Taxpayers for Common Sense — Director of Communications

Taxpayers for Common Sense

Director of Communications

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) seeks a Director of Communications to provide vision and leadership in developing and implementing a creative, proactive and comprehensive communications strategy.

Founded in 1995, Taxpayers for Common Sense, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan budget watchdog, serves as an independent voice for American taxpayers. Our mission is to ensure that the federal government spends taxpayer dollars responsibly and operates within its means. At TCS, we believe that government waste costs more than just money. Misguided government subsidies do more harm than good by endangering public health, aggravating social and economic problems, and undermining true national security. We fight for a smart government that lives within its means. We believe in making decisions based on evidence and value. We believe that the decisions on how to spend our tax money should be transparent. And we believe we have a right – and a duty –to demand excellence and accountability from our government.

The core strategy of TCS has remained the same throughout our history: we eschew ideology and work with

individuals and organizations from all political perspectives to build support for common sense reforms. TCS works to transcend partisanship and attract the widest possible audience to help build something Americans can believe in: a government that inspires trust and makes more sense. TCS empowers the national and local media and citizen activists by providing them with the information, insight and necessary tools to help them report on and advocate for responsible spending priorities.

Additional information about TCS and our work may be found at: www.taxpayer.net.

Job Description:

The Director of Communications will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic communications, including the writing of substantive and compelling explanations of TCS’s projects and achievements in furtherance of its mission for various audiences. The Director of Communications will develop and update, as needed, targeted plans for educating a wide variety of stakeholders, including funders, the public, government officials, and the media. This position will manage the daily public relations activities for TCS with the goal of promoting and expanding the impact of TCS’s work. The Director of Communications will be part of the senior leadership team and work closely with the senior management staff and the Director of Development to achieve the organization's communications goals.

Responsibilities include:

• Thinking strategically about TCS’s role in the greater community and how to promote and expand TCS’s work and mission.
• Planning and implementing the overall communications strategy that promotes TCS and its programs across various media outlets including television, radio and print, as well as seminar and conference speaking opportunities, press releases, and the entire online realm of websites, blogs, wikis, social networks and related portals.
• Drafting articles, producing videos, pamphlets, opinion pieces, and blog posts that explain TCS’s work and its successes.
• Developing and working with program staff to implement a comprehensive social media strategy and practice that takes advantage of TCS’ unique strengths.
• Building on the strong relationships TCS program staff have cultivated with the media by expanding those relationships, responding to press inquiries, cultivating new relationships with the media, including digital media professionals, pitching stories, and monitoring the news as it relates to TCS’s work.
• Working with staff to plan public education events and identify opportunities for speeches and public appearances that provide opportunities to raise the organization’s profile.
• Drafting regular thought leadership pieces that provide framework for related policy initiatives and current federal and state/local events.
• Working with management leadership to update TCS’s development and marketing collateral materials.
• Developing new approaches to utilize TCS’s communication tools (website, social media, press releases, blogs, etc.) in proactive strategic ways.
• Ensuring TCS’s website is a dynamic source of daily information that clearly and effectively explains TCS’s work.
• Writing TCS strategy pieces, including “big-picture” updates, “breaking news” updates, press releases that explain the meaning of TCS’s work, etc.
• Expanding TCS’s outreach effort and tracking this expansion.
• Planning and implementing media events and special projects in support of communications outreach.
• Tracking communication program priorities and accomplishments and measuring the effectiveness of the communications efforts.
• Maintaining and updating a variety of distribution lists for TCS’s publications, and growing the organization’s outreach.
• Interfacing with media for interviews, comment, etc.

Qualifications include:

• Demonstrated experience in managing and implementing a successful, strategic communications program.
• A minimum of 7 years of strategic communications experience.
• An understanding and commitment to TCS’ nonpartisan approach. Ability and willingness to work with people across the political spectrum.
• Experience in the policy, advocacy, and research is preferred.
• Experience in writing a variety of forms, including on-line news pieces, breaking news press releases, longer-form debate-shaping pieces, short-form tweets, Facebook posts, etc.
• Hands-on experience with website management, Microsoft Office suite, and social media outlets, as well as ability to manage contact database.
• Demonstrated success in learning the details of an organization’s substantive work and applying that knowledge in drafting successful pieces that communicate the organization’s achievements and mission.
• Exceptional writing skills.
• Ability to think creatively about how to effectively engage the media, the general public, and the policy community.
• Strong oral communication, relationship building and “people” skills.
• Track record of taking initiative and working independently.
• Honed organizational skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Persistence, a sense of humor, and a willingness to pitch in as a member of small but highly dynamic team.

To Apply: Please submit a cover letter that outlines your interest in joining TCS, relevant work experience, and how you learned of the position; resume; and salary requirements to: jobs@taxpayer.net, subject line: TCS – Director of Communications. No phone calls please.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

TCS is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, height, weight, or marital status in employment or the provision of services and benefits.