Senior Associate, Strategic Communications 

Background

Do you care about economic justice and financial inclusion? Are you a smart, savvy, collaborative professional who wants to influence the conversation about who gets access to economic opportunity? Opportunity Finance Network has a new and exciting position on our Strategic Communications team. As the Senior Associate, Strategic Communications, you will contribute to the overall effectiveness of OFN’s strategic communications by planning, implementing, and tracking activities associated with public relations, media outreach, and external speaking engagements. In this role you will have the opportunity to serve as a key contributor to the execution of strategic communications and public relations efforts to disseminate OFN key messages, increase brand awareness, ensure brand reputation, and raise the profile of community development financial institutions. You will be accountable for carrying out tactics that advance OFN’s strategic goals and priorities in support of its members and the CDFI industry overall. If you want to work in an environment that creates huge impact – OFN is for you!

OFN is a leading national network of CDFIs (community development financial institutions) headquartered in Washington D.C. In pursuit of our mission to align capital with social, economic, and political justice, OFN supports its 390+ member CDFIs with money, strength, and voice to drive transformational change in underserved rural, urban, and Native communities nationwide. We help money flow to people and places where traditional finance doesn’t reach. As a financial intermediary, OFN secures private capital for CDFIs through strategic partnerships with leading corporations such as Google and Twitter, mainstream financial organizations such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and philanthropic organizations such as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

OFN builds the strength of its membership and other CDFIs through financial products and services, events, training, research, policy advocacy, and visibility. Currently OFN has an on-balance sheet loan portfolio of $150 million and manages capital on-and off-balance sheet of nearly $1 billion and has plans to bring additional $1 billion in new private capital to the industry.

To learn more, visit www.ofn.org

People who work at OFN come from a variety of professional and academic backgrounds. If you:

• Have a passion for the mission and are a true believer in our core purpose.
• Have courage to be a fearless advocate who is confident and resilient in our fight to drive capital into low-income communities.
• Are a smart, quick seeker of knowledge who thrives on creating and developing new strategies, products, and programs for increasing capital to communities we serve.
• Desire to be a collaborative team player who possesses humility and a willingness to lean into all areas of our work.

Summary

Come be a part of our growing diverse, highly committed, skilled, and collaborative staff. At OFN, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply nonetheless. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Responsibilities

• Align public relations activities with the overall editorial content calendar and assist the development of public relations content and collateral via press releases, key message documents, slide decks, etc. and ensure the appropriate editing, review, and approval process.
• Manage media monitoring and reporting and apply this information to help identify earned media opportunities.
• Drive public relations activities such as media pitching, issuing press releases, paid media, and speaking engagements for subject matter experts at OFN and in the OFN network.
• Collaborate with OFN’s social media manager to leverage social channels to advance public relations campaigns and meet objectives.
• Assist with preparation of OFN spokespeople, including briefing documents, talking points, slides decks, and media interviews.
• Write and/or edit blog posts, social posts, and other strategic communications content.
• Lead or assist the production of a range of communications deliverables, such as websites, OFN’s annual conference and other events, video projects, etc.
• Document best practices and processes and share key lessons within the communications and marketing teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or 5-7 years of equivalent experience in lieu of a degree.
• 3-5 years of relevant communications work experience.
• Demonstrated experience with media monitoring and public relations platforms such as PR Newswire, Cision, Muck Rack, etc.
• Experience with editorial planning tools and marketing technologies such as Salesforce, WordPress, Sprout Social, and Asana.
• Experience planning or executing paid digital strategies a plus.
• Prior CDFI or nonprofit experience is helpful.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, including ability to write persuasively and effectively, with cultural competence and an inclusive mindset, across different platforms and for different audiences.
• Ability to “translate” and clearly communicate technical information for non-specialist audiences.
• Good understanding of principles of media relations, the ever-changing media landscape, media trends, etc.
• Well-developed organizational and project planning skills and close attention to detail with a commitment to excellence.
• Ability to work in a rapidly changing, dynamic environment in a collaborative team environment.
• Self-started with the ability to set priorities, follow through on challenging situations and effectively manage time.
• Comfort working in a small office environment.
• Light to moderate travel required (5-15% of time).
• Job involves normal physical requirements for an office position; no extraordinary physical requirements beyond ability to travel.

Compensation and Benefits

OFN offers a generous benefit package. Highlights include:

• A hybrid work environment (2 days in office/3 days remote)
• We pay 87-94% of medical, vision, and dental benefits
• Staff receive 24 days of paid time off and 16 paid holidays
• Paid life insurance, short term disability, and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave program
• 403(b) retirement plan
• A collaborative work environment focused on professional development
• And much more!

How to Apply

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume here.