Senior Director of Communications

Socket.dev; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare plans

401(k) with employer match

Paid time off

Job summary

Freedom House seeks a Senior Director of Communications to lead its public communications strategy and elevate its global voice. You will translate research, advocacy, and frontline work into compelling narratives for donors, policymakers, and wider audiences.

The role demands entrepreneurial leadership across earned media, owned channels, and digital content, with a focus on video-forward storytelling. You will report to executive leadership and serve as a trusted advisor on communications

Qualifications

• Experience leading communications in mission-driven, policy, advocacy, or journalism environments.
• Ability to translate research, policy, and frontline work into clear public narratives.
• Excellent writing, editing, and message-development skills with strong news judgment.
• Familiarity with national and international media, journalists, editors, and outlets.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead an integrated communications strategy aligned with institutional priorities and fundraising goals.
• Serve as principal communications counsel to the CEO and senior leadership.
• Lead media outreach, executive voice, and donor-facing storytelling across channels.
• Build a video-forward, digital-first storytelling approach and manage content calendars.

Skills

Strategic communications leadership

Media relations

Digital and video storytelling

Audience development

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications, humanities, journalism, international relations, political science, or related field

Job description

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

POSITION PROSPECTUS | FALL 2026

THE OPPORTUNITY

Global freedom has declined for nearly two decades. From Hong Kong to Belarus to Nicaragua, authoritarian regimes are jailing journalists, dissidents, and pro-democracy voices simply for speaking the truth — even as the demand for freedom has never been more urgent. Democratic backsliding, transnational repression, and shrinking civic space are accelerating around the world, and the case for freedom has never needed a stronger, clearer, more compelling messenger.

For 85 years, Freedom House has stood as the world's leading nonpartisan advocate for democracy and human rights— the only organization that fuses rigorous, authoritative research with direct, on-the-ground support for human rights defenders and unmatched bipartisan access on Capitol Hill and in capitals worldwide. Its work has helped expose authoritarian abuses, defended the free press, and gives voice to political prisoners who cannot safely speak for themselves.

With new CEO leadership, a bold FY27 strategy, and its landmark 85th Anniversary fundraising campaign underway, Freedom House is entering its most consequential period of growth in decades — and is seeking a Senior Director of Communications to give the organization a stronger, sharper, and more prominent voice on the global stage. This is a rare opportunity to shape how the world's leading advocate for freedom and democracy is seen, heard, and believed at precisely the moment its message matters most.

This is a nuanced, high-visibility role that will touch every facet of the organization — from research and frontline advocacy to policy, development, and executive leadership — and it calls for a communicator who can move nimbly across Freedom House to elevate its work, sharpen its narrative, and build a digital presence and public voice worthy of its mission.

Freedom House's online engagement has reached its strongest level in years over the past six months — proof of what focused, disciplined storytelling can do. The organization is ready to build on that momentum with a modern, video-forward, digital-first communications function, and it is looking for an entrepreneurial storyteller who will drive that evolution forward rather than wait to be directed.

• 85 Years of Impact
• $85M 85th Anniversary Campaign
• Global Voice for Freedom & Democracy

• Position Title Senior Director of Communications
• Reports To Executive Leadership; Member, CEO's Cabinet
• Location Washington, DC (Hybrid)
• Compensation $150,000–$190,000 commensurate with experience

Reporting to Freedom House's executive leadership and serving as a member of the CEO's Cabinet, the Senior Director of Communications will lead Freedom House's integrated communications function — earned media, owned channels, digital strategy, executive voice, and donor-facing storytelling — and will be central to translating the organization's research, advocacy, and frontline work into public pressure, audience growth, and institutional visibility around the world.

ABOUT FREEDOM HOUSE AND ITS LEADERSHIP

Mission
Founded in 1941 on the conviction that freedom flourishes where governments are accountable to their people, Freedom House is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that identifies threats to freedom, mobilizes decision-makers to confront them, and supports the activists and organizations defending and expanding freedom worldwide. Its core values — belonging, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and respect — guide an organization dedicated to ensuring the United States remains both a democratic model at home and a consistent champion of freedom abroad.

Leadership: Jamie Fly, Chief Executive Officer
Freedom House named Jamie Fly as its Chief Executive Officer effective February 2, 2026. A widely respected leader in democracy support, media freedom, technology, and national security, Fly joined Freedom House as it marks its 85th anniversary and pivots toward a diversified private- and public-sector funding model. He brings decades of experience across government, civil society, and the private sector — including service as President and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, senior roles on the U.S. National Security Council staff, at the Department of Defense, and on Capitol Hill, and most recently as Senior Counselor at Palantir Technologies, where he supported efforts to defend Ukrainian democracy. He is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service and the Czech Foreign Ministry's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Diplomacy.

