Vice President, Communications - Color of Change

ABOUT COLOR OF CHANGE

Color Of Change is the nation's largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by millions of members, we campaign on issues of criminal justice, economic justice, voter freedom, big tech, and culture change, and work to move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org to learn more.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Color Of Change is seeking a Vice President, Communications to serve as the organization's senior-most leader for message, public voice, creative direction, and audience development. The VP sits on the Organizational Leadership Team and reports to the President and CEO.

This role leads the work that carries Color Of Change to the public. The Campaigns Team runs our fights, and the Communications Team carries them. Communications makes the harm undeniable and the path to action clear. It builds awareness on the channels we own, organizes members through email, web, and text, backs campaigns with earned media, and keeps  members engaged on what their action produced when a campaign ends. Communications also runs the email, website, and social media channels  that carries every message, including Development's fundraising asks.

We need a writer who also leads. Our communications must do more than describe terrible things and ask people to respond.  It should make our community's strength, resilience, creativity, and capacity visible, offer information people can use, explain how action  brings about change.

This is a building role at a pivotal moment. Color Of Change is rebuilding under a new President and CEO with a new operating model and a clear strategy. The VP will set the editorial and creative standard, name who approves what, build an exceptional team,  grow the channels the organization owns, and expand Color Of Change’s reach and impact. It is a rare opportunity for a leader who still loves to write, can direct partners with a firm hand, and wants to build a nimble but expert team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Message, Narrative & Public Voice

• Develop clear arguments and framing for organizational priorities in partnership with the President and CEO and the VP, Campaigns, so that what we say and what we ask people to do are consistent
• Personally draft and edit high-stakes statements, speeches, op-eds, campaign messages, and other public communications
• Hold the editorial standard across all public work: show rather than tell, name the harm plainly, provide actionable steps, and write the way our members actually talk
• Serve as a thought partner to the President and CEO on her public voice across broadcast, podcast, print, and stage, including her weekly media production cycle
• Own rapid response and crisis moments, using expert judgment, pulling in every team and mutual aid partner a crisis needs
• Serve as final approver on message and public voice, within the strategy set by the President and CEO

Channels, Creative & Audience

• Lead and execute the email, website, and social media channels and the shared send calendar, with Development's input
• Raise the quality of stories, memes, visual concepts, and original content, and own the written voice and visual standards that staff and contractors use
• Set priorities for discovery, reach, return engagement, and direct supporter relationships
• Give original programming realistic promotion plans so that audiences know it exists and come back to it

Narrative, Culture & Legacy

• Make Black history, dignity, creativity, and belonging visible as work that matters in its own right, beyond its role in undergirding campaigns
• Move verified truth through Black media, creators, and trusted messengers when our communities are targeted by coordinated disinformation, in lock step with the Campaigns Team that leads digital defense programming
• Report back to members after each campaign on its efficacy, its missteps, and what comes next

Department Management & Operational Excellence

• Own team intake, deciding what the team takes on, what waits, and what it declines using the organization's five criteria for choosing work
• Name routine approvers, backups, and escalation rules, with work reviewed at agreed-upon checkpoints
• Direct contracted social media, communications support, and earned media partners
• Manage Communications priorities and resources within the approved budget, confirming vendor delivery 

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead a department of eight full-time positions at full build, with direct reports in brand and creative production, media relations, original programming, and member communications
• Direct, coach, and evaluate the full team, cultivating skilled communicators who approach the work through a culturally relevant, racial justice lens
• Collaborate closely with People and Culture to champion organizational values, lead departmental change management, and oversee talent governance, including performance management, compliance, and leadership development, to foster an inclusive, high-performance culture
• Raise the standard of excellence across the team through coaching, feedback, and accountability

Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment

• Serve as a member of the Organizational Leadership Team and a key integrator across Communications, Campaigns, and Development
• Ensure  that our campaigns become durable within the public understanding
• Partner with Development, which sets fundraising strategy and writes every appeal, so that asks inspire donors and funders to action
• Partner with Marketing and External Affairs, which uses Communications channels for audience growth and activations, and with Operations on technical implementation and measurement

