Director of Communications

NC Child; North Carolina; Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental insurance

Paid sick days

PTO

Paid family leave

Sabbatical program

Job summary

NC Child in Raleigh, NC seeks a Director of Communications to lead media outreach, content strategy, and stakeholder engagement. This role develops messaging, oversees branding, and guides executive communications across multiple channels in a mission-driven nonprofit.

You will craft speeches, op-eds, and reports, train spokespeople, and coordinate calendar-driven campaigns with a focus on accessibility and plain-language communications.

Qualifications

• Experience in press relations and building media outreach.
• Strong copywriting, editing, and presentation skills.
• Proficient in AP Style and MS Office tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead proactive media outreach, cultivate press relations, and pitch NC Child research and positions.
• Manage media requests, prepare materials, and coordinate review steps.
• Develop crisis and rapid-response communications protocols.
• Provide strategies on messaging, executive visibility, and stakeholder engagement.
• Create executive remarks, briefs, op-eds, and thought-leadership content.
• Coach leadership and spokespeople for media appearances.
• Oversee multi-channel communications and event communications.
• Set goals, monitor results, and improve performance across channels.
• Protect NC Child's brand, voice, and editorial standards.
• Coordinate calendars, reviews, publication, and archiving workflows.
• Promote accessible communications and language access when appropriate.
• Lead storytelling efforts and manage submission forms and profiles.
• Collaborate on campaigns, donor communications, and impact reporting.
• Oversee budgets and vendor relationships.

Skills

Press relations

Copywriting

AP Style

Digital & social media

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications

Tools

Meltwater

WordPress

Adobe Creative Suite

Raiser's Edge

Airtable

SharePoint

Job description

At Catapult, we are supporting our member, NC Child, in their search for a Director of Communications. NC Child is based in Raleigh, NC, and this is a full time hybrid role with occasional travel requirements.

About NC Child

NC Child is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for public policies that improve the lives of all North Carolina children. As the state's only multi-issue child advocacy organization, our work addresses the whole child, including health and well- being, early childhood education, and family economic security. We are also a trusted source of state-level research and data for policymakers and child advocates across North Carolina.

The Opportunity

NC Child is seeking an experienced, strategic, and mission-driven Director of Communications to strengthen our voice, expand our reach, and help advance policies that improve the lives of children and families. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development and Communications, this individual-contributor role develops communications strategies, leads proactive media outreach, translates research and policy into compelling content, and makes recommendations on audience priorities, message positioning, channel selection, campaign timing, and performance improvements.

What You'll Do

• Lead proactive media outreach by cultivating press relationships, identifying timely story opportunities, and pitching NC Child research, policy positions, experts, and constituent perspectives. Prepare press releases and media advisories, maintain media contacts in Meltwater, and promote NC Child's Child Health Report Card, Data Center, County Data Cards, and KIDS COUNT Data Book.
• Manage incoming media requests, recommend response language, coordinate subject-matter input, and route materials through established review and approval processes.
• Develop crisis, issues management, and rapid-response communications protocols; assess communications considerations; and recommend response strategies.
• Provide communications counsel on organizational positioning, message strategy, executive visibility, public communications, and stakeholder engagement.
• Develop executive remarks, presentations, testimony, briefing materials, talking points, op-eds, and thought-leadership content.
• Prepare NC Child leadership, board members, staff, and constituent spokespeople, including parents and youth, for media appearances, and provide media training.
• Create and manage multi-channel communications, including action alerts, biweekly newsletters, website content, blogs, social media, advertising campaigns, and signature event communications. Participate in planning, execution, and promotion of the annual State of the Child Summit.
• Set communications goals and performance measures; monitor earned media, website, email, social, audience, and campaign results; and recommend improvements.
• Steward NC Child's brand, organizational voice, visual identity, editorial standards, and messaging framework.
• Maintain an integrated editorial calendar and coordinate content development, fact-checking, appropriate review, approval, publication, and archiving workflows.
• Promote plain-language, culturally responsive, and accessible communications, including captions, alternative text, accessible documents, translation, and language access when appropriate.
• Direct NC Child's storytelling efforts, manage storytelling submission forms, and write community spotlights and profile stories. Apply ethical storytelling, informed-consent, privacy, release, and documentation practices when sharing stories or images involving children, families, and communities.
• Partner with program and development staff on policy campaigns, donor communications, fundraising materials, grant-related communications, and impact reporting. Draft the NC Child Impact Report (Annual Report) and monthly Board of Directors updates; support the Senior Marketing Manager with digital, video, and audio content; co-lead the EarlyWell Communications Action Team; and manage ExCEL NC website, social media, constituent, and event communications.
• Coordinate assigned communications budgets and vendor relationships; recommend vendor selection and scope; and monitor contracts, quality, deadlines, and expenditures.

What You Bring

• Demonstrated proficiency with email, content management systems, and digital and social media platforms.
• Experience working with the press and developing persuasive, audience-centered communications.
• Strong copywriting, editing, publishing, verbal communication, and presentation skills, including the ability to copyedit research reports, one-pagers, fact sheets, and other external materials.
• Proficiency in AP Style and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Sound judgment, strong problem-solving skills, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a changing political and nonprofit environment.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, synthesize complex information, and translate research and policy issues into clear communications.
• A strong commitment to NC Child's mission and core values.

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing relationships with North Carolina media.
• More than five years of communications experience in government, business, or a nonprofit organization.
• A bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• Experience with search engine marketing, analytics, online advertising, or communications platforms such as Meltwater, WordPress, Adobe Creative Suite, Raiser's Edge, Airtable, or SharePoint.
• Professional proficiency in Spanish or another language relevant to the communities NC Child serves.

Position Requirements

• Full-Time, 40 hours per week
• Hybrid, two days onsite and travel mostly in North Carolina when needed

NC Child offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including:

• Hiring range for this position: $85,000-$103,000, depending on experience
• Health and dental insurance
• Paid sick days, PTO, paid family leave
• Sabbatical program

NC Child is an equal opportunity employer.