The Role
Lead Fathoms communications and external affairs to grow brand and advance AI policy. Oversee content creation, media relations, rapid response, coalition messaging, editorial calendar, and executive thought leadership. Build and manage the communications team, budget, and external vendors while aligning messaging across research, legislation, and coalition partners. Serve on leadership team reporting to the CEO.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Fathom
Role Overview
Key Responsibilities
Qualifications
Compensation
Fathom is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to find, build, and scale governance solutions for AI that foster public trust in AI, while unleashing the power of American innovation. We are architects of AI oversight, focused on co-designing a better AI future for all.
This requires that everyone – from businesses and NGOs to everyday people – have a say in what that world looks like. Fathom creates solutions that help create a positive future with AI by advancing legislation, building robust and action-biased coalitions, and leading research and polling. Learn more: https://fathom.org/
Fathom has experienced rapid organizational growth over the past two years, more than doubling its team and significantly expanding its support as policymakers, industry leaders, and the public have increasingly recognized the need for fair, robust AI governance to facilitate AI’s continued development, deployment, and adoption at scale.
Fathom is hiring a Vice President of Communications & External Affairs who will play a key role in strategically growing our brand and advancing our policy work. This person will be responsible for messaging development, media relations, rapid response, and regular content generation and editing, including policy one-pagers and our Substack, the Architecture of Governance. The position will also involve comms support for Fathom’s AI assurance coalition initiative.
This role requires an understanding of AI, national and state policy conversations, and the ability to quickly understand new and sometimes complex concepts while maintaining a cohesive overarching narrative. The ideal candidate will have a proven background in communications strategy, ideally in the tech and government spaces, a strong media network, and a hunger for promoting new and high-impact policies.
This is a senior role on the leadership team that reports to the CEO.
Content Creation
- Write and edit a steady stream of external content including policy one-pagers, op-eds, blog posts, and the Architecture of Governance Substack that translate complex AI governance ideas into clear, persuasive prose for policymakers, press, and the public.
- Own the editorial calendar across Fathom and its initiatives, maintaining a consistent voice and a reliable publishing cadence.
- Shape longer-form pieces (reports, explainers, polling write-ups) that position Fathom as a credible, go-to authority on AI governance.
Leadership & Team Management
- Build, manage, and develop Fathom's communications function, including hiring and mentoring staff as the team grows.
- Own and steward the communications budget, allocating resources across earned media, content, events, and campaigns.
- Source, contract, and manage external vendors and agencies (PR firms, designers, digital, polling partners), holding them to clear deliverables and budget.
Strategy & Messaging
- Develop and steward Fathom's overarching narrative and message architecture, keeping it coherent across legislation, coalition-building, and research even as the policy landscape shifts.
- Craft talking points, briefing materials, and message frameworks for principals, partners, and coalition members.
- Pressure-test messaging against distinct audiences — Hill staff, industry, advocacy groups, general public — and adapt framing without fracturing the core narrative.
- Lead communications support for our coalition activities, coordinating messaging across member organizations and aligning it with Fathom's broader narrative.
Media Relations
- Build and maintain relationships with reporters and editors across technology, policy, and national political press.
- Secure earned media: pitch stories, place op-eds, coordinate interviews and act as an on-record spokesperson or prepare principals to do so.
- Grow the public profile of Fathom’s c-suite.
Internal Communications
- Develop talking points for internal communications.
- Draft notes and briefings to the board and donors.
- Aid staff in the creation of materials for external communications.
- Lead staff through red teaming and other messaging exercises.
Rapid Response
- Monitor the AI policy and news cycle and lead real-time response to hearings, legislative developments, and competing narratives.
- Produce fast-turn statements, reactive talking points, and social content under deadline pressure.
- 10+ years of experience in communications, media engagement, storytelling, or PR, ideally in the public sector and/or technology.
- Demonstrated fluency in AI and/or technology policy, or a track record of rapidly mastering complex technical subject matter.
- Excellent writing, editing, and narrative skills with the ability to tailor messaging for different formats and audiences.
- Demonstrated experience managing teams, budgets, and external vendors or agencies, with a track record of building or scaling a communications function.
- Proven ability to direct executive thought leadership and engage key industry stakeholders.
- Politically savvy with an understanding of the interconnected nature of politics and policy.
- Annual salary: between $290,000-$340,000, depending on experience
- This is a full-time position with comprehensive benefits including; medical, dental, vision, 401K with match, and other employer-provided benefits.
Please note, we participate in E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires by electronically verifying information from their Form I-9 with government records.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of experience in communications, media engagement, storytelling, or PR
- Fluency in AI and/or technology policy or proven ability to rapidly master complex technical subject matter
- Excellent writing, editing, and narrative skills for diverse formats and audiences
- Experience managing teams, budgets, and external vendors or agencies; building or scaling a communications function
- Proven ability to direct executive thought leadership and engage key industry stakeholders
- Politically savvy with understanding of politics and policy interconnections
- Experience in public sector and/or technology communications (ideally)
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The Company
What We Do
Fathom is an independent nonprofit that finds, builds, and scales policy and technical innovations designed for the AI century. Our mission is to co-design an AI future that works for all.
