Senior Communications Associate (DF)

Democracy Fund; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Democracy Fund seeks a Senior Communications Associate to lead strategy for its Governance Program and the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. You will guide messaging, media outreach, and stakeholder engagement in collaboration with senior leaders.

You will coordinate with internal teams, manage external agencies, and drive high-impact campaigns that advance a healthy, resilient democracy from Washington, DC. This is a hands-on senior communications role for a collaborative team.

Qualifications

• Deep passion for strengthening American democracy.
• 7–10 years of relevant professional experience.
• Exceptional writing, speaking, and editing abilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead communication strategies for Governance and Voter Study Group.
• Manage media relations, message development, and timely outreach.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external partners on campaigns.
• Plan events, sponsorships, and stakeholder engagements.
• Guide staff on editorial calendars and communications cadence.

Skills

Strategic communications

Media relations

Stakeholder engagement

Editorial/writing

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Job description

Democracy Fund invests in organizations working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. We work on things that make democracy work better.

At the heart of our vision for the future are three core commitments: fostering more effective governance in the United States, modernizing our election and campaign finance systems, and strengthening our media and the public square to help people understand and participate in the democratic process. To date, we have committed more than $100 million in support of a healthy democracy.

Out of deep respect for the U.S. Constitution and our nation’s core democratic values, eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar founded Democracy Fund. Incubated in the Omidyar Network, the Democracy Fund launched as an independent foundation in 2014 and is based in Washington, D.C.

Democracy Fund is seeking a strategic, highly collaborative Senior Communications Associate to join our growing Communications Team. As a foundation committed to helping create a political system that is healthy, resilient, and diverse, Democracy Fund believes that grantmaking is only one of our tools. Our work utilizes strategic communications, public opinion research, and partnerships in order to help create a more robust, effective field.

We are looking for a highly-skilled communicator to lead communication strategy and implementation for both our Governance Program and the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. In partnership with senior leaders, this role will drive the design and execution of communications strategies including but not limited to: message development, media relations, legislative outreach, social media, stakeholder engagement, and internal communications.

This is an ideal role for a communicator who thrives on collaborating with colleagues, aligning priorities between internal stakeholders, and engaging with external audiences, especially political press and Capitol Hill. Successful candidates will be systems thinkers who understand the importance of establishing infrastructure and are adept at its creation.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience managing the development and execution of high-impact issue or advocacy campaigns and will have direct experience working across departments in nonprofits, advocacy, politics, government, or philanthropic ventures. They will have a track record of earning premier national and state coverage, and be comfortable managing agencies. The winning candidate will be passionate about democracy, energized by strategic communications, and action-oriented.

Based in Washington, DC, this position reports to the Director of Communications. While part of the Communications team, this position will be fully integrated with the Governance and Voter Study Group teams to provide them with day-to-day support.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop initiative-level communications campaigns and messaging that advances the work of the Governance Program and its grantees, and helps build organizational brand recognition among targeted audiences.
• Expand the reach and influence of the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group through the creation of communications strategies and platforms.
• Implement communications strategies by managing agencies, maintaining editorial calendars, developing and curating content, and aligning activities with central communications calendar, staff, and consultants.
• Develop earned media strategies to generate positive media coverage while managing overall reputation and engagement among relevant policymaker, research, and other stakeholder communities.
• Manage execution of events and sponsorships, including grantee and Hill convenings, sponsorship events, and other opportunities to engage the program’s network.
• Support the development of the program directors’ public positioning by identifying and executing new writing projects, thought leadership opportunities, and corresponding social media strategies.
• Promote a team culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and quality.
• Bring confidence and a positive outlook to problem-solving and day-to-day juggling of priorities.
• Contribute to a team culture that values collaboration, enthusiasm, and transparency.
• Other duties as assigned.

TEAM MEMBER

• Team player with the ability to build strong relationships and work collaboratively.
• Contribute to a team culture that values collaboration, positivity, and transparency.
• Bring confidence and a positive outlook to problem-solving and day-to-day juggling of priorities.
• Ability to work effectively cross-functionally and creatively solve problems.
• Actively work to support the success of the entire Democracy Fund team through the development of shared goals and setting priorities.
• Promote a team culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and quality.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

• Deep passion for strengthening American democracy and willingness to work with leaders, advocates, and media from across the political spectrum.
• 7-10 years of relevant professional experience.
• Superior organizational, prioritization, and time management skills.
• Exceptional public speaking, writing, and editing skills, including headline development.
• Savvy news judgment and deep understanding of how public opinion data can shape political and policy debate.
• Experience working on or with Capitol Hill, and experience promoting research and data. Comfort with polling data a plus.
• Equally comfortable developing high-level strategies and implementing them in day-to-day work.
• Ability to think, plan and execute on multiple projects simultaneously in an organized fashion while paying close attention to the details.
• Deep sense of curiosity, and demonstrated interest analyzing outcomes and distilling actionable lessons.
• Problem solver with a high tolerance for ambiguity, and ability to respond to changing priorities.
• Ability to work effectively cross-functionally and creatively solve problems.
• Demonstrated ability to work calmly and maintain good judgment in fast-paced environments, as well as the ability to elevate appropriately.
• Existing media relationships and a track record of positive press placements.

Democracy Fund is committed to a diverse workplace, seeking voices and expertise from people from across the political spectrum. Our board, staff, advisors, and grantees include Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Democracy Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer, where we encourage candidates of all ages, color, ethnic background, country of origin, religion, disability status, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity to apply.