Development Communications Manager at American Red Cross

Title: Development Communications Manager

(work from home)

Location: Washington, WA, United States

Job Description:

The work location for this exciting opportunity is virtual. The selected candidate will work 100% remotely from home and can be located anywhere in the United States. Will work an East Coast schedule/ times.

Position Summary:

Working as part of the Communications Department, the Development Communications Manager is responsible for the coordination and delivery of communications benefits to corporate and foundation donors, cause marketing partners and workplace giving partners. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Communications and working in concert with the Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Partner Programs, the Development Communications Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing partner-specific communications strategies as well as executing all communications and public relations benefits afforded to donors for specific projects, initiatives and during large-scale disasters.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary liaison between the Communications and Development departments to maximize fundraising revenue and ensure the continuity and parity of benefits provided to donors; oversee the management and annual updates to the Donor Matrix, a document used to manage said donor benefits.
• Create and maintain a system for tracking and managing communications benefits for corporate partners, annual giving programs, cause marketing and workplace giving programs, including detailed timelines.
• Serve as the lead for the Photo Review Board to manage donor photo and video requests (during and outside of disasters). This includes being the main point of contact for Development, the Office of General Counsel and the Photo and Video teams for all requests and participating in weekly meetings to review/approve requests.
• Develop and implement strategic communications plans for specific donors as needed.
• Participate in conference calls with donors, fundraisers, Marketing and regional staff to provide strategic counsel, align donor goals with appropriate and effective communications benefits, manage requests and deliver benefits.
• Work with communication staff supporting lines of business and with regional communicators to ensure visibility needs for specific donor projects or initiatives are being met; assist fundraising in aligning donors’ goals with appropriate communications benefits.
• Develop press releases and other public communications materials to raise visibility about donor activities.
• Manage the influx of donor communications requests during times of disaster.
• Review donor press releases and other materials to ensure accuracy of information and fundraising language.
• Coordinate with Marketing to ensure the Red Cross emblem is used appropriately and in accordance with brand standards.
• Ensure that quotations from senior leaders for communications materials are approved prior to use in public-facing materials.
• Assist the Campaigns Manager and Development team in the creation and delivery of communications benefits for signature campaigns, including the Holiday Campaign, Giving Day, Sound the Alarm, Mission Red and others as needed, including providing campaign and initiative support for Red Cross lines of business, such as Training Services and Biomed.
• Work with Communications colleagues and the Development Teams on the creation of “custom” benefits as needed.
• Place fundraising press releases on redcross.org.
• Develop reports on donor communications activities as needed.
• Assist the Manager, Editorial Operations, in the development of stories for redcross.org featuring corporate donors and the Social Team with social media content for partners, including templates and toolkits.
• Other duties as assigned, including occasional travel to domestic disasters to support content gathering for donors.

Qualifications:

• Excellent writing and oral communications skills
• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Journalism or related field
• Minimum 7 years of experience working in corporate communications, donor relations or agency
• Proven ability to manage multiple, concurrent projects
• An understanding of the media landscape, especially as it relates to coverage of charitable donations, and how to align donor goals with appropriate and effective communications benefits
• Demonstrated strategic communications abilities, including experience in creating and executing communications plans
• Understanding of social media platforms and how they work within the Red Cross framework
• Ability to work collaboratively in team environment
• Ability to work under deadline and budget constraints
• Ability to handle occasional on-call responsibilities related to Red Cross Media Line
• Ability to handle occasional irregular and weekend hours during active Red Cross Disaster Operations