Director, Strategic Communications & Media Relations

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Leads outreach with Program Communications Directors to help develop and promote the narrative around key tentpole moments and throughout the year.
• Designs, implements, and helps oversee multiple projects and deadlines around core institutional and programmatic priorities.
• Researches and writes briefing materials, press releases, key messages, and talking points in consultation with Program teams and within the broader Communications team.
• Develops and implements strategic media relations plans in collaboration with, and active support of broader digital, branding, institutional, corporate, and internal communications strategies.
• Delivers high-profile media interviews, spokesperson opportunities, and media events for the Foundation that advance its programmatic, impact, partnership, and policy goals in partnership with Program, the President’s Office, and Communications teams; Serves as a Foundation spokesperson when required.
• Cultivates close relationships with journalists and producers across a wide range of subject areas, in particular scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to health care and nutritious food.
• Synthesizes complex information to pitch to U.S. and international media, targeting relevant domestic and international audiences and advancing advocacy campaigns for Foundation priories.
• Organizes press conferences and roundtables in support of key media moments; pitches and manages a range of internal and external engagements.
• Works with the Managing Director of Media Relations to direct an extensive network of public relations and communications agencies that support the Foundation’s communications efforts.
• Creates and manages an effective project management system to ensure that key media relations activities, milestones, and deliverables for priority media moments are being proactively tracked and managed, ensuring the team delivers timely and effective results.
• Serves as a thought partner to internal stakeholders as they explore external amplification strategies related to key media moments.
• Attends conferences and media events to provide on-site support to principals.
• Collaborates with team members to produce daily media clips emails; tracks engagement; contributes to internal reports.

Education, Experience, and Skills

• Generally expected to have 10 years of experience in a related communications role.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., communications, journalism, public policy, political science, global affairs).
• Experience in working to advance public-private partnerships and multi-party collaborations is preferred.
• Experience working on issues related to U.S. and/or multilateral policies, development finance, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, civil society, philanthropy, and catalytic capital.
• Extremely organized with a track record of managing multiple projects, deadlines, and principals, while being nimble to react to and leverage real-time opportunities.
• Exceptional writing and verbal skills and the ability to quickly synthesize complex information from diverse sources on a range of topics and think creatively about how to use that content to tell the Foundation’s story to an external audience.
• Strong interpersonal skills and attention to detail.
• Extensive experience in working collaboratively with other teams across an organization to produce results aligned with organizational goals and initiatives.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and prioritize while working under multiple deadlines.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally

Qualifications and Competencies

• Balances Stakeholders: Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders.
• Develops Talent: Develops people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
• Directs Work: Provides direction, delegating, and removing obstacles to get work done.
• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Values Differences: Recognizes the value of different perspectives and commits to inclusion, equity, and diversity in every aspect of work.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at http://rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn.

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes health insurance programs, tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment, a generous 401K, parental leave, and various forms of paid time off, all to help our employees feel energized, cared for, and engaged.

As an organization, we focus on six values to advance our culture and continue our success. We are dedicated to being Transparent, Optimistic, Accountable, Collaborative, Trusted, and Equitable. We operate from a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything that we do. It is not only the right thing to do – we could not make an impact without our team members' diverse perspectives and experiences. We expect all employees at the Foundation to contribute by developing their unique perspectives and talent, challenging conventional wisdom through evidence and reason, and amplifying marginalized voices.

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status, liability for service in the United States Armed Forces, or any other protected status.

The Rockefeller Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.