Communications Manager

National Alliance to End Homelessness; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Competitive salary

Health insurance

403(b) retirement plan

Job summary

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is seeking a Communications Manager to lead day-to-day publishing and coordination across programs and policy teams. You will translate priorities into actionable plans, manage calendars, and ensure timely delivery of publications, briefs, and toolkits.

You will partner with the Vice President of Communications to align messaging, supervise staff, vendors, and contractors, and provide hands-on support for web, social, and newsletter content while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in communications, public policy, journalism, or related field.
• Equivalent work experience combined with lived experience of homelessness will be considered.
• At least 6 years of experience in communications, ideally in a nonprofit or advocacy setting.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day communications workflow and projects across the organization.
• Serve as liaison between Communications team and core departments.
• Develop and manage the publications calendar and timelines.
• Oversee reviews and approvals across teams and leadership.
• Provide hands-on support including drafting web, social, and newsletter content.

Skills

Project management

Writing & editing

Cross-functional collaboration

Publication workflows

CMS familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Content management systems (CMS)

Project management tools (Asana, Trello)

Job description

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (Alliance) is a leading nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. The Alliance works in partnership with federal, state, and local stakeholders—including policymakers, service providers, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience—to promote data-driven, evidence-based, and racially equitable solutions to homelessness. If you are committed to helping the nation SOLVE the problem of homelessness, consider joining the Alliance.

What We Are Looking For:

We are seeking a skilled communications professional with strong project management experience, excellent writing and editing skills, and demonstrated success working across teams. The ideal candidate will be experienced in managing publication workflows, executing communications strategies, and serving as a trusted liaison between internal subject-matter experts and communications staff. They will be comfortable providing hands-on tactical support to the Communications team as needed. They will be organized, adaptable, collaborative, and passionate about using communications to advance the mission of ending homelessness.

What You Will Do:

The Communications Manager will play an essential role within the Alliance’s Communications team, with responsibility for managing the day-to-day communications workflow and coordinating communications projects across the organization. The Manager will serve as a primary point of coordination between the Communications team and the Alliance’s core teams, including the Homelessness Research Institute, the Programs and Policy team, the Center for Capacity Building, the Events Team, and the Development Team. Central to this work will be managing the Alliance’s communications and publications calendar, establishing workflows and timelines for major communications projects, coordinating team resources, and proactively identifying competing priorities and capacity constraints. The Manager will work closely with the Vice President of Communications to translate communications priorities into effective plans, processes, and deliverables.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Program Communications Planning and Coordination

• Serve as the primary point of coordination between Communications and program teams for planned publications, campaigns, events, and other communications projects.
• Build strong working relationships with program staff to develop a working understanding of their goals, audiences, priorities, and upcoming work.
• Advise program teams on appropriate communications approaches, audiences and deliverables, and translate agreed-upon needs into actionable plans and timelines.
• Coordinate Communications team resources to support program needs and ensure alignment with broader organizational communications priorities.
• Elevate significant questions related to organizational messaging, positioning, or competing priorities to the Vice President of Communications.

Content Planning & Publication Management

• Own and maintain a communications calendar that reflects the publication, campaign, event, and outreach priorities across the organization.
• Manage communications intake and planning to ensure upcoming needs are identified and appropriately scoped.
• Develop and manage timelines for publications and other projects, including reports, briefs, and toolkits, ensuring timely execution while also anticipating potential bottlenecks.
• Manage document reviews and approval processes across Communications, program teams, and organizational leadership.
• Coordinate competing deadlines and communications needs across the organization, elevating significant priority or capacity conflicts to the Vice President of Communications.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen communications workflows and processes to improve efficiency and coordination.

Team Coordination and Support

• Support coordination of day-to-day work across the Communications team to ensure program communications needs are integrated into the broader team workflow.
• Work closely with the Vice President of Communications to identify and manage team priorities, capacity, and resource needs.
• Support the Digital Communications Specialist and Communications Associate by providing project coordination, guidance, and feedback as appropriate.
• Manage vendors and contractors, including coordination of projects, timelines, and deliverables.
• Provide hands-on communications support as needed, including drafting and proofing Web, social, and newsletter content; supporting video projects; assisting with polling and message testing research; participating in coalition efforts; and related tasks.

The Communications Manager reports directly to the VP of Communications and will perform other duties as assigned.

What a Successful Candidate Will Need:

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Communications, Public Policy, Journalism, or a related field.
• Equivalent work experience combined with lived experience of homelessness will be considered.
• At least 6 years of experience in communications, ideally in a nonprofit or advocacy setting.
• Strong project management experience with demonstrated skills in managing complex publication workflows and cross-functional communications projects.
• Nonprofit or policy communications experience is strongly preferred.

Skills and Abilities

• Strong project management and organizational skills with experience managing multiple concurrent deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams and build effective relationships with subject-matter experts.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with an ability to adapt content for diverse audiences.
• Strong communications judgment and ability to identify when issues require additional strategic guidance or escalation.
• Familiarity with content management systems, project management tools, and publishing workflows.
• Ability to anticipate competing priorities and potential bottlenecks and develop practical solutions.
• Knowledge of homelessness, housing policy, or social justice issues is a plus.

Please note: Studies have shown that women and Black, indigenous, people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At the Alliance, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace– so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

What We Can Offer You:

The Alliance is a strong, flexible, and diverse team of professionals working collaboratively to achieve its mission of preventing and ending homelessness in the nation. We offer a supportive work environment in which staff has both the responsibility and opportunity to pursue and achieve solutions to a national social problem. The Alliance offers a collaborative and mission-driven workplace where employees are empowered to contribute to meaningful change.

In Addition, the Alliance offers the following benefits:

• Hybrid work environment
• Competitive salary
• Employer supported health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Financial support for professional development and wellness activities
• Paid vacation, personal, and sick leave and a generous holiday schedule

The Alliance’s salary ranges are designed to support growth and advancement within each role. Starting salaries typically fall above the lower end of the posted range but do not exceed the midpoint. Salaries above the midpoint at hire are uncommon. Final salary offers are based on a candidate’s relevant experience anddemonstratedexpertise.

The Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.