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of experience in communications, journalism, media, or creative leadership, including 5+ years leading and developing a team
• Exceptional writing and editing ability; a portfolio will be requested and reviewed, and you should be ready to name what you personally wrote, edited, directed, and decided
• Demonstrated success growing or deepening an audience relationship, with a credible account of the starting point, timeframe, resources, and results
• Experience connecting digital content, earned media, audience development, and original programming, with a clear understanding of what each one demands
• Experience directing agencies and contractors, and holding them to our standardsFluency with Black media, Black creators, and the cultural landscape our members live within
• Proven judgment through a crisis, a  disinformation campaign, or a hostile news cycle, and the ability to describe what you decided, acted on, and why
• Experience managing a department budget Ability to provide a structural analysis of racism aligned with Color Of Change's vision and values

KEY CHARACTERISTICS & WORKING STYLE

The Vice President, Communications is a strategic, hands-on leader who owns the organization's message, public voice, and creative impact. This role requires strong judgment, a high editorial standard, and the ability to build structure in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.

The ideal candidate is:

• A writer who leads, who still drafts, edits, and shapes the framing on our biggest priorities
• Calm and decisive under pressure, able to lead through rapid response, crisis, and disinformation moments with clarity and composure, and to tell a real emergency from an inconvenience
• A builder, comfortable carrying more individual work in the early months while building the team, instituting and documenting standards, and creating effective systems
• A generous but demanding editor, who raises the quality of the work and gives direct, useful feedback to staff and outside partners 
• Clear about priorities, able to say what the team will do, what waits, and what it declines, and can explain why
• Culturally fluent, with an authentic connection to the communities Color Of Change serves and the cultural spaces where narratives are shaped
• Collaborative and able to build trust and drive alignment with Campaigns, Development, senior leadership, and external partners

In this role, the Vice President, Communications turns campaigns into lasting public understanding, helping individuals appreciate where and how they can make a difference

REPORTING STRUCTURE & TEAM CONTEXT

Reports to: President & CEO; serves on the Organizational Leadership Team

Collaborates closely with: VP, Campaigns; VP, Development; the Office of the COO, including Marketing and External Affairs; People and Culture; General Counsel; the President's Office; and external partners, including contracted creative, communications, and earned media partners, Black media, and creators

Direct Reports: At full build, you will lead a team of eight (8) communications specialists across content and production, social media, media, and rapid response. 

MORE INFORMATION

Location: Remote, with periodic travel to New York, D.C., and occasional travel for organizational and public events

Employment Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Classification: Senior Leadership (Non-Bargaining Unit)

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, core business hours, with flexibility required to support campaign launches, rapid response moments, and time-sensitive communications work

As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful, and aligned workplace, all offers of employment at Color Of Change are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, conducted in accordance with applicable laws and organizational policies.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Compensation for this role is a $170,000 to $180,000 base salary, commensurate with experience and aligned with senior leadership roles at national advocacy and racial justice organizations. 

Color Of Change offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; a 401(k) retirement plan (employer match); generous paid time off; paid holidays; and paid family leave.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Color Of Change operates in a remote environment with team members across the United States. You will collaborate regularly with colleagues via video, email, and chat and engage frequently in cross-functional coordination. This role requires working core hours Monday through Friday on a laptop for most of the workday, with additional time as needed to support communications execution and organizational priorities. Occasional travel may be required for events, activations, team convenings, or strategic planning.

Color Of Change is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit and organizational resources and priorities.

Color Of Change prohibits discrimination based on race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status and registered domestic partner status, citizenship status, protected hair style or texture, military and veteran status, disability, protected medical condition, genetic information, political activity, or any other status protected by applicable law. Harassment and/or discrimination based on “sex” includes harassment and/or discrimination based upon gender, gender identity (including gender identity and gender expression), pregnancy (including childbirth or related medical conditions, and breastfeeding), and gender stereotyping.