IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS COMMUNICATIONS FELLOW [IRI-10]

IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS COMMUNICATIONS FELLOW [IRI-10]
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
New York or Washington, D.C.

For more than 92 years, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU), has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and brings together the country’s largest team of public interest lawyers, lobbyists, communication strategists, and members and activists in the advancement of equality, fairness, and freedom, especially for the most vulnerable in our society. The ACLU’s National Office invites applications for an Immigrants’ Rights Communications Fellowship. The fellowship is a full-time position that will last for a one-year period. The position will be based in New York or Washington, D.C., and will focus on supporting the immigrants’ rights work of ACLU affiliates.

OVERVIEW

The ACLU is launching a nationwide and coordinated campaign of litigation, advocacy, and public education to fight state laws aimed at harming immigrants. The Communications Fellow will be part of an exciting new interdisciplinary team that will integrate and capitalize on the expertise of staff focused on litigation, communications, advocacy, and alliance and coalition building. The Communications Fellow will bring experience with new and traditional media, and a strategic communications planning perspective to the team.

Since its inception, the ACLU has maintained a commitment to protecting and promoting the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants and their families. The ACLU has been at the forefront of almost every major recent struggle on behalf of immigrants’ rights. In recent years, state and local lawmakers around the country have adopted unconstitutional legislation and policies designed to take federal immigration regulation and enforcement into their own hands. Laws like Arizona's SB 1070 invite racial profiling against Latinos, Asian Americans, and others presumed to be "foreign" based on how they look or how they speak. They also authorize police to demand papers proving citizenship or immigration status from anyone they stop and suspect of being in the country unlawfully. Through an integrated nationwide team including advocacy staff, litigators, communications specialists, federal lobbyists, and ACLU affiliates, the ACLU leads the multi-pronged efforts to defeat these and other misdirected anti-immigrant laws.

Through its affiliates, members, and national staff, the ACLU has a presence in every state across the country. The Communications Fellow will work closely with ACLU affiliates, their partner organizations, and impacted communities to develop and execute a communications campaign to aggressively battle state and local attempts to pass anti-immigrant legislation, as well as to push for positive measures that protect immigrants from discrimination and assist their efforts to integrate into civic life.

Under the supervision of the Communications Project Manager, the Fellow will play a critical role in executing communications strategies that advance the ACLU's campaign against state anti-immigrant laws. The ideal candidate is an individual with a fine-tuned sense of “what sells” in the news business and is comfortable liaising with reporters affiliated with both major and minor news outlets. The candidate should be able to find and develop stories that will advance our messaging and persuade target constituencies. We are seeking a candidate who thrives in a fast-paced environment, and pursues a strategic approach to promoting issues to target audiences through both new and traditional media.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and execute communications and media strategy to elevate litigation and state-level legislation.
Cultivate relationships with reporters, editors, producers, bloggers and other media professionals.
Work with litigation and legislation departments and offices in conjunction with the communications manager and other staff of the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project to implement select components of the plan.
Find and develop stories for litigation and legislative communications that will move our constituencies to action.
Pitch news and feature stories to media outlets and actively follow up to garner maximum media coverage.
Prepare news releases, op-eds, blog posts and other web based content, letters to the editor, fact sheets, talking points and other press materials.
Provide guidance on media outreach and strategy to affiliate offices.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
Three years of experience in public relations or media relations. Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
Excellent research, writing and editing skills; ability to produce clear, concise talking points, press releases and other materials within tight deadlines.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to contribute to a collegial work environment.
Ability to work independently as well as part of a team, with team members in other regions across the country.
Strong interest in civil liberties and immigrants’ rights issues.
Proficient with Microsoft Office and online communications tools.

Preferred:

Experience organizing events including press conferences and teleconferences.
Established contacts with reporters, editors, producers, bloggers and other media professionals.
Experience utilizing public opinion research to frame issues and develop messages a plus.
Fluency in Spanish a plus.

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, and veteran status.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”

assistant communications manager

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICAITONS

Position Description: Communications Assistant Manager

Summary

The Communications Assistant Manager serves as writer, associate editor, advisor, and production supervisor for internal and external communications initiatives across a variety of media.

The Communications Assistant Manager collaborates closely with colleagues on the web/digital, marketing strategy and creative services teams to implement communications initiatives. This position also builds and maintains relationships with key content generators across the organization in order to identify important news and clinical/research innovations appropriate for dissemination.

The Communications Assistant Manager coordinates content creation and production of a number of news vehicles to inform and engage internal and external audiences and support strategic reputation-building goals, including: the organization’s bi-weekly print/digital internal publication; the intranet; and the e-screen information system across campuses.

Responsibilities

• Develops editorial recommendations, reports, writes, edits and coordinates production/distribution for bi-weekly internal news vehicle
• Develops content for internal and external print and interactive communications, including brochures, newsletters, Internet/intranet, e-screens; translates content across media; enforces editorial standards
• Works with the communications team to project-manage a variety of print and interactive communications that are part of larger strategic initiatives
• Serves as part of “Communications Review” team that reviews all written content developed in Marketing and Communications Department
• Builds, manages and continuously reviews/improves work processes
• Writes/edits speeches, talking points and presentations as needed
• Maintains editorial calendar and continues to develop the editorial calendar as an important tool to ensure content alignment with organizational goals, priorities and messages
• Participates in the development and implementation of Montefiore’s short- and long-term social media strategy

Skills/Requirements

• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Takes initiative
• Strong editorial sensibility in terms of content and design
• Strong project management skills
• Experience managing production/project schedules
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Comfortable building and maintaining relationships throughout the organization (across functional areas and management/staff levels)
• Ability to work independently, and collaboratively within teams, on multiple projects with shifting deadlines and priorities
• Ability to exercise discretion and judgment in sensitive matters
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office applications; knowledge of graphic design/multimedia programs, social media best practices, and basic HTML is a plus
• Bachelor’s degree (BA/BS) or equivalent

MEDIA STRATEGIST-COMMUNICATIONS

Career Opportunity
MEDIA STRATEGIST [COMM-17]
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
Communications Department, NY

The Communications Department of the ACLU’s National Office in New York City is seeking applicants for the full-time position of Media Strategist.

