Job Title: Communications & Brand Manager

Department: Communications & Fundraising Team

Reports to: Director of Communications & Fundraising

FLSA Status: Exempt

Hours/Week: Full time, generally 8/9-5/6 M-F (with flexibility)

Salary: Starting salary $62,600 to $68,100 annually ($30.10 - $32.74 hourly), depending on experience

Benefits: Paid holidays, paid leave, medical/dental, short & long-term disability insurance, retirement match, AD & D, life insurance.

Location: East Portland (currently remote/hybrid, future hybrid and in-office options)

Want to help make a difference? Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions) counters the forces that keep people and communities in poverty by building relationships and assets that create opportunity - today and for future generations.

We partner with people and communities impacted by poverty so they can achieve long-term housing and economic security. We invest in affordable housing and community assets that contribute to strong, inclusive neighborhoods. We advocate with our community for policies and investments that expand housing and economic opportunity, eliminate wealth inequality and end poverty.

East Portland/East Multnomah County, Oregon is our home and the heart of our investments, advocacy and programs.

Our Just Future envisions vibrant, healthy neighborhoods where all people can share in the security, hopes and advantages of a thriving, supportive community.

Our Just Future operates as a nimble, financially strong organization driven by our passion, strategic goals and guiding principles.

Diversity, inclusion and equity are fundamental values for Our Just Future, both internally and externally. Our Just Future has an Equity Committee, which serves as a sounding board for new internal policies and procedures to make sure that we’re taking into account equity and inclusion. It also helps with diversity-related projects, such as coordinating staff diversity trainings and providing ongoing input into our equity work.

Our Just Future is working to end homelessness and poverty in our community because everyone deserves a safe place to call home.

What Our Just Future Can Offer You: We offer a comprehensive array of benefits in support of your physical, emotional and financial well-being. A few highlights:

• 
  Employer paid premiums for employee health insurance.
• Generous paid time off, 13 paid holidays, a floating birthday holiday and the ability to maintain a great work/life balance.
• Employer paid premiums for short-term and long-term disability insurance and life insurance.
• Access to an employee assistance program.
• Flexible spending accounts for health and for dependent care.
• Professional development opportunities, including employee driven committees and monthly optional staff workshops.
• Access to wellness initiatives and resources including things such as walking groups, yoga classes at two office locations and workshops on stress management, self-care and healthy living.
• Opportunity to contribute to a 401k retirement plan with a 2% employer match after three months of employment.
• A six-week paid sabbatical after every seven years of consecutive employment with Our Just Future.

SUMMARY

The Communications and Brand Manager is a new position that grows our communications group from one to two full-time positions. This person will be a key member of Our Just Future’s communications and fundraising team, responsible for communications strategy and execution in partnership with the team director. Working closely with the communications coordinator, whom they will supervise, they are responsible for and will oversee production of most external and some internal communications, including: website, social media, program marketing materials and forms, event communications, email communications, impact report, graphic design, and brand management. This person will oversee the website redesign in 2023 and the development of a future staff-focused intranet. Another key function is supporting the fundraising manager and team director with fundraising efforts, including messaging, mail and email appeals, major donor campaigns, and other donor stewardship projects. This position will work closely with both the department director and fundraising manager. There is a real opportunity to help shape Our Just Future’s brand and communications strategy and practices at this time.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

Essential

Create and implement annual and multi-year communications strategy. Work with the team director to create a three-year strategic communications plan, as well as annual action plans to support it.

Create the communications budget annually. Work with the team director to create the annual budget to support the organization’s communications goals.

Web Presence. OurJustFuture.org is where most people learn about us, whether they are seeking services or want to volunteer or donate. Our web site will be updated in 2023 as part of our brand update. This person will be instrumental in that effort, in addition to maintaining its content and adding new content, as needed, from blog posts to volunteer opportunities to board photos. Our current platform is WordPress. An important component is infusing the website with fundraising messages and donation pages that connect to our Raiser’s Edge donor management system, and also ensuring the website is useful to people seeking services

Email Communications: Responsible for email strategy to support communications, fundraising, and organization-wide program goals. Oversee production to ensure timely and compelling messaging.

Social Media. Responsible for social media strategy in partnership with the communications coordinator, who implements all social media, monitors results, and replies to comments and messages.

Brand Update & Ongoing Management. Our Just Future is a new name and brand brought online in summer/fall 2022. The communications manager is leading this process and rolling out the new brand, training staff on new brand standards/design guidelines, updating and redesigning all internal materials, and updating any other instances where the name and brand appears, and using it to promote the organization. Our Just Future operates multiple programs with separate identities that will need to be branded and rolled out, in addition to the organization as a whole. Designing materials and working with vendors are major elements of this work.

