Senior Director, DEI & Justice Communications

Overview

Put your passion and skills to work for the planet. Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time, and we need people like you to help us build a vital Earth — for everyone.

We’re Environmental Defense Fund, a fast-paced nonprofit with a growing staff of more than 1,000 people in nearly 30 countries. We deliver game-changing solutions that cut climate pollution and strengthen people’s ability to thrive despite the effects climate change is already having. We work wherever we can have the most impact, from local communities to top companies to governments worldwide, and even in space.

Our culture, values and commitment to diversity make EDF an exciting and meaningful place to work. Every job here makes a difference. Won’t you join us?

Responsibilities

Senior Director, DEI & Justice Communications

Location: Any US-based EDF office or US-remote

Environmental Defense Fund believes that meaningful and durable solutions arise from communities whose lives and livelihoods are at stake. We embrace diversity, equity and inclusion as central to our mission, excellence and success. We strive to better understand, cultivate and support a diversity of perspectives in our work. We want to make EDF a place where a diversity of talented people bring their full selves to the creation of solutions. The Senior Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Communications will be at the center of this effort.

Overall Function

The Senior Director, DEIJ Communications will lead the process of building the cultural competency of communicators across the organization while identifying and addressing blind spots and gaps in our communications capabilities. They will lead communications for the three main areas of DEIJ – Justice & Equity, Community Engagement, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – and supervise a team working in these areas.

Reporting to the Vice President, Global Communications, the Senior Director will work closely with the AVP, Community Engagement; VP, Diversity Equity & Inclusion; and SVP, Environmental Justice & Equity. They will co-develop and lead the vision and strategy for these three teams and develop and execute communications strategies designed to meet their goals. The Senior Director works closely with the staff-led leadership councils focused on DEI and EJ, as well as colleagues across the Marketing and Communications department.

The Senior Director will have primary responsibility for reviewing and approving external and internal communications involving DEIJ matters and will help train EDF communicators to become more thoughtful and competent in their expression of DEIJ values. The Senior Director will help staff apply best practices for communicating authentically and inclusively about EDF's own DEI journey and about program work that confronts the environmental harms and health disparities across communities today. They will help clarify and align environmental justice and equity communications across all organizational units of EDF and help forge trusting relationships with the communications staff at community organizations in the places where EDF works.

The ideal candidate is a highly accomplished communicator with demonstrated experience creating and managing DEIJ-relevant communications in the environmental and social justice space.

Responsibilities

• Develop targeted internal and external communications strategies across the Justice & Equity, DEI, and Community Engagement departments.
• Plan, implement and manage a steady cadence of communications for these teams, including EDF’s work with the Beyond Petrochemicals campaign and the Frontline Resource Institute.
• Lead teams tasked with planning and execution of special campaigns and events in a highly matrixed fashion.
• Measure and report progress across multiple, multifaceted campaigns and lead changes to produce tangible improvements on DEI & Justice Communications.
• Manage, mentor, and inspire a rapidly growing communications team.
• Drive relevant and appropriate DEI, EJ and advocacy stories/ideas from all key EDF geographies that can be told in a credible and authentic manner as part of a broad communications strategy.
• Enhance EDF thought leadership, particularly at the executive level, on environmental justice, community engagement and DEI, and apply this lens to programmatic work, climate events and global breaking news.
• Build a system to enhance the skillsets of DEI and Justice communicators, teach best practices and address concerns that arise from reviews.
• Direct and review internal and public facing DEIJ-relevant marketing and communications materials, including written pieces, visual content and shareable social media content.
• Develop strong, collaborative relationships with key staff across the organization as well as with senior leadership, staff councils, and DEI and EJ teams.
• Work collaboratively with internal and external marketing and communications specialists and manage agencies as needed.
• Forge communications partnerships with external allies from advocacy, affinity, EJ and frontline organizations.
• Proactively identify, manage and respond to risks, supporting and preparing executive leadership to respond in a culturally competent, strategic way.
• Stay ahead of the curve on new developments and emerging tools in the space and share that knowledge with colleagues in the organization.
• Participate in advancing EDF’s DEI goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Bachelors and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience as a communicator or marketer, with at least five years in the DEI and/or EJ space. Experience in a fast-paced, international, and mission-driven environment a plus.
• Experience in public health, environmental health and/or environmental fields is also a plus.
• Experience establishing and maintaining results-based partnerships with industry, NGOs, government agencies, communities, environmental justice leaders, and other key stakeholders, and fostering transparency, trust, and accountability.
• Demonstrated deep knowledge of communications tools, platforms and approaches.
• Ability to have and facilitate difficult conversations with staff at different levels.
• Demonstrated experience managing a team.
• Superior project management and collaboration skills.
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, problem-solving, and mentoring skills, and a calm, diplomatic demeanor, even in times of intense pressure.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, including for digital platforms.
• Strong verbal communication, listening, presentation and persuasion skills.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate visual imagery - including photos, videos and infographics - for how well it illustrates diversity, equity and inclusion, while maintaining aesthetic and technical quality.
• Extremely sharp organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects, tasks, and files.
• Proven ability to build productive working relationships with colleagues at multiple organizations, while helping to forge a unified campaign vision.
• Demonstrated cultural awareness and the knowledge, attitude, behavior, and skills that lead to a culturally competent workplace. Demonstrate a commitment to continued self-assessment, learning and growth to increase and broaden culturally competent skill sets that produce effective interactions with people across diverse cultures and backgrounds. This includes the ability to adapt to cultural change.
• Ability to travel an average of 20-40% per year, both domestically and internationally.

Pay Ranges

We offer a strong total rewards package encompassing competitive salary, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities consistent with a modern global organization. We take into account factors such as candidate experience, skills, training, internal team equity and local norms.

The pay range for this role is shown below.

Please note that pay ranges are country specific. As a result, the stated currency is not meant be converted into any other currency.

Minimum Salary

USD $146,000.00/Yr.

Maximum Salary

USD $157,000.00/Yr.

EEO Information

Environmental Defense Fund is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant's qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Keywords

Senior DirectorDiversityEquityInclusionJusticeCommunicationsCommunity EngagementEnvironmental JusticeEnvironmental Defense Fund