Read the full announcement of Jamie Fly's appointment: freedomhouse.org

Strategy: Positioned to Lead
As U.S. government funding that long masked structural challenges across the democracy-support field recedes, donors and audiences alike are shifting toward field-based implementation and partners with a clear point of view. Freedom House is uniquely positioned to lead this moment — drawing on eight decades of institutional credibility, genuinely bipartisan standing, and a research base no peer organization can match. Its strategy rests on three pillars:

• Research — the flagship Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net reports remain the backbone of Freedom House's institutional authority.
• Frontline Assistance — direct support to human rights defenders and political prisoners, including the Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners.
• Policy & Advocacy — bipartisan Congressional engagement and international policymaker access in the areas of deepest programmatic and research credibility.

The Senior Director of Communications will be the connective tissue across all three pillars — translating research into narrative, frontline work into public pressure, and policy wins into visibility that strengthens Freedom House's standing with donors, policymakers, and the public.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Freedom House is led by CEO Jamie Fly, supported by President Gerardo Berthin and Chief of Staff Masha Donnelly. The Chief Advancement Officer, Meto Koloski (Development), and Chief Financial Officer Jin Kim (Finance & Operations) report to the CEO — working alongside senior directors leading Research and Analysis, the Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners, Policy and Advocacy, Public Relations, and International Programs across Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Eurasia, and Asia. As a member of the CEO's Cabinet, the Senior Director of Communications will sit at this same table — with direct visibility into, and influence across, every part of the organization's mission.

THE 85TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN: INVESTING IN FREEDOM'S FUTURE

On May 20, 2026, Freedom House marked its 85th anniversary at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC, launching Investing in Freedom's Future — a campaign to raise $85 million over five years to sustain its research, expand support for human rights defenders, and confront authoritarian abuses worldwide.

The evening's marquee honoree, imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, embodied the stakes of this work: journalists and dissidents worldwide continue to pay the ultimate price for demanding freedom, and Freedom House's Free Them All program exists to fight for their release. Five additional honorees — including the nation of Finland, Cuba Decide founder Rosa María Payá Acevedo, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — reflected the breadth of a growing philanthropic coalition this role will help amplify to the world.

The Senior Director of Communications will play a defining role in this campaign — building the public narrative, media visibility, and digital presence that carry Investing in Freedom's Future to donors, policymakers, and engaged audiences everywhere, and ensuring the campaign's momentum translates into a durable, prominent voice for Freedom House long after its five years conclude.

Learn more: freedomhouse.org — 2026 Annual Awards & 85th Anniversary

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Summary

Freedom House is seeking a strategic and proactive Senior Director of Communications to lead its public communications strategy at a defining moment for the organization and for the global fight for freedom. The central purpose of the role is to turn Freedom House's research, advocacy, emergency assistance, political prisoner work, and frontline relationships into public pressure, audience growth, donor confidence, and institutional visibility.

This person will build communications campaigns, sharpen Freedom House's public voice, and ensure the organization's work reaches the people who can fund, amplify, and act on it — including donors, policymakers, allied governments, journalists, diaspora communities, civil society partners, and engaged digital audiences. The Senior Director will lead an integrated communications function across earned media, owned channels, digital content, email, website strategy, executive communications, partner amplification, and donor-focused storytelling.

Freedom House works on complex and sensitive foreign policy and human rights issues. The communications leader must bring the judgment and substantive fluency to advise the CEO as a trusted member of his Cabinet, manage a communications team, work closely with regional and issue experts, understand political context quickly, and translate complicated research and programmatic work into clear, accurate, compelling communications that advance Freedom House's mission to defend and expand freedom globally.

Freedom House is modernizing its communications function — moving away from traditional think-tank outputs toward a digital-first, video-forward approach — and is looking for an entrepreneurial, self-directed storyteller who will help drive that evolution rather than wait for direction from senior leadership.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

Strategy & Executive Counsel

• Develop and lead an integrated communications strategy tied to Freedom House's institutional priorities, fundraising goals, advocacy objectives, and audience growth.
• Define priority audiences by issue, campaign, and objective, including donors, policymakers, allied governments, journalists, diaspora communities, civil society partners, and engaged digital audiences.
• Serve as principal communications counsel to the CEO and help shape the CEO's public voice across speeches, op-eds, media, social platforms, donor communications, and major institutional moments.
• Work with Advocacy to support policy priorities by turning policy objectives into clear public messages, campaigns, media products, and audience-specific communications.

