Career Opportunity
Associate Director, Nationwide Internal Communications
American Civil Liberties Union
Affiliate Support & Nationwide Initiatives Department, NY
For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been our nation’s guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. Whether it’s achieving full equality for the LGBT community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, ending mass incarceration, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people from government abuse and overreach. With more than a million members, activists, and supporters, the ACLU is a nationwide organization that fights tirelessly in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., for the principle that every individual’s rights must be protected equally under the law, regardless of race, religion, gender, age sexual orientation, disability or national origin.
OVERVIEW
The ACLU seeks an Associate Director, Nationwide Internal Communications, to develop and lead a comprehensive internal communications program for the staff and leadership of the ACLU’s national and affiliate offices. The Associate Director will assess the current program, make recommendations and design systems and products that deliver organizational information and resources to internal audiences nationwide, provide online forums for collaboration within the ACLU family, and gather and produce content to share with colleagues. The Associate Director reports to the Director of Affiliate Marketing & Communications in Affiliate Support & Nationwide Initiatives, oversees the internal communications program, and supervises the Intranet Communications Manager position. The Associate Director must build and sustain relationships with colleagues throughout the organization in order to procure information, and report on news and initiatives, as well as train and motivate co-workers to share information through a variety of communications channels, including the The Loop (the ACLU’s intranet), listservs, e-newsletters and online reports.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Coordinate with key staff across all national departments and affiliates to identify organizational news, develop content, and streamline distribution methods.
• Work closely with the ACLU’s IT Department to develop and refine internal online communications tools for utility and security.
• Interview ACLU employees and leadership, conduct research, write/edit content, and produce graphics to communicate internal messages.
• Disseminate communications to broad or targeted audiences through appropriate vehicles, ensuring audience segments receive relevant messages.
• Conceive and implement user adoption strategies, incentivizing staff to give and get information through organizational communications channels.
• Design new employee onboarding procedures and training programs to familiarize staff with available internal communications tools.
• Continuously evaluate effectiveness of the internal communications program and make improvements to maximize its value to internal audiences.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office by using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability and socio-economic circumstance.
• Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in internal organizational communications or a related field.
• Experience designing and/or implementing internal communications tools to meet particular business needs.
• Ability to audit existing internal communications landscape, identify and mitigate gaps.
• Leadership skills to articulate vision, build solutions, and elicit buy-in from broad range of colleagues.
• Strong writing and verbal communications skills with demonstrated ability to create engaging content.
• Facility with Photoshop or other design tools to create basic graphics.
• Experience using digital tools to share information and an aptitude for learning new technology.
• Demonstrated success with internal marketing of employee communications programs.
• Ability to analyze program metrics and measure success of internal communications initiatives.
• Understanding of trends and best practices in internal organizational communications.
• Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU.
COMPENSATION
The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should send a cover letter (with salary requirements), resume and communications sample(s) to hrjobsasd@aclu.org. Reference [ASD-56/ACLU-W] in the subject line. Please note that this is not the general ACLU applicant email address. This email address is specific to the Affiliate Support and Advocacy Department. In order to ensure your application is received, please make certain it is sent to the correct e-mail address.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
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 reserves the right to change the description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.
The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU 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 and record of arrest or conviction.
The ACLU undertakes affirmative action strategies in its recruitment and employment efforts to assure that persons with disabilities have full opportunities for employment in all positions.
We encourage applicants with disabilities who may need accommodations in the application process to contact:hrjobsincl@aclu.org. Correspondence sent to this email address that is not related to requests for accommodations will not be reviewed. Applicants should follow the instructions above regarding how to apply.
The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”