Manager of Media Relations
Main Street America
N/A
Job Details
Full-time
Full Job Description
We are seeking a strategic and responsive manager who excels at building relationships with the media with demonstrated success in crafting narratives that amplify an organization’s mission.
The Manager of Media Relations is a new position in our growing Marketing and Communications department at Main Street America. The team’s core focus is to raise the profile of the Main Street Movement, support our network with valuable resources, and expand the organization’s reach and impact. We do this by: highlighting and amplifying the work of Main Streets across the country; connecting local leaders with resources and opportunities to help with revitalization efforts; providing thought leadership that equips commercial district practitioners with the knowledge they need to move their communities forward; and continuously assessing and adapting our outreach and engagement strategies to ensure they are centered in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
In collaboration with the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications and Associate Director of Strategic Communications, and sometimes, the CEO, the Manager of Media Relations will plan, develop, and execute media and public relations campaigns in collaboration with key stakeholders.
Areas of Responsibility
Plan, develop, and implement media relations campaigns in collaboration with key stakeholders. (80%) This includes:
- Developing a paid and earned media strategy that aligns with organizational communications and marketing annual goals
- Strategically repurposing and amplifying earned media to maximize the impact of Main Street America programs and initiatives coverage
- Tuning in and analyzing local and national conversations to find opportunities to highlight the work of Main Street America
- Building and maintain relationships with members of the press, and supporting staff with their relationship management
- Responding to media inquiries in a timely manner and connecting them with appropriate staff, board, or network members
- Preparing staff, Board members, and network members for media interviews
- Managing press and communications for annual awards programs and Main Street America grantees
- Managing the Pressroom page on mainstreet.org
- Developing comprehensive press kits and press training for network leaders and partners
- Developing media talking points for each of our strategic projects and programs
- Helping the President and CEO with op-ed strategy, writing, and placement
Manage media databases and software. (20%) This includes:
- Using CRM to maintain a database of key spokespeople
- If deemed necessary, selecting and managing media relations software
Requirements
Top Candidates MUST HAVE the following characteristics:
- Proven track record in crafting and implementing earned and paid media strategies
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Experience with crisis communications
- Proven track record in effective message development in a mission-driven context
- Ability to synthesize national, regional and local conversations to relevance
- Demonstrated success in leveraging appropriate communication channels to amplify messages and reach including social media
- Demonstrated success as a spokesperson for an organization or company
- Experience writing press releases, developing and managing media events, preparing spokespeople and stakeholders, and media kits
- Previous experience establishing, building, and sustaining relationships with the media
- Persistent, resilient, responsive and able to perform under pressure/deadlines
- Clear communicator: distills complexities succinctly
- Ability to remain apolitical in a complex political environment
- Full-throated commitment to the mission of Main Street America
- Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility
- Enjoys working on a distributed team and with a diverse set of stakeholders
The following are NICE-TO-HAVES for qualified candidates:
- Knowledge of the following fields or issue areas: community economic development, community preservation, entrepreneurship, urban and rural community development, community marketing & storytelling, capacity building, transportation, arts and community design, cultural preservation, and community disinvestment.
- Experience in the non-profit sector
- Experience collaborating with a government relations team
- Experience working with a team that is geographically dispersed
- Fluency in Spanish
- Content Management System (CMS) experience
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system experience
- Experience working in diversity, equity, inclusion or accessibility in a previous job
- Project Management software experience
- Design experience with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Express, and Canva
- Experience with video or audio production
- Experience developing metrics and use of tools to capture analytics and provide evaluative reports
To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter by the deadline of Friday, October 25.
Hiring Timeline:
- Friday, September 27: Job opens
- Friday, October 25: Applications due
- Monday, October 28: Screening begins
- November 4: Round 1 Interviews begin
- November 18: Round 2 Interviews begin
- January 2025: Ideal Onboard/Start Date
Benefits
The salary range for this position is $68,000 - $71,000.
Main Street America is a dynamic, diverse, remote-first team. We hire empathetic managers, create a fulfilling work environment, and provide excellent benefits. We strive to balance achievement, connection and rest through key structures:
- We all organize our work annually around our six long-term objectives of our strategic plan;
- We meet in person twice a year at team retreats, and many staff attend our annual conference; and
- We have more than 25 paid holidays (including the last week of December and the week surrounding the fourth of July), and have meeting-free weeks (“Rejuvenation Weeks”) the last week of August and first week of January for deep focus and planning.
We keep a 35-hour work week, and most of our team works Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Some positions require additional hours and time outside regular business hours.
Full-time, regular employees are entitled to:
- Health Insurance: Our group benefit plans include medical, EAP, dental and vision, life, and disability plans.
- Paid Sick Leave: Full-time employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 3.23 hours per pay period (maximum accrual at 420 hours).
- Vacation Accrual: In addition to the more than 25 paid holidays mentioned above, full-time employees begin with two weeks vacation, and accrue vacation at a rate of 4.85 hours per pay period for the first 3 years. At years 3-10, the accrual rate increases to 6 hours, and employees with tenures of more than 10 years accrue at a rate of 6.92 hours per pay period (for a maximum accrual at 210 hours).
- FMLA: We follow the DC Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for family leave (the birth or adoption of a child, or caring for a sick relative) and 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for medical leave (recovering from a serious illness) in a 24 month period for any employee employed for at least a year.
- 401(a) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan: At its discretion, Main Street America makes an employer contribution typically equal to 5% of earned compensation no later than April for the prior calendar year in which you worked at least 1,000 hours. Vesting begins at 20% after two years, and increases until it reaches 100% after five years.
- 403(b) Individual Retirement Plan: Employee pre-tax contributions are permitted up to IRS limits. For 2024, those are $23,000, plus another $7,500 in catch-up contributions for employees age 50 years and over.
- Professional Development: At its discretion, Main Street America provides $1,500 in professional development funds to each employee annually, as well as other team-wide professional development trainings.