Senior Manager, Communications & PR
Company: The National Council
Location: Washington
Posted on: May 3, 2024
Job Description:
The vision of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing is to
make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use
challenges, a reality for everyone. Despite overwhelming need,
nearly 30 million people across the U.S. do not have access to
comprehensive, high-quality, affordable mental health and substance
use care when they need it.Founded in 1969, the National Council is
a membership organization that drives policy and social change on
behalf of nearly 3,300 mental health and substance use prevention,
treatment and recovery organizations and the more than 10 million
children, adults and families they serve. We advocate for policies
to ensure equitable access to high-quality services and support. We
build the capacity of mental health and substance use treatment
organizations. And we promote greater understanding of mental
wellbeing as a core component of comprehensive health and health
care. Through our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program, we have
trained more than 3 million people in the U.S. to identify,
understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and
substance use challenges.The National Council is growing rapidly to
meet this moment; both our budget ($77M) and passionate staff
(250+) have grown more than 50% since 2020. In addition, while we
maintain office space in Washington, DC, we are a remote-first
organization, meaning our employees work remotely from their
locations across the United States.We are an equal-opportunity
employer. We embrace diversity and commit ourselves to creating an
inclusive environment for everyone.Position SummaryAs Senior
Manager Communications and Public Relations, you will support both
internal and external communications efforts as it relates to the
entire organization and communications initiatives, with an
emphasis on public policy writing, messaging, and content
development. You will be responsible for storytelling and
developing general and advocacy related communications, strategic
messaging, media relations requests and supporting media coverage
through proactive initiatives and assisting with broader
departmental public policy efforts.In this role, you will work with
colleagues across the Public Policy, Marketing, Communications and
Events (MCE) teams and across the organization to develop, execute
and track public policy and communications priorities and
strategies. These priorities require you to have a high degree of
organization, collaboration with internal stakeholders and subject
matter experts.This is an individual contributor role. While this
position can be done remotely from anywhere in the US, you must
primarily work our Washington, DC business hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00
PM ET.Key Responsibilities
- Create policy-oriented content including but not limited to
earned media (Op-Eds, letters to the editors, press releases,
statements, etc.), collateral (one-pagers, factsheets), member
emails, website copy, advocacy action alerts, and social media
copy
- Work with the MCE and Public Policy teams to develop and
execute strategic communication efforts, public affairs and media
strategies for advocacy priorities by closely tracking activities
and work streams and providing media relations, communications
counsel and support for public relations initiatives for Public
Policy
- Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive
internal and external communications strategy with an emphasis on
the external communications for Public Policy
- Develop, lead and execute advertising campaign for advocacy
related event (Hill Day) in collaboration with the Policy
department. Manage outreach to prospective vendors, contracting,
content creation, reporting, etc.
- Integrate communications strategies across social, web and
other platforms to ensure messages are tailored to and resonate
with target audiences
- Align closely with other departments and working with
colleagues from various teams, including attending
inter-departmental meetings, understanding advocacy
goals/objectives, managing issues proactively, executing
coordinated communications campaigns and responding to requests
promptly
- Assist in the development and execution of communications and
public policy plans as they relate to the boarder strategic goals
that include Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
(CCBHCs), CCBHC Impact Report, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and
other public policy initiatives
- Work with consultants and take primary lead timely development
of writing, developing and copy editing impactful messaging and a
variety of collateral materials including press releases,
statements, op-eds, speechwriting, talking points, stakeholder
quotes, FAQs, policy marketing emails, blog posts, briefings,
topline findings from survey results, and fact sheets for both
Public Policy and general communications initiatives
- Work with policy media and building and managing relationships
with print, broadcast and online/web reporters. Proactive outreach
to reporters and other external audiences as well as handling
responses to media inquiries, as needed
- Collaborate with the Policy team on their legislative,
grassroots and third-party activities, including providing
communications and messaging support
- Support the PR team in developing and pitching story
ideas/statements to policy reporters
- Manage interview requests, as needed
- Manage vendor relationships as it pertains to campaign
initiatives and other work.Required Qualifications
- 4-6 of strategic communications experience with at least 3
years in public policy communications at a public relations firm,
trade association or marketing agency, media relations and/or on
Capitol Hill
- Bachelor's degree in communications or related field, or
additional years of equivalent work experience
- Exceptional communication skills with demonstrated ability to
write short- and long form; advocate, inform, and persuade
audiences; and build relationships across different levels and
functions
- Strong leadership skills, including the ability to confidently
communicate strategic updates and insights to leadership
- Creative thinker with a passion for storytelling in a variety
of formats
- Experience using data to inform and optimize communications
strategies
- Ability to manage numerous critical deadlines simultaneously
and manage projects while maintaining attention to detail and
strong internal and external relationships
- Ability to effectively communicate complex information to a
wide variety of audiences
- Experience with policy reporters and general media to generate
local and national print and broadcast coverage
- Results-oriented with a high attention to detail, ability to
multi-task and meet deadlines in a dynamic work environment
- High level proficiency in Microsoft Office - MS Word, Excel and
PowerPoint
- Ability to contribute to a strong team-based environment
- Work experience and/or deep personal interest in mental health
and addiction
- Working knowledge of Cision and PRNewswire
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Keywords: The National Council, Franconia , Senior Manager, Communications & PR, Advertising , Washington, Virginia
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