Deputy Director and Chief Communications Strategist

Deputy Director and Chief Communications Strategist

Reports to: Executive Director 

Location: Washington, D.C. 

Status: Full-time; Exempt 

About Groundwork Collaborative

Launched in 2018, the Groundwork Collaborative is driven by the idea that We Are The Economy: when all of us are doing well, that is when our economy thrives. We fight for progressive economic policy and narrative change that builds accountable public power, breaks up concentrations of private power, and affirmatively centers people too long left out of prosperity. We understand that taken together, these actions will lead to a stronger and more resilient economy.  

Groundwork’s unique structure – part strategic communications, part think tank, and part issue advocacy organization – allows us to drive narrative and policy change with credibility, expertise, and impact. We work across four core audiences – the media, policymakers, economic experts, and grasstops leaders – and use targeted policy campaigns and timely research and messaging to advance a truly inclusive economic worldview. 

Groundwork’s impact has grown considerably in recent years with the launch of several ambitious new initiatives including our Economic Speakers Bureau, designed to diversify the expert commentators who talk about the economy in the news. Groundwork seeks a Deputy Director and Chief Communications Strategist to serve as a senior leader and thought partner to work hand-in-glove with Groundwork’s Executive Director to help Groundwork achieve our mission, develop our organizational strategy and priorities, and execute our core programmatic work to achieve maximum impact. 

The Deputy Director will also act as Groundwork’s Chief Communications Strategist, directing how Groundwork can best advance a new story about how the economy works and who it works for. The Deputy Director will manage the core communications verticals at Groundwork including Communications, Narrative Strategies, and Economic Speakers Bureau. 

In addition to leading Groundwork’s impactful communications, narrative, and media work, the Deputy Director will work closely with Groundwork’s campaigns arm and its research and policy teams to ensure our communications, advocacy, and research are aligned and reaching our target audiences. 

As Groundwork’s Deputy Director you will… 

• Work closely with the Executive Director to develop Groundwork’s core programmatic, communications, and engagement strategy; 
• Advise the Executive Director on Groundwork’s strategic direction and organizational priorities, including the evaluation of new ideas and opportunities; 
• Closely track developing media, political, and economic narratives in order to recommend and execute on strategic deployment of Groundwork’s voice and resources to shape national conversations about the economy;
• Oversee Groundwork’s communications and media portfolio, including the Economic Speakers Bureau;
• Supervise members of Groundwork’s senior team including the Directors of Communications, Narrative Strategies, and Economic Speakers Bureau;
• Work closely with Groundwork’s Chief Economist as well as the Executive Director of Groundwork Action to ensure Groundwork’s communications, campaigns, and research work are aligned and effectively reaching their target audiences; 
• Represent Groundwork with media, partners, allies, and funders; 
• Serve as a mentor and leader for staff across Groundwork, modeling and building an results-driven, effective, and positive organizational culture;
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

About you 

• You excel in leadership roles and have a proven ability to bring people along to achieve common goals; 
• You are a savvy strategist who seeks out opportunities to advance organizational priorities, sees around corners, and knows the right partnerships to form to advance strategic goals; 
• You are a seasoned manager with considerable experience in senior leadership roles within organizations and experience running a communications operation:; 
• You’re a creative thinker and communicator who knows how to craft a message that breaks through and understands that changing narratives is essential to shifting policy;
• You aren’t afraid of wonky economic topics like inflation or taxes and are excited by the idea of translating complex issues into digestible communications that resonate with large audiences;
• You are a strong writer and editor with experience communicating to a wide range of audiences. 
• You are familiar with the progressive economic policy, think tank, and advocacy community in Washington and the Hill and have a strong grasp of the economic news media landscape, including print, digital, and broadcast; 
• You are detail oriented and organized and have a proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. 
• You’re committed to a just, inclusive, and robust economy that delivers opportunity and dignity to all. 

The starting salary is $170,000 with flexibility to offer a higher salary for highly-qualified  candidates. We offer a generous benefits package, including five weeks of vacation and personal leave, two week-long office closures, additional time off for floating and federal  holidays, zero-premium health insurance, a generous HRA, a retirement match of up to 6%, up to 16 weeks parental leave, and health club and cell-phone reimbursements, among other benefits. We are a hybrid workplace, with two days a week in the office and three days remote, as well as the occasional need to work in person for events and special projects. Groundwork is a unionized workplace and is represented by the Nonprofit Professional  Employees Union (NPEU). This position is not in the bargaining unit. 

How to apply 

To begin the application process, please submit an application on our career page, including your resume, writing sample, and cover letter. The cover letter should describe your specific experience related to this position. 

E-Verify

NVF participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with employees’ Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the United States. Job candidates and employees authorized to work may not be discriminated against on the basis of national origin or citizenship status.

New Venture Fund Careers

Groundwork Collaborative is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. The New Venture Fund is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding, and enables each of us to realize our potential. The New Venture Fund’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.