Media, Content & Digital Voice

• Build and execute communications campaigns around Freedom House's core work, including political prisoners, authoritarian repression, internet freedom, transnational repression, democratic resilience, and frontline support.
• Lead Freedom House's owned-channel strategy, including website, email, newsletters, LinkedIn, social platforms, short-form video, and campaign landing pages, with a focus on audience growth, engagement, and conversion.
• Champion a video-forward, digital-first storytelling approach — building on Freedom House's strongest online engagement in years — with particular emphasis on the stories of political prisoners and human rights defenders, including Russian activists, which resonate with private funders and engaged digital audiences.
• Oversee digital content strategy and ensure Freedom House is producing platform-appropriate content, including visual explainers, short videos, data-driven content, direct testimony, campaign updates, and donor-facing proof points.
• Develop and maintain relationships with national and international journalists, editors, producers, podcast hosts, and other media figures.
• Lead proactive media outreach, pitch Freedom House experts and op-eds, and identify opportunities for the organization in print, broadcast, podcasts, digital media, and other public platforms.
• Prepare executives and staff for interviews, public appearances, speeches, panels, and other external engagements.

Campaign & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Find and develop compelling stories from Freedom House's research, advocacy, emergency assistance, political prisoner work, and programs that can reach audiences beyond the democracy and human rights community.
• Work with Development to ensure Freedom House's public communications reinforce the organization's impact, urgency, and case for support — including the 85th Anniversary Campaign, Investing in Freedom's Future.
• Work closely with regional, issue, advocacy, and program experts to translate complex research and policy work into clear public narratives, campaigns, and timely commentary.
• Ensure consistently high-quality Freedom House content that is accurate, accessible, timely, mission-driven, and audience-focused.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Manage the communications team, set priorities, assign responsibilities, maintain an editorial and campaign calendar, and ensure strong execution across media, editorial, digital, website, and email functions.
• Assess communications platforms, analytics, vendors, and outside support, and recommend changes where needed to improve reach, quality, speed, and impact.
• Plan and manage communications for current and potential crises, including reputational, political, security, and partner-related risks.
• Provide media and message guidance to Freedom House staff as needed, and manage communications consultants and vendors as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience & Education

• Bachelor's degree in communications, humanities, journalism, international relations, political science, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Significant experience leading communications in a mission-driven, policy, advocacy, campaign, journalism, government, philanthropic, or public affairs environment.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute communications strategies that move defined audiences, not simply manage outputs.
• Strong grounding in foreign policy, democracy, human rights, international affairs, or related public policy issues, with the ability to engage substantively with Freedom House experts and quickly understand the political context surrounding the countries and issues Freedom House covers.
• Experience turning complex research, policy, advocacy, or programmatic work into clear public narratives, campaigns, media opportunities, digital content, and donor-relevant communications.
• Excellence building and managing communications campaigns across earned media, owned channels, digital platforms, email, website content, executive voice, and partner amplification.
• Familiarity with national or international media, including building relationships with journalists, editors, producers, podcast hosts, and other public platforms.
• Serving in an advisory capacity to senior executives/ principals on communications strategy, public positioning, media opportunities, speeches, op-eds, and external engagements.
• Experience managing staff, setting priorities, maintaining editorial or campaign calendars, and driving execution across a communications team.
• Expertise developing or overseeing modern digital content, including short-form video, visual explainers, social-first storytelling, newsletters, and platform-specific audience growth.
• Success communicating with donors or working in an organization supported by private philanthropy is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with Washington, Congress, government, foreign policy, or advocacy is useful, but Freedom House is also interested in candidates who bring campaign, journalism, digital, philanthropic, or audience-building experience from outside traditional DC communications roles.
• A generalist orientation is preferred — comfort working across multiple countries and international issues rather than deep specialization in a single region.
• Freedom House is open to candidates with less traditional tenure who demonstrate strong digital instincts, creativity, and modern storytelling savvy; digital fluency matters as much as years of experience.

