Chief of Communications

Chief of Communications

Reports to: Executive Director 
Location: Washington, D.C. 
Status: Full-time; Exempt 

About Groundwork Collaborative

Launched in 2018, Groundwork Collaborative is driven by the idea that We Are The Economy: when all of us are doing well, that is when our economy thrives. We fight for progressive economic policy and narrative change that builds accountable public power, breaks up concentrations of private power, and affirmatively centers people too long left out of prosperity. We understand that taken together, these actions will lead to a stronger and more resilient economy.  

Groundwork’s unique structure – part strategic communications, part think tank, and part issue advocacy organization – allows us to drive narrative and policy change with credibility, expertise, and impact. We work across four core audiences – the media, policymakers, economic experts, and grasstops leaders – and use targeted policy campaigns and timely research and messaging to advance a truly inclusive economic worldview. 

Groundwork’s impact has grown considerably in recent years with the launch of several ambitious new initiatives including our Economic Speakers Bureau, designed to diversify the expert commentators who talk about the economy in the news. Groundwork seeks a Chief of Communications to serve as a senior leader and chief strategist for Groundwork’s mission to advance new stories about the economy and who it works for.

The Chief of Communications will be a member of the senior leadership team of Groundwork working intersectionally to help the organization achieve our mission, develop our organizational strategy and priorities, and execute our core programmatic work to achieve maximum impact. They will manage a high-performing Communications team serving the core communications functions at Groundwork, including media relations, narrative strategies, and the Economic Speakers Bureau.

Groundwork’s Chief of Communications will… 

• Develop and execute Groundwork’s communications and engagement strategy, including outreach to traditional and new media, owned and paid media, digital and social channels, spokesperson training and deployment, campaigns, and special initiatives.
• Closely track developing media, political, and economic narratives in order to recommend and execute on strategic deployment of Groundwork’s voice and resources to shape national conversations about the economy;
• Generate creative ideas and savvy strategies for elevating Groundwork’s profile and advancing our policy and communications agenda in a rapidly-shifting information and media landscape;
• Supervise senior members of Groundwork’s Communications team including the Directors of Communications, Narrative Strategies, and Economic Speakers Bureau;
• Work closely with the Executive Director, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Policy and Advocacy to to set Groundwork’s strategic direction and organizational priorities, including the evaluation of new ideas and opportunities; 
• Coordinate with the Policy, Advocacy and Research team to ensure Groundwork’s communications, campaigns, and research work are aligned and effectively reaching their target audiences; 
• Represent Groundwork with media, partners, allies, and funders; 
• Serve as a mentor and leader for staff across Groundwork, modeling and building an results-driven, effective, and positive organizational culture;
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

About you 

• You are a savvy strategist who seeks out opportunities to advance organizational priorities, sees around corners, and knows the right partnerships to form to advance strategic goals; 
• You’re a creative thinker and communicator who knows how to craft a message that breaks through and understands that changing narratives is essential to shifting policy;
• You are an avid consumer of economic and political news who keeps a finger on the pulse of policy dialogues and the underlying narratives driving them; 
• You are a seasoned manager with considerable experience in senior leadership roles within organizations and experience running a high-caliber communications operation; 
• You excel in leadership roles and have a proven ability to bring people along to achieve common goals; 
• You aren’t afraid of wonky economic topics like inflation or tax policy and are excited by the idea of translating complex issues into digestible communications that resonate with large audiences;
• You are an enthusiastic consumer of new and digital media with smart ideas about how to break through in a chaotic and fragmented information ecosystem; 
• You are a strong writer and editor with experience communicating to a wide range of audiences. 
• You are familiar with the progressive economic policy, think tank, and advocacy community in Washington and the Hill; 
• You are detail oriented and organized and have a proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. 
• You’re committed to a just, inclusive, and robust economy that delivers opportunity and dignity to all. 

The salary range for this role is $180,000 - $210,000. We offer a generous benefits package, including five weeks of vacation and personal leave, two week-long office closures, additional time off for floating and federal holidays, zero-premium health insurance, a generous HRA, a retirement match of up to 6%, up to 16 weeks parental leave, and health club and cell-phone reimbursements, among other benefits. We are a hybrid workplace, with two days a week in the office and three days remote, as well as the occasional need to work in person for events and special projects. Groundwork is a unionized workplace and is represented by the Nonprofit Professional  Employees Union (NPEU). This position is not in the bargaining unit. 

How to apply 

To begin the application process, please submit an application on our career page, including your resume and writing sample (for example, a press release, op-ed, blog post, etc.) in one document, and cover letter. The cover letter should describe your specific experience related to this position.