Vice President of External Affairs

The VP of External Affairs is a new position at TOU and will play a critical role on our leadership team, leading our Development, Communications and Public Policy functions. They will help shape the vision of how we champion the organization externally. This includes fostering strategic partnerships, raising the visibility of our leaders and our work, and elevating our position and brand.

The role reports directly to the Managing Partner and works closely with the entire Executive and Senior Leadership teams. The organization is in a pivotal moment in its growth, and this is a unique opportunity for a bold and seasoned leader to be a part of shaping this next chapter for TOU.

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

Leadership and Vision

• Lead our Communications, Development, and Public Policy functions
• Act as strategic thought partner to the CEO on Policy issues
• Serves as a member of the Executive Team providing input on short- and long-term strategic, management, policy and operational plans

External Relations Strategy

• Develop and lead a robust external relations strategy that expands TOU’s strategic partnerships, communications, public relations, governmental affairs, and fundraising capacity
• Advance TOU’s position as a leader, catalyst for change, and convener in the child welfare space

Communications and Brand

• Lead our communications, brand, and content function
• Position communications – inclusive of brand and marketing – as a driver of impact for Think of Us and our network
• Develop a communications strategy that increases awareness of TOU, supports revenue goals, and reachout our stakeholders

• Define brand messaging that resonates with TOU’s various audiences, inclusive of youth, local + federal policymakers, and donors

Press, External and Public Relations

• In partnership with the CEO and external PR firm, build our strategy for external and speaking engagements designed to generate exposure and revenue
• Identify trends, monitor current events, and maintain relationships with media + influencers to anticipate opportunities to engage in and/or lead the national conversation on child welfare
• Guide the strategy on press outreach, including messaging in press releases, creation of press kits and materials, interview preparation, and responses to media requests

Development

• Provide dynamic leadership in the design, implementation and evaluation of short and long-term strategies that increase fundraising revenue growth
• Build the development strategy (in partnership with MP and CEO), support the Director of Development to execute

• Experience: You have 8-10 years of experience leading in communications, external affairs, and/or fundraising, 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 and paid 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.  
• Team Leader: You are responsible for overseeing all activities within a team. You provide guidance, instruction, direction, leadership, and coaching to your direct reports for the purpose of achieving group aligned results.

• 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 + Timeline

This role has a salary range of $140-$160K.  The salary is commensurate with experience. We are looking to fill this position immediately. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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