Designing and Producing Materials: Our Just Future’s new brand requires a significant amount of design work, especially in its first few years of implementation. This person will be responsible for updating old designs and envisioning new branded assets to support programs, staff, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and general communications. This person should be comfortable working in the Adobe suite, managing fonts, creating designs that adhere to brand standards, and discovering new ways that design can support the organization. They will also work with existing print vendors and seek new vendors, with the goal to support local, BIPOC-owned businesses and creators.

Print Publications: Our Just Future aspires to mail a print newsletter twice annually that this person is responsible for drafting and designing, and coordinating production and mailing. This person will also work closely with the Director to prepare the organization’s Impact Report.

Event Communications. Our Just Future hosts several events each year. This person will support the communications coordinator, who implements event communications, and help with communications strategy all department-sponsored events.

Storytelling. Sharing stories about our work, the people we have the honor of working with, and the systems they are trying to survive is key to our communications strategy, with a commitment to sharing people’s experiences in a way that challenges mainstream narratives about poverty and homelessness. Bold, creative vision and experience with this kind of narrative is essential!

Advertising. Work with communications coordinator to create annual paid advertising plan and budget. Oversee communications coordinator’s implementation of the plan. Design new ads as needed.

Fundraising Appeals: Support the communications coordinator, database associate, and fundraising manager as they execute fundraising appeal campaigns several times each year, primarily at year-end. Duties include strategizing the fundraising schedule and messaging/visuals, editing content written by the coordinator, drafting major appeals in partnership with the coordinator, designing content, and delivering files to print vendor and approving proofs.

Internal Communications: A growing area of our work focuses on how we communicate within the organization. This person will help create an intranet to foster more comprehensive communications among staff and across teams, and also engage in an effort to bring trauma-informed communications and greater transparency to the organization.

Equitable and Trauma-Informed Communications: Approaching all work with equity, justice, and trauma in mind is essential. This person will need to write, edit, and evaluate all work (their own and their colleagues’) with consideration for diverse audiences. They should be eager to lift up lived experiences, craft content with accessibility and trauma responses in mind, and ensure the stories we tell mirror the range of identities among participants and in our service area.

Secondary

Editing and Copy Editing. Other communications and fundraising staff need a second set of eyes on materials from time to time, especially for grant applications. The communications team will help as needed to edit and copy edit outgoing materials.

Help with Media Work, as needed. The director coordinates external media for the organization, but might need the communication manager’s help with press advisory and release drafting and messaging.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position supervises the Communications Coordinator; it is a team of two within the Communications and Fundraising Team.

QUALIFICATIONS: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 
  5+ years of experience in non-profit communications and/or development or directing fundraising activities; or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Excellent communication skills, specifically writing, editing, and an ability to convey complex ideas to a wide audience, with experience and a commitment to inclusive language;
• Proven design skills or design “eye,” with experience coordinating with professional designers;
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Teams), Adobe design tools, Give Lively or other event software; Asana or other project management software; WordPress; and constituent management systems (Raiser’s Edge NXT, specifically, as a donor contact database and online communications tool through 2024).
• Experience managing social media channels for a business or non-profit;
• Commitment to and understanding of racial equity and Our Just Future’s intention to become an anti-racist organization.

• Commitment to and demonstrated experience applying DEI and community-centric principles to fundraising practices, and comfort with discussing these needs;

• Ability to work independently with moderate guidance,
• Demonstrated organizational, project- and time-management skills to carry out the responsibilities of the position, including managing multiple projects simultaneously;

• Interest in being an active member of a collaborative team culture that recognizes and supports whole lives; gives and receives helpful feedback regularly, supportively and with kindness and grace; values collaboration; and respects others’ skills and perspectives;
• Ability to productively and kindly collaborate on writing projects and coach others’ writing and editing work; and

• Can maintain confidentiality for donors and program participants.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee may be required to stand; walk; sit; and stoop, kneel, crouch. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision for screens and reading and occasionally distance vision. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The noise level is usually moderate, typical for an office environment with multiple staff. This job is currently 100% virtual (with in-office options), but will return to a primarily hybrid setting when deemed COVID safe. Full-time remote will be available for folks not able to be on site in roles where the job duties can be accomplished remotely.

TO APPLY

Please submit a cover letter and resume, three examples of your writing that is relevant to this position – including visuals, if possible.

__________________________

Our Just Future is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. We strive to build a diverse workforce that reflects the population we serve.

We strongly encourage people of color to apply for this position.