Communications Manager

Location: Arlington, VA
Reports to: VP, Communications and Marketing
Travel: 5%
FSLA classification: Exempt

Position Overview

Rare is an international conservation organization looking for a great writer and communications specialist to help get the word out about our projects in 50 countries. If you can craft great stories, develop collateral that brings a mission or message to life, and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial organization, this position could be right for you.

In the past five years, Rare has tripled its staff, budget, and projects. This growth is based on demand throughout the field of conservation for more innovative methods for changing the way people relate to nature – Rare’s specialty. Rare trains local leaders to develop and promote more environmentally sustainable practices that benefit both community livelihoods and conservation, and then it scales best practices at other sites around the world. Given the growth of its program, Rare needs a savvy communicator who captures information on impact from the field and communicates it to donors, partners, and media. The Communications Manager would fill this need.

The Communications Manager will be a key part of Rare’s creative services team, serving as the primary writer and editor for collateral, presentations, fact sheets, Web features, and certain executive communications. He/she will also serves as an internal “reporter,” charged with identifying stories on Rare’s impact in the field and turning them into editorial pieces for donors, partners, and other target audiences. In addition to writing, this position will serve as project manager for various publications and collateral and thus must be adept at communicating with, and balancing the needs of, multiple stakeholders – often under tight deadlines. (Rare has an in-house designer, with whom this position will collaborate closely.)

Areas of Responsibility
• Strategic content development and writing for publications ranging from 2-page fact sheets to full-scale brochures to short editorial pieces for donor reports or web features
• Substantive editing of others’ writing submitted from all levels of the organization (VP, Communications, fundraising team, CEO, program staff, HR, etc.)

• Identification and writing of a steady output of stories demonstrating impact (drawing from more than 50 current projects around the world and interacting with regional staff in Indonesia, China, and Mexico)
• Partnering with digital media team to create content that can be leveraged across multiple reinforcing channels and platforms
• Drafting boilerplate language on Rare’s business model, core programs, and answers to frequently asked questions
• Content development and copywriting for event invitations, displays, promotional materials, and presentations
• Participation in weekly meetings with marketing and creative services team to generate new ideas, collaborate on messaging and branding, and manage overall prioritization of projects

Qualifications, Skills, and Knowledge Requirements
• 5 years experience writing for marketing and/or fundraising communications
• Proven success writing sophisticated, high-level copy under tight deadlines (for board, executive leadership, and regional staff)
• Proven ability to manage production of a wide range of communication materials, including strategic planning, effective integration of copy and images to support messaging goals, and facilitating multiple rounds of edits and inputs from staff at all levels
• Proven skills in both technical and non-technical writing, with particular aptitude for crafting persuasive language
• Ability to tailor writing to an array of different media – including print, Web, press outlets, blogs, video, proposals, and oral presentations
• Ability to tailor tone and language for a diverse range of audiences (Board of Trustees, major donors, press, internationally recognized experts and partners)
• Good visual sense and experience collaborating with graphic designers
• Ability to work both as part of a team and independently
• Demonstrated proficiency in maintaining a high degree of accuracy and consistent quality
• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field

Application Procedure
Please email a resume and cover letter (both in Word Format), outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position, to Deborah Chamberlin, Sr. Director of Human Resources: humres@rareconservation.org, subject line “Communications Manager.” An indication of either your current salary or salary expectations would be most helpful.

Rare also requests that you also attach two writing samples – one that is marketing-oriented in tone and style and another that is a longer-form narrative piece on a specific subject matter.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Rare is an Equal Opportunity Employer.