Skills & Attributes

• Excellent writing, editing, and message-development skills, with strong news judgment and the ability to identify where Freedom House can contribute meaningfully to public debate.
• Strong campaign instincts and the ability to turn institutional priorities into audience-specific communications plans, making complex research, policy, and programmatic work accessible without losing accuracy or substance.
• Strong understanding of modern communications channels, including earned media, owned media, digital platforms, email, website strategy, short-form video, LinkedIn, newsletters, and audience analytics.
• Political judgment and an understanding of how communications choices can affect Freedom House's bipartisan standing, credibility, partners, funders, and relationships with governments.
• Ability to advise senior leadership candidly and exercise sound judgment under pressure, with a clear understanding of how public communications support donor confidence and broader institutional support.
• Strong managerial skills, including the ability to set priorities, assign work, manage deadlines, enforce standards, and help a small team execute well.
• Ability to work effectively across research, advocacy, development, programs, regional experts, and senior leadership.
• Intellectual seriousness, sound judgment, moral clarity, managerial discipline, and modern campaign instincts — able to move quickly without being reckless, and to protect Freedom House's credibility while sharpening its public voice.
• Comfortable making decisions, setting priorities, giving candid advice, and managing competing demands; brings urgency, creativity, and humility.
• Entrepreneurial and self-directed — proactively drives communications strategy and creative direction forward rather than waiting for direction from senior leadership.
• Strong and sustained commitment to the mission of Freedom House, and ability to travel as needed, including internationally.

Working Conditions

General office environment with a hybrid telework schedule; may require long hours, including evenings and weekends, and travel as needed. Candidates must possess authorization to work in the United States independent from Freedom House sponsorship.

BENEFITS & CULTURE

Benefits

• Multiple medical, dental, and vision plans available on the first date of hire; 403(b) Retirement Plan with up to a 10% employer match.
• Generous, tenure-based paid time off (17–25 days), 10 days sick leave with unlimited roll-over, and 14 paid holidays.
• Caregiver leave (40 days paid), bereavement leave (5 days paid), and paid jury duty.
• A flexible, hybrid work culture with slow-down weeks and "no meeting Fridays".
• Mental health and well-being support through the Employee Assistance Program, flexible spending accounts, and short- and long-term disability and life insurance.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Freedom House's core values — belonging, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and respect — call on every member of the team to treat one another with dignity while appreciating each person's unique contributions. Freedom House is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices; all qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other non- merit factors.

FREEDOM HOUSE IN THE NEWS

Freedom House's 85th year has generated sustained visibility across major media, policy, and philanthropic circles —
the very momentum this role exists to build on. A sample of recent coverage and announcements:

• Press Release | September 10, 2026 — Freedom House Launches Ambassadors for Freedom Program, Names Five Leading Human Rights Defenders as Inaugural Advocates
• Press Release | September 1, 2026 — Freedom House and the R.T. Weatherman Foundation Announce Partnership to Advocate for the Release of Hong Kong Political Prisoner Joshua Wong
• Press Release | May 21, 2026 — Freedom House Honors 2026 Award Recipients; Launches 85th Anniversary Campaign
• Press Release | February 2, 2026 — Freedom House Appoints Jamie Fly as Chief Executive Officer
• CEO Update | August 6, 2026 — Update from Freedom House CEO Jamie Fly: Two Political Prisoners Released, More Successes in the Fight for Global Freedom
• Media Mention — The Washington Post | April 16, 2026 — Dictators Increasingly Team Up to Hunt Dissenters Abroad
• LinkedIn | September 2026 — Jamie Fly on LinkedIn: joining Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs for a public conversation on the moral case for democracy
• Event | May 20, 2026 — Freedom House 2026 Annual Awards & 85th Anniversary Celebration

LOCATION: WASHINGTON, DC

Freedom House's headquarters sits in the heart of Washington, DC — one city, one address, and an unmatched line of sight into the decisions that shape global freedom. The Senior Director of Communications will work steps from Capitol Hill, the diplomatic corps, and the newsrooms and media outlets that shape the national and global conversation, in a region built for exactly this kind of work.

The Washington, DC metro area is the sixth-largest in the country, home to more than 6.2 million people across a fast- growing, remarkably diverse economy anchored by federal government, international diplomacy, technology, and one of the largest concentrations of nonprofit and mission-driven organizations anywhere in the world. Beyond government and the Hill, the region's strength runs through media, law, international finance, biotechnology (with the National Institutes of Health nearby), and a rising technology sector — giving the Senior Director of Communications direct access to a deep and varied press corps, partner, and donor ecosystem.

It's also one of the country's most livable cities. World-class culture is a daily backdrop — the Smithsonian's museums and National Gallery of Art, the National Zoo, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts — alongside leading research universities including Georgetown, George Washington, American, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins. The region consistently ranks among the most walkable and best-educated in the nation, with the Metrocenter's rail and bus network offering an easy car-free commute and nearby communities across Maryland and Northern Virginia providing excellent schools, more space, and a family-friendly pace of life without sacrificing access to the city's energy.

In short: this is a rare convergence of purpose and platform — a role at the center of the fight for global democracy, based in the city built to amplify it to the world.