ABOUT US:
Working Washington is a national leader in new forms of worker organizing and shifting the debate about economic justice and building an economy that puts workers first. Along with our partner organization, Fair Work Center, we build worker power through education, organizing, and enforcement. We currently lead innovative campaigns organizing delivery workers in the gig economy, enforcing Seattle’s domestic worker bill of rights, and making Washington’s workplace laws among the best in the country. We are building a statewide base of workers who will continue to drive our future campaigns to reduce income inequality, center the needs of immigrant workers and workers of color, and shift the balance of power back to working people.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
We seek a versatile and creative bilingual (English/Spanish) communicator to help shift the narrative around work, workers, and our economy. They will expand our capacity to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including current and potential worker members, elected officials, mainstream media, supporters, and the general public. They will develop content that brings worker voices directly into the public debate, helping to grow our base and persuade people to both support our work and take action to advance our organizing demands. We are looking for someone who can work across the organization, collaborating with staff leading base building, campaigns, development, and enforcement work to amplify their efforts and bring a consistent and compelling voice throughout.
We have long had a strong, innovative communications program and are looking to grow this part of our team. In addition to this position, we are also hiring for a Communications Director who will take over setting the strategic direction and supervision of this role. In the immediate term, this role will report to the Operations Director and will be a member of the Operations team. The organization is striving to become an anti-racist organization and the expectation is that every employee, including this position, will aid in our collective journey and engage in their own. Whenever possible, a racial equity lens should be applied to each responsibility under each section below.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Communications & Storytelling
- Create an annual communications plan and manage the daily/weekly/monthly editorial calendar to advance our organizing, enforcement, and development work across a wide range of mediums (email, social media, video, surveys, action alerts, and more)
- Collect stories from workers, as well as from our organizers, educators and attorneys to produce narratives that lift up worker voices and build worker power
- Coach worker-leaders in how to develop and share their stories with other workers, elected officials, media, and social media
- Develop compelling educational materials to support our base building and worker education efforts
- Support our campaigns through state and local legislative sessions with emails, action alerts, and other communications efforts to win new standards
- Represent the organization and provide strategic communications support to coalitions in which we are active
- Actively participate in ongoing work to refine and strengthen an organizational voice that integrates our current bodies of work and theory of change
Social Media & Digital Communications
- Utilize new and existing digital tools to build support for our organizing, education, and enforcement work – including managing social media, digital ad buys, grassroots emails, texting, and digital videos
- Manage content creation & distribution across different social media channels and platforms and monitor digital communications trends
- Produce short videos and graphics
- Track and analyze metrics and make recommendations based on trends
- Create and manage campaign-specific accounts as needed to advance organizing goals
Media Relations
- Build relationships with local and national media outlets and pitch media to cover our campaigns and issues in a way that centers worker voices
- Respond to media inquiries, prepare workers and staff to be interviewed and to speak on behalf of the organization
- Drafting op-eds, press releases, letters to the editor and messaging guides
REQUIREMENTS
- Be a compelling communicator with experience using narrative and storytelling for change
- Be a strong writer with experience writing for email, social media, press, video, and related content
- Be an avid consumer of news with a sharp understanding of political debates and the narrative on the economy
- Have an interest in social media as a tool for influence
- Know and understand how social media works and how to create content for maximum impact
- Possess a deep understanding of digital organizing or demonstrated ability to learn
- Have strong project management skills and be able to successfully manage and balance daily, weekly, and longer-term deadlines
- Have experience working with Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, and other content production tools
- Have a passion for racial justice and advancing equity through our work
- Enjoy collaboration and able to work well across teams with different workflows, areas of focus, and expertise
- Demonstrated proficiency in English and Spanish.
OTHER INFORMATION
Salary & Benefits: This is a bargaining unit position. Salaries are set by the union pay scale, with anticipated starting pay between $64,600–$73,366, or lower/higher depending on relevant experience, along with significant annual step increases each year. We provide a generous benefits package, including exceptional medical, dental, and vision care, 5% employer 401k contribution, substantial holidays, vacation and sick leave, and an ORCA card for employees in the Puget Sound area.
Location: This is a salaried overtime exempt position that we anticipate being based in our Seattle office. We are a hybrid workplace and expect this role will have a combination of in person work and work that can be performed remotely. It may require occasional evening and weekend work and occasional travel throughout the state.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@workingwa.org with the applicant’s last name and “Communications” in the subject line. In your cover letter, let us know why you’re interested in this role and which skills you believe will make you successful in it. The priority deadline for submissions is February 17, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we will accept applications until the position is filled.
Commitment to Equity: Working Washington is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly encourage people from communities most negatively affected by historical and ongoing inequity to apply, such as: people of color, immigrants, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities. We seek candidates whose lived experiences reflect the lived experiences of the workers we support. If you need disability, language or other accommodation in the application process, please contact Zhi Chen at zhi@workingwa.org.