Director of Communications

Organization: Food Forward, Inc - a 501 (c)(3) non-profit

Position: Director of Communications

Hours: Full-Time, exempted

Location: North Hollywood, CA (this position is temporarily remote due to COVID-19)

Organizational Overview: Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity and inspiring others to do the same. Fruits and vegetables are collected in Los Angeles and Ventura counties from backyard fruit trees, orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. This recovered produce is provided, free of charge, to hunger relief organizations that serve community members in various ways: food banks, homeless outreach agencies, domestic violence shelters, transitional youth homes, veteran services, family resource centers, LGBTQ+ teen/adult/senior services, college student assistance programs, programs serving people with disabilities, and many more. Since Food Forward’s inception, our staff and thousands of dedicated volunteers have rescued over 200 million pounds of fruits and vegetables. This produce helped to feed millions of people across eleven Southern California counties, throughout seven states, as well as in tribal lands in the Southwest annually. See our core values posted below.*

Position Overview: The Director of Communications will report to the Executive Director, and will lead, create, strategize, and implement campaigns for all mission-driven work at Food Forward, including special events, fundraising, and general brand awareness. This person is responsible for shepherding Food Forward’s compelling voice through all media platforms, including digital and social media, public relations, visual communications and branding, fundraising campaigns, and government relationships. They possess the talent, confidence and experience to  inspire staff, organizational leadership, and a large, diverse community of supporters to grow Food Forward’s reputation as a leading force in food recovery.

This person must be highly organized, proactive by nature, deeply technically savvy and extremely creative with the ability to think outside-of-the-box, prioritize projects, and meet deadlines. They must have excellent written and verbal communications skills, be very well-versed in social media strategy and execution as well as analytical tools and evaluation. A bilingual (English/Spanish) candidate is desired. The ideal candidate will have pre-existing relationships with national, local, and mainstream media and a proven track record in securing regular press pieces on behalf of a brand or organization. Experience in writing op-eds or communications to elected officials is a plus. This person is a powerful storyteller for Food Forward who can champion the organization’s impact on food equity and environmental sustainability. They are passionate about food and social justice issues, and must be well-versed in inclusive and empowering communications.

Core Responsibilities:

Digital Media

Social Media

• Envision, build and lead social media strategies on existing platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter) and future social platforms.  Identify opportunities to remain current with trends and best practices
• Lead or guide the Outreach & Communications Coordinator to create content for a robust and compelling content calendar and campaigns
• Create, implement, and optimize social media ad campaigns and digital fundraising strategies, and apply retargeting assets (pixels, links, etc)
• Analyze and track social media metrics to grow Food Forward’s audience and measure campaign goals, and adjust strategies based on outcomes

Website

• Oversee the creation of content including updates and blogs for Food Forward’s website
• Manage Food Forward’s web developer on all website updates
• Work with Food Forward’s Data and Technology Manager to utilize assessment tools such as Google Analytics to analyze website performance, identify improvements in user experience, and grow users to the site
• Work with FF Data and Technology manager to execute and analyze Google Search advertising campaigns

Email Marketing

• Strategize, oversee and review the creation and schedule of all email campaigns, including a bi-weekly newsletter and other regular newsletters, that are sent to an audience of approximately 10K contacts
• Utilize MailChimp campaign features like A/B testing, journey building, send time optimization, audience segmentation, and automation
• Analyze and track email metrics to adjust strategies and increase engagement and fundraising
• Offer leadership to other departments and programs to grow Food Forward’s mailing list

 Public Relations

• Strategize, create and maintain an ambitious in-depth annual communications plan to increase the presence of Food Forward in all media outlets (TV, digital, print) by developing and pitching stories about the organization and campaigns
• Write and disseminate all press releases, media alerts, and informational documents to targeted audiences with the aim to have Bilingual (English/Spanish) materials available
• Serve as the key point of contact for all media requests
• Identify and provide training for staff participation in media and presentations
• Track media coverage, and build and maintain relationships with media contacts across Southern California and national outlets; with an eye dedicated towards expanding relationships with major media outlets
• Represent and speak on behalf of Food Forward at presentations, conferences, and events

Visual Communications and Branding

• Further develop brand identity as the organization and its programs evolve, while maintaining brand consistency across all platforms and materials 
• Conceptualize and oversee the creation of Food Forward’s annual report, flyers, banners, posters, infographics, and other marketing materials
• Review and approve requests for logo, branding, and language usage by partners
• Proofread all external materials written about and on behalf of Food Forward
• Create, conceptualize, and oversee the creation of collateral for organization, fundraising, events, and campaigns
• Oversee the maintenance of Food Forward’s photo and video library
• Vet, engage, and oversee outside consultants or contractors on communications and social media content

Development

• Strategize and collaborate with Food Forward’s Development team on all fundraising campaigns, special events, and partnership opportunities to meet goals
• Create and oversee the generation of content and engagement across all digital media platforms that inspires users to donate and/or fundraise
• Identify and cultivate external speaking opportunities for the organization’s Executive Director

 Management

• Manage the Outreach & Communications Coordinator and any future communications team members
• Create and manage the annual communications budget
• Act as the point of contact and organizational leader for all internal staff and Board inquiries around communications

 Minimum Requirements:

• 6+ years experience relevant professional experience leading teams in public relations, digital marketing, media and/or community outreach. Nonprofit experience is desired.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as journalism, public relations, marketing, or communications
• Advanced skills in Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud or other graphic design and photo and video editing tools
• 4+ years experience writing, pitching, and coordinating press and media stories
• 4+ years of Google Analytics and social media management and analytics tools (Later, etc)
• 4+ years CMS platforms and basic HTML (WordPress, etc)
• 4+ years of utilizing marketing platforms (MailChimp, etc)
• 4+ years of creating and executing social media campaigns across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube ( Linkedin experience not required but preferred.)

Application Deadline: Nov 19, 2021 or until filled

Desired Start Date: ASAP

Hours: Full-Time, exempted

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Benefits:

• Medical, Vision, and Life Insurance coverage
• Simple IRA with 3% employer matching (after one year of employment)
• Generous Sick Days, Paid-Time-Off, and Holiday allocation
• Cell phone allowance
• Telecommuting and Work flexibility

*Food Forward Core Values:

• Creativity – We seek to innovate in all facets of our work.
• Joyfulness – We cultivate a meaningful, fun, positive and spirited work environment.
• Committed to Food Justice – We believe that access to wholesome food, and fresh nutritious produce, is not a privilege, but a right. We work hard to end food inequality and reduce food insecurity.
• Authenticity – We are transparent and honest in our words, deeds, and actions. We act at the highest level of integrity.
• Disciplined – We are reliable, professional, accountable, rigorous and committed to excellence in all areas of our work, both internally and externally.
• Community-minded – We aim to include and connect people in the community, and to remain open, diverse, respectful, and accessible. We take pride in offering people meaningful volunteer and work experiences.

How to Apply: Send a cover letter and resume in PDF to career@foodforward.org.  In the body of the cover letter include 1) Where did you discover this listing, and 2) Food Forward has many core values, one of which is joyfulness. Please let us know what you have done in the past to create a joyful work environment.

The subject line should read, Director of Communications – (Your Name). No phone calls. Please follow these instructions to ensure that we process your application

Food Forward is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and strongly encourages people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with protected class backgrounds to apply. We value the individuals that we hire and look forward to creating a positive work environment for all identities.