About Acacia Center for Justice:
The objective of the Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) is to expand on Vera’s work over the past twenty years in providing legal support and representation to immigrants facing deportation through the development, coordination, and management of national networks of legal services providers serving immigrants across the country. Acacia’s goals are twofold: to support immigrant legal services and defense networks to provide exceptional legal services to immigrants and to advocate for the expansion of these programs and the infrastructure critical to guaranteeing immigrants access to justice, fairness, and freedom. Acacia will focus the collective power of both Vera and CAIR on delivering accountable, independent, zealous, and person-centered legal services and representation to protect the rights of all immigrants at risk of deportation.
Job Summary:
Acacia Center for Justice (Acacia) is seeking an enthusiastic, creative, and skilled Director of Communications to lead the operational and strategic development and execution of Acacia’s internal and external communications. The Director reports to the Chief Strategy and Program Innovation Officer. The Director position is remote. The Director is a skilled communicator and natural storyteller who understands non-profit communications, narrative-building, and strategy. The Director leads the development and use of Acacia’s communications resources to support, defend, strengthen, and achieve Acacia’s programs, relationships, and goals. The Director builds and manages a communications team dedicated to the same. In leading Acacia’s operational communications work, the Director utilizes the full panoply of industry communications tools, including (but not limited to) development of content for Acacia’s website, social media channels, videos, earned media outreach and management, op-eds, slide decks, and annual reports. The Director cultivates relationships with key media figures, outlets, and platforms, particularly those with connection to immigrants’ rights, promoting and defending Acacia’s work as may be required. The Director supports Acacia’s operational imperatives that have a core communications component, including fundraising and development campaigns and materials, research and evaluation, public policy, and data analytics work. The Director, under supervision of Acacia’s executive management team, also develops and executes Acacia’s strategic communications framework. This framework ensures that both Acacia’s programmatic work and strategic goals are appropriately tailored to target audiences and effectively communicated across Acacia’s public-facing materials. The Director ensures Acacia’s internal and external communications are strategically aligned in support of Acacia’s mission, vision, and goals — leading to meaningful, sustained relationships with partners, media, donors, government officials, and other key stakeholders. The Director has a demonstrated commitment to immigrants’ rights and has sufficient fluency and understanding of Acacia’s work to communicate effectively to both members of the public and to more specialized actors within the field.
Primary Duties/Responsibilities:
- Req Develop compelling, action-oriented communications strategies for research publication releases, events, policy advocacy campaigns, and similar initiatives that defend the rights of all immigrants.
- Collaborate with other Acacia departments to craft messaging for policy advocacy, movement campaigns, fundraising, and other strategic goals.
- Keep current on immigration news, including big-picture legal and policy developments, and advise Acacia’s executive management team on responses to breaking news and implications for our operational and strategic goals.
- Serve as the keeper of Acacia’s public-facing brand, ensuring all publications, collateral, social media presence, interactions, and events reinforce that brand.
- With Acacia’s executive management team, assess Acacia’s immediate and longer-term communications needs and create a hiring plan to build an internal communications team with necessary skills and capacities.
- Hire, support, and mentor Acacia’s communications team.
- Serve as a primary editor for Acacia’s communications work and presence across all relevant platforms. Continuously elevate Acacia’s writing to be compelling, concise, and focused.
- Develop Acacia’s digital communications, design, and project management protocols as needed.
- Assess need for and hire and manage third-party communications contractors.
- Determine the best use of media strategies to achieve Acacia’s goals, including earned media, opinion editorials, letters to the editor, board engagement, paid media, and like approaches.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with reporters and outreach regularly to keep them informed of our messaging, policy solutions, and compelling big-picture goals.
- Work to shift public narratives around immigration and meaningful legal access for people at risk of deportation or detention. Examples include creating and disseminating positive narratives focused on equity, fairness, and the strengths and contributions of immigrants; leveraging immigrant-friendly values and traditions; and rebutting negative narratives that seek to degrade or diminish immigrant access to legal representation, freedom, dignity, and other fundamental rights.
- Edit press releases and support Acacia executives when speaking to press contacts or, where appropriate, serve as a public spokesperson for Acacia.
- Review media coverage and prepare updates with the communications team for Acacia’s executive management team and Board of Trustees, as needed.
- In conjunction with Acacia’s Information Technology and Security (ITS) team, ensure that Acacia’s website is a useful and engaging tool to support and further Acacia’s work and goals. This includes, for example, ensuring that Acacia’s website is up to date, user-friendly, prominently features ongoing work and/or campaigns and opportunities to engage, tells Acacia’s story through our people and communities, is easy to navigate, and clearly communicates who we are and how we operate.
- With Acacia’s ITS team, create website management protocols for the communications team to follow.
- Oversee Acacia’s social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to broaden Acacia’s reach and influence.
- Engage and train appropriate communications staff to support social media efforts.
- Review social media copy created by communications team as needed.
Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- A demonstrated commitment to Acacia’s vision, mission, values, and overarching goals.
- Strong writing skills, with the ability to produce polished, succinct, and compelling written communications work product.
- Strong communication skills (writing/editing and verbal), with the ability coordinate and integrate the input of multidisciplinary team members and stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to assess and assemble the resources and team needed for communication and strategic projects and to timely, thoroughly, and successfully complete such projects.
- The ability to understand, critically assess, and inform internal Acacia stakeholders on the pros and cons of pursuing particular media and communications opportunities within Acacia’s overarching strategic communications framework.
- Excellent attention to detail, ability to multitask, and strong decision-making skills, with the ability to both listen and act decisively as execution of a communications response or plan may require.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- Advanced degree in a relevant field such as a Master of Public Policy, Marketing, Communication, Non-profit Management, or comparable advanced degree.
- Specific knowledge and / or experience in the legal services field, including (preferably) legal services for immigrants.
Education and Experience:
- A minimum of seven years of strategic communications experience in a fast-paced nonprofit or public service environment.
- Management or supervisory experience.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, with an emphasis in Communications, Marketing or Public Relations.
- Proven track record of leading and executing communications from both operational and strategic perspectives to advance an organization’s work.
- Strong computer skills; expertise with MS Office Suite highly desired, particularly with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- Highly organized, detailed self-starter who can work independently and manage multiple work streams simultaneously.
- Demonstrated commitment to immigrants’ rights, including the ability to fluently describe the intersection of racial justice and equity and immigrants’ rights.
Compensation and Benefits:
Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The salary for this position is set at $146,000 The salary listed is just one component of Acacia’s total compensation package for employees. Supporting Acacia staff—both personally and professionally—is our priority.
- Medical/Dental/Vision- Some plans at $0 cost to the employee
- Employee Assistance Program
- 20 days per year of vacation time
- 12 days per year of sick time
- 5 personal days
- 4 organization-wide Wellness Days
- 11 observed holidays, including the last week of December.
- $2000 Professional Development Stipend
- Home office set-up stipend
- Internet Stipend
- 401k with 5% employer contribution, no employee participation required.
- Student loan repayment assistance.
- Gym Reimbursement
People of color and those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system are strongly urged to apply.
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and cover letter at the link provided or email hiring@acaciajustice.org with Subject: ATTN: Human Resources / [Job Title], Acacia Center for Justice
Equal Opportunity Employment:
Acacia is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to recruit persons of diverse backgrounds and support their retention and advancement within the organization. We are committed to fostering a workplace culture inclusive of people with respect to their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, marital status, age, disabilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other characteristic. Our commitment to justice and diversity also means providing a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and engaging.
As a federal contractor, and in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Acacia Center for Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.
This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties, responsibilities and requirements but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and fun.
Acacia Center for Justice is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.