Creative Digital Content Storytelling Manager

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Job Title: Creative Digital Content Storytelling Manager
Grade: D
Annual Salary: $108,104.86
Location: Washington, DC or Remote within US

Organizational Overview: We are the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union of about 2 million diverse members in healthcare, the public sector, and property services. We believe in and fight for our Vision for a Just Society: where all workers are valued and all people respected, no matter where we come from or what color we are; where all families and communities can thrive; and where we leave a better and more equitable world for generations to come. We are an anti-racist union determined to check corporate power and uproot structural racism through unions, worker power, collective action, and government, legislative, and political action. We fight for Unions for All and a Government that Works for All so that all of us, across race and place, can have power together in unions and participate fully in our democracy.

Purpose: The Creative Digital Content Storytelling Manager is tasked with helping to oversee and execute on SEIU’s video and digital content creation. They will support the capture of compelling stories and then develop them into high-quality engaging pieces of video and digital content in order to advance the unified narrative of the union.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Oversees own and staff’s work to build and hone a content production machine for SEIU
• Utilizes an editorial calendar, story arc and messaging for the union and develops stories and content that successfully drives this message forward
• Helps build the skillset and ingenuity of video editors and content creators
• Utilizes message testing results to hone and improve content
• Ensures message discipline by driving a unified narrative across the entire storytelling unit and union
• Serves as a thought partner and deputy to the Assistant Director of Digital Storytelling
• Stays abreast of developments in digital content creation trends and how to best apply them in our space
• Ensures work of the union is innovative and helps exceed industry standards
• Performs other duties as needed in support of SEIU’s goals and mission
• Leads staff with an anti-racist lens, fostering a culture of rapid-response experimentation and creative brainstorming.

Contacts: Must be able to represent the International Union with local leaders, members, staff, and outside organizations utilizing independent judgment and the highest level of professionalism.

Interfaces with highest level organizational and external contacts, including: 

• SEIU officers, division and region leadership, International senior staff, project and program managers, local union officers and local senior staff.
• External: politicians, government officials, officers and staff of partners and allied organizations.
• Vendors: consultants, pollsters, freelancers, video and multi-media producers, design and production companies, advertising agencies.

Direction and Decision Making:

• Reports to the Assistant Director of the Digital Content Studio and works with extreme independence.
• Must be able to identify and manage relationships with external vendors; includes managing budgets and contracts.
• Must be able to work with International and local union elected leaders and senior staff in complex and sometimes politically sensitive situations.
• Must have demonstrated ability to manage own work and work of others without supervision.  
• Requires a high level of judgment and ability to take initiative and work independently.  
• Must use a high level of judgment and discretion in resolving problems within the department, the unit, and throughout SEIU.
• Must maintain the highest level of confidentiality in handling SEIU affairs.
• Must be able to handle multiple “priority” projects simultaneously and set and meet deadlines, and ensure that staff teams do the same.  

Qualifications and Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of related work experience OR a combination of education and experience that would provide for the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Experience developing and implementing digital strategies for content amplification
• Excellent writing, verbal, visual, and analytical skills.
• Knowledge of narrative best practices and approaches to messaging.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex content creation, including the development of video assets.
• Understanding of what content is likely to perform well in digital spaces.
• Ability to tailor content to specific digital outlets, audiences, and platforms.
• Deep knowledge of video editing and content creation best practices.
• Strong management skills.
• Knowledge of unions or other advocacy organizations. 
• Familiarity with Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, video and photography equipment, and all social media platforms.
• Experience adapting work to trends in content consumption.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally performed in an office setting,  job may require work in a variety of other settings to perform the tasks required to complete assignments. Must be available for frequent travel with overnight stays.  Long and irregular hours.

Compensation & Benefits: SEIU offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our values as a labor organization and our commitment to the well-being and long-term security of our staff. Benefits include:

• A comprehensive, employer-sponsored health benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• A defined benefit pension plan 
• Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Additional benefits consistent with a mission-driven workplace

SEIU believes that workers deserve dignity, stability, and the ability to plan for their futures, and our benefits are designed to support that belief.