Job Description

Director of Communications

Position Title: Director of Communications
Location: Point Reyes Station, CA (Hybrid schedule)
Employment Type: Full Time, Exempt

Reports To: Executive Director
Start Date: TBD

Compensation and Benefits: base salary ranging from $110,000-$120,000. Benefits include medical coverage, paid time off, sick pay, and a 403(b) retirement program.

Position Overview

CLAM is seeking a strong communications leader who moves comfortably between creative and analytical work. At the center of this role is building our capacity for compelling storytelling that resonates with CLAM’s wide-ranging audiences.

You will play a critical role in building the CLAM brand and driving awareness and engagement among CLAM’s members and the broader community. This is a comprehensive communications role, covering brand strategy, public relations, content creation, and digital communications channels including website, newsletter, email and social media.

With development and communications tightly woven together, you will partner closely with the development team on a day-to-day basis, who lead membership growth and retention, to make sure messaging and storytelling support those goals. Reporting to the executive director, you will work very closely with every member of CLAM staff, across development, property, operations, and administrative functions.

You will manage the communications team, including a communications associate and independent consultants who support public relations, photography, videography, visual design, and other specialties.

You’ll also build relationships with partner organizations that have a bigger reach than CLAM, creating exchanges where CLAM’s track record helps their credibility in return for access to their audiences. Performance measurement, testing, and continuous improvement are essential to this role, helping CLAM communicate its impact more effectively as the organization grows.

What You’ll Bring

  • You gravitate towards translating complex concepts into compelling, concise, clear messages

  • You are committed to equity and inclusion, with sensitivity to the concerns and needs of lower-income people and communities

  • You think and work at both strategic and tactical levels; you are a strong strategist, and hands-on tactical projects are inherently motivating

  • You're excited by ambitious challenges and the opportunity to help advocate for complex housing solutions that can be subject to roadblocks

  • You embrace feedback, iterate quickly, and help those around you succeed

  • You're resourceful, proactive, and operate with a high degree of autonomy

Key Responsibilities

You will be managing the following responsibilities with a team of people supporting you as defined above.

Branding

  • Brand strategy, including brand platform, audiences, and personas

  • Member and partner listening tours, pulse checks, and surveys

  • Organization and product naming

  • Brand identity and guidelines

Public Relations

  • Press releases and media relations

  • Speaking engagements

  • Recognition and awards

Content Creation

  • Storytelling through copywriting, images, and video

  • Building closer relationships with key sources, in particular, residents

  • Leveraging content across multiple channels

  • Thought leadership about affordable housing and Community Land Trusts

  • Balanced mix of in-house and content sourced with partners

Website

  • UI/UX, visual design, and copywriting

  • Newsletter and member conversion

  • Continual maintenance for error-free user experience

Newsletter/email campaigns

  • Content roadmap with predictable publishing schedule

  • Goals and standards based on best practices

Social Media

  • Social strategy and channel priority

  • Quick-turn social content

Paid Media

  • Testing to assess where paid media fits in the channel mix

Individual and organizational development

  • Roles and responsibilities for all communications initiatives

  • Team development within CLAM and outside consultants

  • Cultivation of pro bono partners to expand our talent pool

Reporting, process, tools, and budget

  • Goal setting and KPI definition, tracking, and reporting

  • Efficient production and approval processes for web, newsletter/email, social

  • Large toolkit: project management, website builder/CMS, email marketing automation, visual design, donor management/CRM, and productivity

  • Budget setting, tracking, and ROI reporting

These duties are subject to change at CLAM’s discretion

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience and five or more years of communications success in nonprofit and/or for-profit settings

  • Experience managing direct reports and external consultants

  • Superior copywriting and editorial skills

  • Comfort with planning, marketing, and productivity tools; our team uses Asana, Squarespace, MailChimp, Bloomerang, Canva, Slack, and Google Workspace or similar tools

  • Ability to take on projects with a high degree of autonomy from concept through creative brief, team selection, execution, design review, and final delivery

  • Demonstrated ability to craft compelling narratives from a variety of sources, including interviews, live footage, events, archival content, and web research

  • For video production, a strong sense of pacing, music selection, sound design, and emotional storytelling

  • Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously

  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with both internal and partner teams, including creative talent and technical subject matter experts

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment

  • Adept at setting goals, measuring what matters, and adjusting programs on the fly to meet the organization’s goals

  • Comfortable navigating differing perspectives among internal and external stakeholders.

Desired Qualifications

  • Direct experience in the field of affordable housing

  • Bilingual English-Spanish language proficiency

  • Volunteer or work experience in social services, ideally affordable housing

  • Strong project management and organizational skills.

  • Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.

  • Commitment to CLAM’s mission and the values of equity, inclusion, and community stewardship.

About CLAM

Imagine helping build a community where every resident lives in a safe, permanently-affordable home. At Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM) our mission is to preserve economic and social diversity in West Marin by expanding access to stable housing and homeownership. This year we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary and recently completed a major project to provide interim housing to nearly 40 families displaced by nearby ranch closures.

CLAM is known for successfully delivering on its promise of affordable housing solutions; working with multiple government, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners; navigating deals with diverse stakeholders; and strengthening the role of residents in shaping the future of our community. Consider joining CLAM in this period of tremendous growth, while we scale to support our ambitious community vision for the coming years.

Additional Information

This is a full-time salaried, exempt, onsite staff position with a base salary ranging from $110,000-120,000. Benefits include medical coverage, paid time off, sick pay, and a 403(b) retirement program.

CLAM provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and will engage in the interactive process as required by applicable law.

CLAM is an equal opportunity employer. CLAM provides equal employment opportunity to all applicants and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age (40 and over), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. We value diversity and are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and contractors.

Frequently cited statistics show that women and people of color, as well as other structurally marginalized groups, apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. CLAM encourages you to break that statistic and to apply! No one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. We look forward to your application.