these departments work tirelessly to raise critical awareness about veterans’ issues, hold lawmakers accountable for policies impacting veterans and ensure the entire country is focused on providing a lasting network of care and support for this newest generation of veterans.

Based in our New York, NY headquarters, the Chief Communications Officer will report to the Chief of Staff, and serve as a key member of the senior leadership team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

•  Chief Communications Officer will increase awareness by developing and executing:
  • External communications strategy across all platforms;
  • Brand development and guardianship;
  • Marketing development;
  • Customer insight research;
  • Membership and supporter engagement;
• Establish clear, compelling and consistent communications around the vision of IAVA;
• Identify, foster and facilitate creative and innovative ideas and concepts to achieve greater communications results;
• Engage monitoring and management of performance across functional interfaces, metrics include, but are not limited to:
  • Media growth;
  • Digital engagement;
  • Brand awareness;
  • Foster joint responsibility with senior-level leadership for total customer satisfaction and retention.

IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-plus years of professional experience in a nonprofit organization and management; demonstrated success in a communications/engagement function;
• Flawless communication skills, both written and oral;
• Ability to work in a flexibly, change-savvy manner;
• Ability to influence and engage a wide range of constituents and build long-term, sustainable relationships;
• Strong organizational and planning skills;
• High energy and passion for IAVA’s mission;
• Bachelor’s degree required.

TRAITS

• Possess outstanding interpersonal skills; able to build and maintain effective working relationships, with the energy and dynamism to inspire others;
• Able to work both independently, but also as a team player who will productively engage others at varying levels of seniority both within and outside of IAVA;
• Adept at planning, prioritizing, organization and follow through;
• Able to construct, articulate, and implement new and traditional media strategies;
• Have exceptional attention to detail;
• Have a positive attitude and great sense of humor;
• Committed to and enthusiastic about the mission and programs of IAVA

Start Date: Immediate

Application Deadline: Rolling

Salary and Benefits: Salary is commensurate with experience. IAVA provides comprehensive health and dental coverage, access to vision benefits, a Flexible Spending Account, Transportation Savings Account and a 403(b) retirement plan, in addition to thirty Paid Time Off days per year.

To Apply : Please apply here http://iava.org/careers/. Include a cover letter that concisely explains how your experience could be applied to IAVA. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. No phone calls, please.

IAVA is an equal opportunity employer; VETERANS OF THE CONFLICTS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

To learn more about IAVA’s history, mission and model, click here.