Work Fully Remote as a Communications Specialist at Rethink Priorities: Apply!!

Location: Remote
Workplace type: Fully remote
Application Deadline: August 11, 2024, at the end of the day (11:59 PM) in US/Eastern (EST) time zone.
Note Before Applying: We invite anyone who is interested in this role to apply, and will assess applications primarily based on anonymized prompt answers, so please ensure they represent your fit for the position well. We will advance candidates to the next stages based on their quality of responses during our hiring process, putting only minimal weight on CVs and references.
Please do not include a cover letter, photograph, or headshot of yourself, or any personal information that is not relevant to the role for which you’re applying (including marital status, age, identity traits, etc.). Additionally, please do not ask our staff members involved in the hiring process to meet with you – to ensure fairness, we try to minimize these interactions, and requests for meetings with the hiring committee members during the process will be declined.
Contact: Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
About the Role
Rethink Priorities’ key path to impact is communicating our work to decision-makers in an accessible and actionable way. Therefore, effective communications is a key priority for the organization. The mission of the Communications Specialist is to strategically enhance and disseminate our organizations’ and individual research departments’ message, achievements, and impact to a diverse range of external audiences. Through expert media relations, rigorous impact analysis, and targeted engagement with stakeholders, policymakers, and industry influencers, the Communications Specialist will support the Senior Communications Strategy Manager in implementing effective communication strategies that amplify our reach, foster strong relationships, and advance our organizational goals. This role is pivotal in ensuring our company’s voice is heard, understood, and influential in the public sphere, thereby contributing to our overall mission and success.
This role is fully remote and we are able to legally hire in many countries. In certain cases, we may be able to provide visa sponsorship to the US or UK and help candidates relocate. If you have questions about whether we can hire or provide visa sponsorship in another country and if this will influence your decision about applying, please contact [email protected] before submitting your application.
While we welcome applicants from all time zones, you may be expected to attend meetings during working hours between UTC-8 and UTC+3 time zones, where most of our staff are based. Depending on your personal timezone, this might mean early morning or evening calls; however, you would not be required to attend calls outside of waking hours.
This role is equally open to full-time and part-time candidates who are available to work at least 20 hours per week.
Key Responsibilities
External Communications:
- Develop and implement external communication plans to effectively communicate initiative and impact.
- Utilize various communication strategies, such as proactive press outreach, social media, and SEO, to achieve strategic priorities.
- Help lead on crisis communications.
Audience Engagement and Strategy Development:
- Identify and analyze target audiences.
- Repurpose RP’s work products into effective marketing and communications materials.
- Collaborate with internal teams to ensure impactful and consistent messaging across multiple channels and platforms.
- Support process improvement initiatives by evaluating current procedures and practices, and contributing to or completing tasks related to process enhancement.
- Help plan and manage communications calendar; identify high-impact events, secure speaking engagements, and see engagements through to completion.
- Manage digital marketing channels, including social media, email marketing, and website content.
- Track and analyze engagement metrics for emails and website engagement and coordinate promotional efforts across communications channels in order to grow our audience base.
- Develop plans for increasing engagement with emails, website, and social media updates.
Media Relations:
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with external media outlets.
- Pitch stories to relevant media outlets.
- Monitor media coverage and identify opportunities to amplify RP or respond to media inquiries.
- Develop PR/media strategies to engage and resonate with target audiences effectively.
- Identify, anticipate, and mitigate reputational risks, advising on emerging issues that can affect RP’s brand.
Content Creation and Management:
- Write or rewrite communications materials for external audiences.
- Contribute to the drafting of newsletters and regular updates for stakeholders.
- Contribute to the creation of webinars about our research for specific audiences.
- Respond to staff requests regarding external communications.
- Liaise with research teams to develop communications plans for planned research and to finalize and publish research pieces.
- Assist in writing research summaries.
- Ensure key web pages are updated regularly and when needed, partner with web developer(s) to identify opportunities to improve user experience.
Skills and Competencies Required
Please note that while we think that these skills/qualifications are essential to the position, we do not necessarily expect every qualified candidate to have all of them upon entry.
Core Competencies:
- Strong self- and project management competencies, including organization and time management skills.
- Open-mindedness; willingness to carefully consider ideas and comfort in explaining reasoning.
- Resourcefulness and ability to problem-solve.
- Creativity and initiative for developing new ideas and strategies.
- Comfort with remote work and asynchronous collaboration using technologies such as G Suite (RP is a remote-first organization with staff in multiple time zones).
Technical Skills:
- Media Relations: Ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with media outlets, journalists, bloggers, and influencers.
- PR and Campaign Management: Proficiency in pitching stories, managing PR campaigns, and securing media coverage.
- Digital Marketing and Literacy: Experience managing digital marketing channels, including social media, email marketing, and website content, and proficiency in using digital tools and platforms for communication, marketing, and engagement
Communication Skills:
- Content Development and Management: Excellent writing and editing skills for creating and refining communication materials, press releases, newsletters, and research summaries; Experience in developing marketing collateral and webinars for specific audiences.
- Audience Sensitivity and Strategic Communication: Strong instincts for how diverse audiences will perceive our communications and the ability to understand and anticipate the reactions of audiences to communications, ensuring clarity, appropriateness, and sensitivity in conveying complex ideas; Ability to develop and implement communication strategies that effectively convey the organization’s message and impact.
- Content Simplification: Ability to understand economic principles and complex reasoning, and translate this technical content into clear, accessible language for a non-technical audience.
Interpersonal Skills:
- Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement: Strong ability to collaborate with internal teams and liaise with research teams to develop and publish communication plans; Skills in engaging with various audiences, including policymakers, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and industry associations, and the ability to interface effectively with both internal departments and external audiences.
