Narrative & Strategic Communications Director

Since 1988, Housing California has worked to create a California with homes, health, and prosperity for all in thriving, sustainable communities. We bring together a diverse, cross-sector network to prevent and end homelessness, increase the supply of safe, stable, affordable homes, and reverse the legacy of racial and economic inequities by building power among the people most impacted by housing injustice, shaping the narrative, and advocating for the passage of transformative statewide policy solutions.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Narrative and Strategic Communications Director will provide strategic leadership and day-to-day oversight and management of our strategic communications and narrative change program, strengthening our capacity to advance housing justice and move transformative policy change. Working collaboratively across the organization and our broad network of partners, they will position the organization as an essential source of information on creating a California with homes, health, and prosperity for all.

At Housing California, we work through three strategic directions, each with its own program: Change Policy, Build Power, and Shape Narrative. The Narrative and Strategic Communications Director will lead our work to shape narratives as well as the work we do to establish and execute strategic communications that advance our core strategic areas and build our capacity to realize our vision.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Strategic Communications

Lead all aspects of our strategic communications program and oversee day-to-day management across a variety of functions, including:

• Develop, guide, and oversee the execution of a strategic communications plan that enables Housing California to advance its objectives and goals and move towards its aspirational vision.
• Guide, draft, and/or contribute to the writing, production, art direction, storytelling, and dissemination of a wide variety of publications and collateral materials.
• Work with the power building team to develop a cadre of RUN spokespeople and advance resident stories through earned and owned media opportunities.
• Evolve and oversee Housing California’s style guide, ensuring that our voice and presentation is clear and consistent through all communications.
• Develop and oversee implementation of organization-wide communication’s related processes and procedures.
• Represent Housing California on strategic communications and narrative change issues at public events and as part of cross-sector coalitions and networks.

Narrative Change

Build upon our efforts to move our work through a narrative change strategy, including:

• Develop, guide, and oversee the execution of Housing California’s narrative change strategy.
• Apply narrative research, best practices, and tools to advance both short-term advocacy campaigns and a long-term strategy.
• Work with key partners to strengthen the narrative change capacity and competency of the field and our cross-sector partners.

Media Advocacy

Oversee, execute, and guide staff and consultants responsible for media relations and advocacy, including:

• Lead the development, writing, editing, and distribution of op-eds, press releases, statements, and other online communications materials and seize proactive news-making and storytelling opportunities. Organize press conferences, as necessary.
• Strategically manage and prioritize ongoing media requests, requests for speaking engagements, and writing opportunities for the Executive Director and other key staff. Work with key staff to prepare for interviews and speaking engagements.
• Identify key campaign opportunities as they arise and associated earned and owned media strategies.

Organizational & Team Development

Participate as an organizational leader, representing our mission, values, and culture, including:

• Work in collaboration with the leadership team to help inform and shape the organization-wide vision, ensuring that the strategies and needs of the narrative and strategic communications program are integrated into organizational plans and budgets.
• Propose, implement, and monitor an annual program budget and programmatic work plan.
• Manage a productive and collaborative team, which includes hiring and managing staff, serving as a mentor and a coach to develop staff, and connecting them with opportunities for growth and professional development.
• In collaboration with the other members of the leadership team, work to cultivate and nurture a culture that aligns with organizational values, advances racial equity, creates open communication, disrupts institutional racism, and creates belonging.
• Assist with fundraising to support our narrative and strategic communications program.
• Track and evaluate the effectiveness of our narrative and strategic communications program.

WHO YOU ARE

• You are a storyteller with 10+ years relevant communications experience. You have managed the strategy and execution for a communications department or major campaign focused on advocacy and are experienced with using narrative change strategy to advance a progressive policy agenda and shift public opinion.
• You have a demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice and to building power with people of color.
• You have professional experience working on housing justice issues or in a field that intersects with housing justice work (e.g., community development, urban planning, health equity, criminal justice reform, education, disability justice, food insecurity, climate justice, labor, etc.).
• You have a proven ability to communicate (written and verbally) with clarity and brevity with a variety of audiences, including with policymakers, the media, community-based organizations, people who live in affordable homes or are experiencing homelessness, cross-sector practitioners, advocates, and funders.
• You are experienced with elevating the stories and voices of people with lived experience in an issue in a way that uses asset-based language and centers their dignity and leadership.
• You have team management experience and take a coaching approach to supervising, mentoring, and growing the capacity of staff.
• You are a highly capable facilitator who enjoys bringing together groups to share, learn, and make decisions together.
• You have a track record of collaborating with others across lines of difference to build shared goals and developing and maintaining strong working relationships that produce justice-oriented outcomes.
• You are a strategic and creative thinker who is able to keep hold of a big picture vision while also managing to execute on the day-to-day details through strong organizational, project, and budget management skills.
• You are tenacious and committed to moving change through ambiguity and challenges.
• You are technologically savvy and have experience with marketing, communications, media platforms, general information systems, cloud-based CRM database etc. (e.g., EveryAction, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, WordPress, Google Suite, Microsoft Suite)

Additional experience that would be welcomed, but is not required:

• Lived experience with housing instability or homelessness.
• Experience with public policy analysis and advocacy.
• Bilingual Spanish/English.
• Experience developing, working with, or leading cross-sector coalitions, networks, or similar infrastructures.
• Experience with program evaluation.
• Experience curating curriculum and/or development for trainings and workshops, especially on narrative, communications, and messaging.