Senior Director of Communications

Who We Are

Think of Us (TOU) operates as an R+D lab for child welfare. We take on strategic projects with the goal of causing “good trouble” and, ultimately, driving concrete, structural changes in policy, practice, resource flows, power dynamics, relationships and mental models. Our ultimate goal is to integrate Lived Experience at every level, ensuring everyone touched by the system has the conditions they need to Heal, Develop and Thrive.

We work across the ecosystem of current and former foster youth, child welfare workers, philanthropists and policymakers to Spark, Support and Drive to systematically center lived experience touched by the system.

Examples of what this looks like include:

Building a unique digital wraparound model that gives kinship caregivers, adoptive families and young people direct access to traditional and non-traditional resources, creating a clearer pathway to support for those who need it
Providing technical assistance to state Chafee Teams to distribute $400M in emergency pandemic relief
Key advocate providing critical, real-time data on true needs of current + former foster youth
Leading groundbreaking participatory research to center lived experience in the national Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Program’s movement to eliminate unnecessary uses of congregate care

Note: Most of our roles are fully remote. A select few are based in DC or LA, which will be specified in the job description if applicable.

The Role

Think of Us is taking on revolutionary work. We are looking for a leader who brings both strategy and implementation to the table. Our Senior Director of Communications will leverage their skills to amplify our impact and deepen our connection to our community – current and former foster youth, partners, supporters, media, and beyond.

The Senior Director of Communications will partner with our VP of External Affairs and external PR firm and will contribute to shaping our communication strategy and executing that vision. This is a growing function in the organization, and you will help build the department, assess the landscape, hire a team, and create our comms infrastructure.

At Think of Us, we’re proud of our nimble and driven culture – it means we’re ready to meet challenges and opportunities as they emerge. You must be comfortable operating effectively even when priorities are shifting and tasks are ambiguous.

While TOU is a remote-first team, our strong preference is that this person is based in the DC area to allow for ad hoc in-person work with our CEO.

Responsibilities

Communications Strategy and Implementation

Partner with the VP of External Affairs to build and implement the communications strategy.

Foundation-Building: Team and Operations

Buildthe Comms department, inclusive of the team, operational practices, and resourcing
Recruit and manage two full-time teammates to support work; opportunity to leverage contractors and agencies as needed

Brand and Content Management

Develop, implement, and evaluate an annual marketing and communications plan that amplifies our holistic brand, supports specific initiatives (research reports, special events, etc.), and cultivates ecosystem relationships
Support the generation of content – with measurable impact – for TOU’s website, social media + email channels, donor communications

Requirements

Experience: You have 8-10 years of experience in Communications with a minimum of 5 years of experience in a rapid-growth entrepreneurial organization.
Expert Communicator: You have excellent oral and written communication skills and mastery of all the modern tools of marketing and communications. You can craft high-quality written pieces, explain complex concepts in a digestible manner, and have that rare mix of intellect and intuition.
Media-Savvy and Connected: You bring an understanding of earned media engagement and relationships across the media landscape and/or have the experience providing strategic collaboration with an external PR agency
Strategically Opportunistic: You leverage opportunities. Your ideas shoot off like rocket fire and you can imagine possibilities left and right – and yet you always have a vision for where you are headed and only pursue ideas and opportunities that help you support that strategic direction.
Results-Obsessed: You settle for nothing less than high quality, high impact work, and you have the professional track record to prove it.
Data-Centric: You have sharp analytical skills that allow you to quickly assess situations, identify trends, develop insights and solutions, and apply learnings to a larger context.
Organized: You are a strong project manager, capable of driving multiple work streams towards deadlines and juggling changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Mission-Aligned: You are deeply passionate about our work and ideally have experience in and/or proximity to child welfare, systems change and policy.

Perks / Timings / Salary

We provide generous health, dental, & vision coverage for you and dependents as well as a 401k plan for your pre-tax retirement contributions
We're a remote team with schedule flexibility
We have a flexible vacation policy
We hold monthly organization-wide learning sessions to deepen our understanding of the Lived Experience of foster youth and also on topics outside of Child Welfare to build culture of curiosity and growth
We put you at the cutting edge of change in the child welfare system
We provide the opportunity for you to interact with leading voices in government, foundations, the nonprofit world, and entertainment working to reform child welfare

Salary:

This role has a salary range of $120-$140K. We are looking to fill this position immediately - applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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