Strategic Thinking:
- Planning and Execution: Strategic thinker capable of developing comprehensive communication plans and adjusting strategies based on data insights and industry trends.
- Problem-Solving: Ability to navigate complex external affairs landscapes and provide strategic guidance on policy-related communications.
Additional Competencies:
- Reputation Management: Ability to identify, anticipate, and mitigate reputational risks, advising on emerging issues that can affect the brand
- Audience Analysis: Ability to identify and analyze target audiences based on desired changes and impacts
- Project Management: Initiate, plan, execute, and monitor projects. Set clear goals, and break down goals into activities and deliverables. Track progress and report project status to stakeholders
In addition to the above competencies and skills, competitive candidates may have the following knowledge and/or experience:
- Robust background in media relations, external communications, and policy engagement.
- Familiarity with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Experience in:
- Cultivating relationships with media outlets, journalists, and influencers.
- Pitching stories and managing PR campaigns.
- Developing and implementing communication strategies to convey organizational initiatives and impact.
- Tracking engagement metrics to refine communication efforts.
- Managing reputational risks and ensuring consistent messaging across platforms.
- Navigating complex external affairs landscapes.
Benefits, Perks, and Additional Information
Compensation:
- Annual salary between $100,500 to $118,500 USD pre-tax for a full-time position, prorated for part-time work.
- Compensation is not restricted to US Dollars. Payments can be made in different currencies.
- The exact salary will be based on the candidate’s prior relevant experience and corresponding title level and calculated using RP’s salary algorithm. To ensure fairness, RP does not negotiate salaries.
Other Perks and Benefits:
- Opportunity to contribute to a fast-growing, high-impact organization — our research is used by key decision makers who influence the distribution of hundreds of millions of charitable dollars.
- Flexible work hours and location.
- Comprehensive global benefits package (while they vary by country, we make every effort to ensure that our benefits package is equitable and high-quality for all staff).
- Generous paid time off (PTO) leave and unpaid leave, including:
- Unlimited vacation with a minimum number of required statutory paid days off
- “Mandated” 3-week total mid- and end-year organization-wide breaks
- Unlimited (within reason) personal and sick paid and unpaid leave
- Parental leave – up to 6-9 months of a combination of paid and unpaid parental leave that can be taken prior to and/or during the first 2 years after a child’s birth or adoption
- Other paid and unpaid leave (e.g., bereavement)
- A caring team that values respectful work relations and a healthy work-life balance.
- Opportunities to grow/advance your career and engage in professional development.
- Low administrative bureaucracy.
- We don’t provide snacks, but we could mail you a box of Oreos if you want!
For more opportunities such as this please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, What’s App, Twitter, LinkedIn and Telegram
Additional Information
- Extension requests: We will try to accommodate extension requests that are made before the deadline and are up to two (2) days. We generally cannot accommodate extension requests made on or after the application deadline, or are longer than 2 days, and cannot accept late submissions to ensure fairness to other applicants.
- Language: Please submit all of your application materials in English and note that we require professional level English proficiency.
- Travel: Travel is not an essential requirement for this position. However, a majority of our staff travel a few times per year for conferences, team and all-staff retreats, and other work-related purposes. In most cases, travel is not mandatory, but encouraged. If, for any reason, you would prefer not to travel for work, please do not be discouraged from applying. Depending on the event, we can likely make accommodations, such as allowing virtual participation when possible.
- Accessibility: We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible application process. We warmly invite you to reach out to [email protected] with any questions or accessibility requests such as chat box use during interviews.
- Inclusivity and fairness: RP is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community for you to thrive and do your best work. Please don’t hesitate to apply for a role regardless of your age, gender identity/expression, political identity, personal preferences, physical abilities, veteran status, neurodiversity or any other background. We provide reasonable accommodations and benefits, including for example, flexible work schedules and locations, mental health coverage in medical benefits (as available), as well as technology budgets and professional development time that can be used, for example, to purchase assistive technology or engage in job coaching. For further information, please visit our Inclusivity and Fairness webpage.
- Other: Visit our Career Opportunities webpage if you’d like to know more about our hiring process, culture, and what working at RP is like.
Additional Information About Rethink Priorities
Founded in 2018, Rethink Priorities (RP) is a nonprofit organization that addresses global priorities—important and neglected issues—by researching solutions and strategies, mobilizing resources, and empowering our team and others. RP’s mission is to generate the most significant possible impact for others in the present and the long-term future.
Our cause areas include animal welfare, global health and development, climate change, artificial intelligence, and other work to safeguard a flourishing long-term future. RP also aims to understand and support the professional communities working on these issues. Each researcher tends to focus on one particular cause area.
Rethink Priorities works as all of the following:
- A consultancy doing commissioned work in response to demands from organizations doing high-impact work
- A research institute driven by research agendas we set according to our own priorities.
- A think tank aiming to inform public policy to improve the world.
- An accelerator, incubator, and base for priority projects.
Some of RP’s recent accomplishments include:
- Helping major foundations to answer their questions on climate change solutions, weather forecasting in lower- and middle-income countries, increasing access to medicine, and the effectiveness of prizes and other interventions.
- Comparing the capacity of different animal species to experience pleasure and pain to help philanthropists decide how to allocate funding.
- Investigating various animal welfare interventions, as well as bringing to light the neglected areas of invertebrate and insect welfare.
- Publishing pieces on nanotechnology and ways to use forecasting to improve the long-term future, as well as supporting those interested in these types of topics.
- Launching a Special Projects Team to incubate promising new initiatives, such as Epoch (a new AI research organization) and Condor Camp (longtermism movement-building in Brazil and Latin America).
We welcome you to review our database of published work here.
We’re supported by Open Philanthropy, the Survival and Flourishing Fund, and additional institutional and individual donors.