Senior Communications Manager, BEF

Bonneville Environmental Foundation; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical + disability + life insurance

Retirement plan with match

PTO & sabbatical after 6 years

Job summary

Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is seeking a Senior Communications Manager to lead external communications and media relations, while coordinating BEF’s program-based messaging across Renewables, Watersheds, BWS, and CBG. This role collaborates with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to advance climate and environmental solutions.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in nonprofit communications, strong media relations and crisis communications capabilities, and experience

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in communications or related field; required.
• 5+ years in communications, public relations, or media relations in nonprofit/environmental sectors.
• Experience coordinating across multiple teams or programs.
• Proven media relations and spokesperson preparation experience.
• Experience managing external vendors and communications budgets.
• Proficiency with media monitoring tools, CMS, email marketing, and design tools.

Responsibilities

• Serve as central point for external communications and media inquiries.
• Lead external communications, media relations, and social media oversight.
• Coordinate spokespeople for interviews and public appearances with aligned messaging.
• Review and guide external communications for consistency across programs.
• Oversee cross-program communications strategy and alignment, ensuring BEF narrative cohesion.

Skills

Media relations

Spokesperson prep

Cross-team coordination

Vendor management

Tools: monitoring tools

CMS & Email marketing

Public communications

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing, or related field

Tools

Media monitoring tools

Content management systems

Email marketing

Design-collaboration platforms

Job description

Senior Communications Manager, BEF

Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is an entrepreneurial nonprofit working on environmental solutions at the intersection of renewable energy and freshwater. Partnerships are key to our success. We build long-term relationships with our education, corporate, utility and philanthropic partners by first understanding their goals and needs and providing solutions that achieve those goals while achieving real, measurable environmental benefits.

We are actively seeking an individual who is passionate about advancing climate and environmental solutions through clear, consistent, and credible communication. The successful candidate will report to the Chief of Staff and join our cross-functional team, collaborating with stakeholders across program teams, senior leadership, and external partners to contribute to BEF's mission of accelerating renewable energy and freshwater environmental outcomes. This role involves coordinating a strategic through-line across BEF's program-based communications work (Renewables, Watersheds, BWS, and CBG) without centralizing it. The Senior Communications Manager will be responsible for leading external communications and media relations, maintain and support BEF social media channels, and overseeing communications-related vendors and contractors,, and cross-program communications review and guidance.

Why Join Us? Our Values Are:

Partnership: We believe we can accomplish more by working together.

Adaptability: We evolve, adapt, and apply what we learn to improve our approaches and outcomes.

Knowledge: We seek out and value diverse perspectives, embrace new ideas, and advance new approaches.

Innovation: We recognize that the scope and pace of the change we need demands innovation, drawing on knowledge from the past and new information and tools.

Integrity: We are honest with our employees, customers, and our partners. We seek to deliver outcomes that benefit the environment and people we serve.

Primary Duties:

Media Relations, Public Visibility & Reputation Management

• Serve as the central point of contact and clearinghouse for external communications requests, interview requests, speaking invitations, and media inquiries directed at BEF or its staff
• Build and maintain a proactive and reactive media relations approach to manage BEF's growing visibility in climate, energy, business sustainability, water resource, and environmental coverage
• Monitor, track, and regularly report to leadership on media coverage and public mentions of BEF, formalizing and expanding on existing tracking practices; Flag emerging risks and opportunities
• Prepare and coordinate spokespeople (executive leadership and program staff) for interviews, panels, and public appearances, including talking points and message alignment
• Manage BEF’s organizational social media presence, ensuring accuracy with brand voice and coordination with program-level social content
• In collaboration with the Chief of Staff support development of a reputational risk and crisis communications protocol, partnering with executive leadership on sensitive or high-visibility issues

External Communications Review, Brand Stewardship & Vendor Management

• Serve as a central reviewer for externally facing communications requests and materials across programs, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and alignment with BEF's mission and values
• Manage relationships and performance of external communications contractors and vendors (e.g., graphic design, messaging/copywriting, media training), including scoping, budgeting, and quality control
• Maintain and evolve messaging framework across print, digital, and public-facing channels
• Partner with program teams to create, review, edit, finalize key organizational materials (annual reports, impact stories, newsletters, website content) that draw on and reinforce program-level communications work

Cross-Program Communications Strategy & Alignment

• Serve as the strategic connective point across BEF's program-based communications and executive functions, including Renewables, Watersheds, Business for Water Stewardship (BWS), and the Climate Business Group (CBG), coordinating messaging and priorities without asking programs to give up their embedded communications function and capacity
• Build shared visibility across program communications work, identifying where programs are telling overlapping stories, missing opportunities to reinforce a shared BEF narrative, or working at cross-purposes externally
• Establish light-touch shared standards and practices (voice, terminology, review norms) that let program teams retain ownership of their day-to-day communications while ensuring consistency where it matters most: external-facing, cross-program, or high-visibility work
• Ensuring high function and impact program-specific communication action and strategy that reinforce program function, direction, and development.
• Convene a program communications working group or community of practice periodically to surface priorities, share resources, and flag where cross-program collaboration would strengthen BEF's overall positioning
• Advise program leadership on how their communications work fits within, and can draw on, the broader organizational narrative
• Partner with the Learning & Development Director to ensure all appropriate staff are trained in communications and media best practices.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience
• Experience in a nonprofit, environmental, or mission-driven organization, or climate, clean energy, water stewardship, or broader environmental sector
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in communications, public relations, or media relations, including experience coordinating communications across multiple teams, departments, or program areas
• Experience coordinating geographically dispersed or matrixed teams (i.e., influencing without direct authority)
• Demonstrated media relations and spokesperson-preparation experience
• Experience managing external vendors/contractors and communications budgets
• Proficiency with media monitoring tools, content management systems, email marketing, and design-collaboration platforms

Desirable:

• Familiarity with the Pacific Northwest region
• Familiarity with energy, water, and/or corporate sustainability issues
• Managing crisis or incident-management communications experience

What’s in it for you:

• Salary Range: $90,000-$100,000 per year DOE.
• 100% Employer paid Medical, Short Term and Long-Term Disability, Life insurance for employees; 75% subsidized for family/dependents.
• Retirement plan with 5% employer matching contribution.
• Generous PTO and Vacation Policy including alternative care and self-care leave.
• Four Week paid sabbatical after first 6 years, then every 5 years thereafter
• Opportunity to grow through training and development including a generous paid professional development budget.
• Hybrid work schedule.

Location:

Hybrid, Portland, OR and surrounding areas

Open until filled. BEF will review applications as they are received and will interview qualified candidates as they are identified. Our goal is to have this team member start work on 1/25/27.

Bonneville Environmental Foundation is an EEO employer.