Company description

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) is a philanthropy-serving organization (PSO) that amplifies the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. Established in the late 1990s and staffed since 2003, SAFSF has evolved into a vibrant network of approximately 100 organizational members from the philanthropic and investment sectors whose work spans a broad range of issues and strategies as well as a wide geographic range—domestic and international. Our vision is that all resources invested in food and agriculture systems enhance our collective wellbeing. Our core values of collaboration, equity, respect, stewardship, and integrity drive our organization on a daily basis. We use these values to guide our decision-making process in all our work, from developing programs and hiring new staff to choosing caterers, vendors, and venues.

SAFSF recognizes that a diversity of perspectives, lived experiences, and professional and personal skills among our staff, leadership, and membership is critical to our success as an organization. We are a dynamic organization that values creativity and innovative thinking and fosters strong teamwork based on mutual respect.

Job description

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Content oversight and management of all external-facing communication materials

• Gather information and understanding of SAFSF’s work and network for content development by participating in meetings and events, interviewing members and staff, and reviewing current and historic materials.
• Develop key messages and talking points for presentations and speeches.
• Ensure effective, appropriate, and consistent use of graphic identity, brand materials, key messages, and tone.
• Manage, maintain and expand digital presence including website, email and newsletters, social media, audio and video content.
• Oversee production of annual Year In Review report and other reports, evaluations and written materials as needed.

Staff communications support

• Provide support and advice to all staff on effective communications strategies and use of materials and tools.
• Work across all SAFSF teams to provide support on internal and external communication needs spanning programmatic, membership, and operational areas.

Develop media engagement plan and manage media relations

• Establish direct relationships with media; serve as media contact for SAFSF and an entry point to the sustainable agriculture and food systems philanthropic sector.
• Write and distribute press releases, backgrounders, fact sheets, and other media materials.
• Pitch story ideas and SAFSF spokespersons to media in alignment with SAFSF’s strategic and programmatic goals.
• Support staff and members in their interactions with media materials, talking points, interview coaching, participation in media calls, media follow-up, etc.
• Maintain database records of media contacts, conversations and coverage.
• Develop and maintain a media resource area on the website.

Provide insights on SAFSF communication strategies and approaches

• Help clarify SAFSF’s key audiences and effective communications strategies to reach them.
• Analyze data to assess the effectiveness of communications tools and strategies.
• Over time, work to develop communications guidelines, strategies, and plans.

Required Qualifications

• Knowledge base in sustainable agriculture and food systems and the breadth of issues addressed by philanthropy in this space.
• Understanding of racial equity concepts and the importance of working to dismantle white supremacy.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including a sharp eye for editing and proofreading.
• Strong project management skills and track record of developing content across multiple media including website, email, social media, press materials and written reports.
• Experience writing, distributing and pitching materials to print, online, broadcast and other journalists, bloggers and influencers, with a track record of message and spokesperson placements.
• Experience maintaining and enhancing high impact websites and social media accounts.
• Experience providing oversight and support on the use of brand materials and key messages for staff members outside the communications team.
• Experience working in a highly collaborative environment and ability to maintain focus and effectiveness on many projects simultaneously.
• 5+ year track record of success with communications and media responsibilities similar to those described above.

Additional Preferred Skills / Qualifications

• Experience working with food, agriculture, and/or philanthropy media.
• Familiarity with philanthropy-serving organizations or other professional membership associations.
• Experience developing and implementing a communications strategy.
• Experience with Mailchimp – design, dissemination, audience management, and analytics.
• Experience with WordPress as a website platform.
• Skills with Adobe Creative Cloud applications – specifically InDesign and Illustrator.

Basic Work Requirements

Fluency in English. Familiarity with common computer-based tools such as Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and Google Drive (docs, sheets, slides); email; and websites. Willingness to travel within the U.S. occasionally, up to several times per year. We acknowledge current COVID-19 related travel restrictions but expect that this position will require travel in the future.

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Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

Deadline

February 22, 2021