OVERVIEW

The ACLU has made an unambiguous and unwavering commitment to the importance of communications as a central and essential element in the success of its mission. The organization places great emphasis on the role of communications in framing the debate on its issues, building support, and increasing the impact of its work.

The Media Strategist is a member of a team of New York and Washington, D.C. media professionals in the ACLU’s Communications Department. Based in New York, the Media Strategist will work with other departments including the Legal Department and the Washington Legislative Office in D.C. to gain visibility for priority issues and act as a liaison to the ACLU Center for Justice, with a focus on criminal law reform, prison and overincarceration and capital punishment. The Media Strategist will also work with staff members in our affiliate offices throughout the country.

The ideal candidate is an individual with a fine-tuned sense of “what sells” in the news business and who is comfortable pitching to journalists including reporters, editors, producers, bookers and bloggers affiliated with major news outlets. We are seeking a candidate who thrives in a fast-paced environment and who pursues a strategic approach to actively promoting issues and guiding prominent civil liberties experts on working with the media. The Media Strategist will report directly to the Associate Director of Strategic Communications.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

•Pro-actively cultivate relationships with reporters, editors, producers, bookers, bloggers and other media professionals through phone, email and in-person meetings.

•Draft and edit news releases, op-eds, blog posts, letters to the editor, fact sheets and talking points, and other press materials.

•Pitch news and feature stories to journalists and media outlets and actively follow up to garner maximum media coverage for our issues and for the ACLU as an organization. Keep track of journalists contacted to expand networks and measure success.

•Develop and strategize media plans in collaboration with Communications Strategist & media colleagues as well as the digital team, legal and advocacy colleagues. Work with the ACLU Legal Department’s Center for Justice, which houses the organization’s criminal justice work, to publicize its priority work as well as work on other issues as directed by the Associate Director for Strategic Communications.

•Organize press conferences, teleconferences and other media events.

•Monitor media email line as needed, sometimes after hours.

•Provide guidance on media outreach and strategy to affiliate offices.

•Perform other duties as assigned.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

•Bachelor’s degree in a related field required.

•3-5 years of public relations and media experience, including experience writing press materials and organizing press conferences.

•Experience with advocacy-oriented media campaigns, a plus.

•Demonstrated ability and success in pitching stories to news outlets, newspapers, TV networks and cable shows, radio and bloggers.

•Established contacts with reporters, editors, producers, bloggers and other media professionals.

•Ability to proactively identify and cultivate key media contacts and outlets that lead to the placement of ACLU stories.

•Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

•Strong writing and editing skills; ability to produce clear, concise talking points, press releases and other materials within tight deadlines.

•Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to contribute to a collegial work environment.

•Experience using public opinion research to frame issues and develop messages, a plus.

•Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

•Proficient in Microsoft Office and Internet research. Experience with VOCUS, a plus.

•Demonstrated interest and commitment to civil liberties and criminal justice issues.

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

Web Editor

We seek a Web Editor to help manage strategic day-to-day online communication efforts to include updating and managing the organization’s website, drafting web copy, enhancing our social media capacity, tracking web traffic, and participating in new media outreach and partnerships.

The Web Editor works with the Communications team and the entire Brennan Center staff to edit and maintain the Center’s website as a reliable, up-to-the-moment source of information and opinion on our issues.

In addition to maintaining the Brennan Center’s website and blog, the Web Editor will also focus on editorial work, such as drafting and editing press releases, web copy, and blog entries. The Web Editor is responsible for the Brennan Center’s overall web presence, focusing on increasing web traffic, engaging a larger constituency of supporters, and thinking creatively about how to share Center resources across the internet and with outside organizations. This is a hybrid job that requires both editorial and multimedia skills.

Core responsibilities include:

• Update the website on a daily basis to make it a dynamic and important resource for activists, journalists, and citizens;
• Oversee website content to ensure posts adhere to institutional voice;
• Produce and/or edit multiple weekly email newsletters;
• Produce dynamic content, including infographics and video, to drive site traffic and advance Brennan Center issues online;
• Oversee social media accounts to drive traffic and engage broader audience;
• Build relationships with bloggers;
• Execute online communications strategies, including new media outreach, list building, and constituency management to engage a wider audience on our issues;
• Create and oversee Google and Facebook ads, among other social media strategies;
• Explore, assess, and advise on appropriate and effective new media technology and tools;
• Participating in, strategizing, and implementing site redesign;

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have:

• A bachelor’s or advanced degree
• Thorough understanding of all types of content delivery methods (web/email newsletter/mobile/audio/print/video) and best practices associated with each
• Experience using social media and/or blogging to successfully engage audiences
• Knowledge of HTML, Drupal, and blogging software (WordPress)
• Knowledge of web analytics
• Innovative ideas about how technology can be to used in social change efforts
• Very strong writing and communication skills
• An openness to evolving responsibilities
• A demonstrated commitment to social justice issues
• Interest in (and, ideally, experience) with graphic design
• Familiarity with graphic design software (Adobe InDesign or other) a plus but not required
• Knowledge of CiviCRM, BlueState preferred but not required
• The self-starter skills required to learn new programs as needed
• The ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to work irregular and/or long hours, including occasional nights and weekends

The Brennan Center, an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, is strongly committed to diversity and welcomes applicants of all races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations, including people who have been previously incarcerated.