Communications Director

Hope Church; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

HOPE Church is seeking a Communications Director who will provide strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for communications, branding, content, storytelling, and promotions across all platforms. This role advances HOPE’s mission to Reach Families, Grow Leaders, Plant Churches, and Go Far and Wide, shaping ministry narratives rooted in the pastoral vision.

Lead a high-capacity team to deliver clear, compelling Gospel-centered content.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible communications, marketing, brand, or media leadership experience.
• Minimum 3 years leading creative or communications teams.
• Church, ministry, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizational experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a comprehensive communications strategy aligned with HOPE Church's mission, vision, values, and pastoral direction.
• Provide direct supervision and development for Communications Project Manager, Creative Specialist, and Videographer + Content Creator.
• Lead content strategy and storytelling across written, visual, video, and digital channels; ensure theological clarity and creative excellence.
• Oversee promotions and campaigns for sermons, ministries, events, and campaigns; align with organizational priorities.
• Manage brand and creative direction across channels (web, social, video, print, signage, email, app) and ensure quality control.
• Oversee digital strategy for HOPE Church's website, app, email, and digital engagement platforms.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Communications

Brand strategy

Team leadership

Storytelling

Digital marketing

Editorial judgment

Project management

SEO & analytics

CMS tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Canva

CMS platforms

Job description

Overview

The Communications Director provides strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for all communications, branding, content, storytelling, and promotional efforts at HOPE Church. This role ensures that HOPE communicates the Gospel with clarity, creativity, excellence, and consistency across all platforms and audiences.

The Communications Director plays a key role in advancing HOPE’s strategic priorities to Reach Families, Grow Leaders, Plant Churches, and Go Far and Wide. Through compelling storytelling, strategic messaging, and creative content, this role helps HOPE reach people who are exploring faith, strengthen engagement within the church, build scalable communication systems for future growth, and extend the Gospel beyond HOPE’s physical campuses through digital media.

This leader is responsible for moving the Communications team from a primarily reactive support function to a proactive ministry-driving team that helps shape the narrative of what God is doing at HOPE. Rather than simply promoting upcoming events or recapping past ministry activity, the Communications Director will help create and distribute meaningful content rooted in the pastoral vision of HOPE—content that informs, inspires, disciples, and invites people into deeper life in Christ.

This role develops team strategy, clarifies priorities, builds healthy workflows, and cultivates a culture of creativity, collaboration, spiritual maturity, and executional excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications Leadership

• Develop and lead a comprehensive communications strategy aligned with HOPE’s mission, vision, values, and pastoral direction
• Translate pastoral vision, teaching themes, ministry priorities, and organizational goals into proactive communications initiatives
• Build annual, quarterly, and seasonal content strategies that support spiritual formation, engagement, and outreach
• Ensure communications efforts move beyond announcements and promotion to become a meaningful ministry tool for discipleship and Gospel engagement
• Identify opportunities to proactively tell stories of transformation, leadership development, generosity, outreach, and church impact

Team Leadership and Development

• Provide direct supervision, coaching, support, and accountability for:
  • Communications Project Manager
  • Creative Specialist
  • Videographer + Content Creator
• Lead regular planning meetings, 1:1s, performance development, and project prioritization
• Develop team systems, workflows, and production rhythms that improve clarity, focus, and execution
• Build a healthy team culture marked by trust, ownership, collaboration, creativity, and servant leadership
• Create gatherings, retreats, and development opportunities that build community, cast vision, strengthen culture, and foster spiritual growth within the team

Content Strategy and Storytelling

• Lead the creation of compelling written, visual, video, and digital content across all communication channels
• Establish content pillars and editorial rhythms that proactively communicate HOPE’s message year-round
• Ensure content reflects strong theological clarity, emotional resonance, and creative excellence
• Oversee long-form and short-form storytelling content, including:
  • testimonies
  • HOPE Stories
  • sermon-based content
  • ministry impact stories
  • campaign messaging
  • social content
• Help shape narratives that highlight life change and invite engagement with Jesus

Promotions and Campaign Strategy

• Oversee promotional strategy for sermon series, ministry initiatives, churchwide events, campaigns, and seasonal experiences

• Build systems to intake, prioritize, evaluate, and schedule promotional requests across ministries
• Ensure promotional efforts are strategic, focused, and aligned with organizational priorities
• Manage team capacity by focusing on projects with the largest and deepest impact

Brand and Creative Direction

• Serve as steward of HOPE’s brand, voice, tone, and visual identity

• Ensure excellence and consistency across all communication channels, including:
  • web
  • social media
  • video
  • print
  • signage
  • email
  • app
  • graphic design
• Maintain quality control across all public-facing communications for clarity, grammar, theology, design, and brand consistency
• Lead creative direction for major campaigns, series, and churchwide initiatives

Digital Strategy and Platform Oversight

• Oversee strategy for HOPE’s website, mobile app, email communication, and digital engagement platforms

• Ensure HOPE maintains an effective and modern digital presence with strong usability, SEO, and user experience
• Evaluate digital engagement data and use analytics to refine communication strategies
• Identify emerging digital trends and technologies that may improve reach and effectiveness

Cross-Ministry Collaboration

• Partner closely with the Senior Pastor, Managing Director, ministry leaders, and department heads to understand ministry priorities and communication needs

• Collaborate with the Worship Experience Pastor to ensure worship experiences and communications are creatively aligned and mutually reinforcing
• Help ministry leaders think strategically about audience, message, timing, and communication effectiveness
• Serve as a trusted strategic partner in shaping how ministry initiatives are presented to internal and external audiences

Budget and Resource Stewardship

• Lead annual communications budget planning and resource allocation

• Manage team budgets, contractors, vendors, freelancers, and external creative resources
• Ensure wise stewardship of financial and creative resources while maintaining high standards of excellence

Other Duties as Assigned

• Participate in staff-wide initiatives, leadership gatherings, and church-wide ministry efforts
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of HOPE’s mission and ministry needs

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, media, or related field preferred

Experience

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible communications, marketing, brand, or media leadership experience
• Minimum 3 years leading creative or communications teams
• Church, ministry, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizational experience strongly preferred

Skills and Competencies

• Mature and growing relationship with Jesus Christ
• Strong alignment with HOPE’s mission, vision, values, and theological convictions
• Exceptional strategic thinking and communication instincts
• Strong storytelling ability across written, visual, and digital mediums
• Proven ability to lead high-capacity creative teams
• Excellent editorial judgment and brand sensitivity
• Strong project management and prioritization skills
• High emotional intelligence and relational leadership
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced ministry environment
• Familiarity with content strategy, social media, analytics, SEO, and digital marketing
• Working knowledge of creative tools and workflows (Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, project management systems, CMS platforms)

Physical Demands

• Primarily desk-based work with frequent computer use
• Occasional lifting of creative equipment up to 25 pounds
• Ability to move throughout campus and event environments as needed

Expected Hours of Work

• Full-time, 40 hours per week
• Regular Sunday presence required
• Monday-Thursday standard office hours
• Occasional evenings and weekends required for events, seasonal ministry, and special projects
• Participation in all-staff "All-In" days, including Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Managing Director

Direct Reports: Communications Project Manager, Creative Specialist, Videographer + Content Creator