The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida seeks a Communications Strategist, Senior. The Communications Strategist, Senior works closely with the Communications Director to achieve the organization’s goal of protecting the liberties that define our democracy. This position can be remote or be located in one of the organization’s offices in Miami or Tallahassee and includes some travel.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is an affiliate of the national ACLU, a national public interest organization devoted to the defense of the Bill of Rights. For over 100 years, the ACLU has served as the nation’s primary protector of the liberties that define our democracy. The organization implements its vital civil liberties mission in all 50 states in large part through affiliate entities such as the ACLU of Florida.
The ACLU of Florida, the state’s largest civil rights and civil liberties organization, employs litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education to protect and promote a broad range of constitutional values and individual rights, such as freedom of speech, racial justice, right to privacy, religious liberty, criminal justice reform, voting rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, and immigrants’ rights. The ACLU of Florida litigates a broad range of complex constitutional cases in federal and state courts through direct representation, filing amicus briefs, and submitting administrative complaints to state and federal agencies.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Performs senior-level professional communications in issue-based advocacy to amplify, publicize, and frame the media narrative of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida civil rights and civil liberties projects, campaigns, and advocacy efforts and initiatives. Work involves executing wide-ranging and geographically focused communications strategies through managing and furthering the development of organization relationships and key stakeholder interests. The position may be primarily dedicated to a specific advocacy area including, but not limited to, Voting Rights, Immigrants’ Rights, First Amendment Rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or Reproductive Justice to advance the mission of the ACLU. Work involves drafting, reviewing, and editing communications materials, including press releases, blog posts, web content, fact sheets, and opinion editorials.
Work is performed under limited supervision with latitude in the use of initiative and independent judgment. The position seeks technical guidance only on unusual or complex problems or issues.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
● Participates in collaborative development and implementation of the overall communications strategy to advance the local and broader vision and priorities of ACLU civil rights and civil liberties projects, campaigns, and advocacy efforts and initiatives
● Creates multi-faceted communication strategies, including goals, target audiences, and messaging.
● Establishes, cultivates, and fosters collaborative and effective working relationships with a wide range of internal departments, affiliates, external stakeholders, and media resources
● Develops recommendations for leadership and/or stakeholder approval for specific direction, strategy, framing, messaging, communications, and editorial content of a given campaign
● Ensures ACLU messages are accurately and professionally delivered through online and social media platforms to local, state, and national media resources and outlets
● Writes and disseminates a wide variety of written communications media, i.e., news releases, blog posts, web content, fact sheets, informative reports, and opinion editorials
● Participates in creative development and implementation of goals and strategies for branding, media outreach, and public education initiatives to advance ACLU priorities in both local and broader communities
● Coordinates outreach activities and response to media requests, including interviews, press conferences, media calls, and preparing staff and spokespersons for strategic events
● May serve as a spokesperson to local, state, and national outreach interests, thereby expanding visibility, outreach, and engagement efforts of the ACLU in the local and broader communities
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES;
● Paid Communications Intern
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s degree in journalism, mass communications, public relations, marketing, media studies, or related field; supplemented by five (5) years of writing and editing experience in journalism, public relations, and/or related marketing and communications, including use and application of current digital and social media technologies; strong preference for those with experience working on a political campaign, or other public advocacy environment or an agency; or an equivalent combination of education, certification, training, and/or experience.
Certifications and Licenses:
● Must possess and maintain a valid State of Florida Driver License
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
● Unwavering commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU of Florida, including a demonstrated commitment to equity and racial justice
● Fluency in Spanish or Haitian Creole is preferred, but not required
● Strong news judgment and a demonstrated ability to secure media coverage and cultivate relationships with journalists
● Prior experience serving as an organization’s spokesperson
● Proficiency using a media monitoring platform, such as Cision, Meltwater, Press Hook
● An understanding of digital communications tools, including social media
● Prior writing and editing experience translating complex legal material into accurate, accessible, and compelling messaging
● Ability to work effectively across multiple issue areas
● The ability to thrive under deadline pressures
● Experience with media planning and buying
● Creative thinker who is passionate about finding innovative ways to engage the media in the ACLU of Florida’s work
● Skill in the use of Microsoft Office products is preferred
● Skill in using Asana or another product management software is preferred
● Skill in adapting to a changing work environment, competing demands, and ability to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events
● Skill in developing, managing, and interpreting budgets, contracts, and fiscal and financial reports
● Understanding of trends and best practices for communicating via email
● Experience working with and interpreting web, social, and email analytics preferred.
● A strong desire to test and learn, this includes a comfort with failure and a desire to learn from failures to improve
● Excellent collaboration qualities, ability to work in a dynamic environment with a fast-paced and passionate team
This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU of Florida reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Compensation will be commensurate with experience, within the range of $60,000 - $81,000. The ACLU of Florida provides excellent benefits, including health and dental insurance with generous vacation, holiday, and sick leave policies, as well as a Defined Contribution 401K Retirement Plan. Base vacation leave is five weeks per year (and six weeks per year after five years).
zAlthough we anticipate making this a permanent addition to our staff, at present funding for the position has only been secured for one year.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Please send a cover letter, and resume, by email to jobs@aclufl.org referring to the job title in the subject line. You may include samples of past work. All attachments should be in Microsoft Word or PDF format.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please indicate where you learned of this job posting. No phone calls, please.
While we anticipate that this position will be a permanent addition to our staff, at present funding for the position is only secured for one year.
This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU of Florida reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.
The ACLU of Florida is an equal-opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU of Florida encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If selected for an interview, please inquire if financial assistance is needed in order to attend.
The ACLU of Florida makes every effort to assure that its recruitment and employment efforts provide persons with disabilities with full opportunities for employment in all positions.
The ACLU of Florida is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please e-mail jobs@aclufl.org . If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process. Fluency in Spanish or Kreyol is preferred but not required.