Job Description:

Description

WestEd works with education and social service agencies to promote excellence, achieve equity and justice, and enhance outcomes for children, youth, and adults. We support clients to build the relationships, capacity, knowledge, and skills to be successful and achieve outcomes. Among other services, WestEd provides technical assistance and evaluation/research services in many areas, including educator effectiveness, school improvement, data use in education, college and career readiness, special education and assessment, to name a few.

Throughout WestEd's over 50 year history we have maintained a strong commitment to staff diversity. Individuals of different ethnicities, races, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations, as well as from different cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, work at all levels of the organization. We value the range of perspectives provided by this diverse workforce and the ways in which those perspectives enrich and inform our agency and the work we do. Read more about WestEd's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

As of December 8, all WestEd employees are required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination. New employees will be required to provide proof of full vaccination prior to starting work. If you want to be considered for a medical or religious exemption, you will have an opportunity to provide appropriate documentation.

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION- Although the default location for all WestEd positions is in one of WestEd's offices, this particular position has unique geographic travel requirements. Candidates may submit a request to work from home. Location in the Pacific Northwest strongly preferred.

The Role

WestEd is seeking a Communications Manager in their Education Research Practice and Partnerships group. The Communications Manager will develop and execute comprehensive strategic communication plans and high-quality communications content for a variety of projects and initiatives. The includes creating content for use in newsletters, e-blasts, intranet postings, videos, handouts, and social media channels. You will enable education stakeholders to learn about and apply the most up-to-date research in education to high leverage issues of policy and practice.

Working with senior staff, multiple internal teams, and external contractors, you'll use your creative thinking to find strategic ways to maximize the impact of our work by making research actionable and amplifying the voices of practitioners successfully implementing evidence-based practices in education.

Job Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy a broad and accessible communications strategy that is appropriate for diverse populations


• Craft tailored, engaging communication strategies to reach varied audiences


• Work with project and content owners to write and edit a wide range of communications, messages, and stories that present research findings and recommendations in succinct, visually engaging formats (e.g., videos, blog posts, newsletters, infographics, podcasts, webinars, fact sheets, handouts)


• Maintain social media presence


• Track and analyze metrics to measure reach and effectiveness, while identifying opportunities for improvement


• Explore and implement new technologies and tools to improve efficiency and audience engagement


• Ensure 508 compliance of all external content

What we're looking for

To help us make a positive impact on teachers and learners from numerous racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, we're looking for a seasoned Communications Manager with:

• Proven success designing and executing creative marketing and communications strategies and campaigns


• Excellent writer and copyeditor, with attention to grammar, style guides, formatting, audiences, and tone


• Creative approach to storytelling, including writing, infographics and video


• A 'big-picture' thinker, with the ability to provide timely, strategic and tactical guidance to teammates and cross-functional collaborators


• Ability to synthesize technical information and present it clearly and concisely


• Up to date on industry trends, able to stay ahead of the curve, and enjoys innovating for more effective communications


• Excellent organizational and project management skills and ability to meet deadlines


• Capable of working well as part of a dynamic, fast-paced, multi-layered team, as well as independently


• Great multitasker and capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects with different deadlines


• Willingness to travel to Pacific Northwest destinations and other WestEd office locations


• Ability to work Pacific time zone hours


• Residing in Pacific Northwest strongly preferred

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Salary & Benefits

Salary for this role is competitive, set at a WestEd level G, and commensurate with experience. WestEd offers a very generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as Life, AD&D and Disability insurance. We also offer various retirement plan options and Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare, and commuter expenses. WestEd offers generous paid holidays and paid time off (PTO), among other benefits.

Committed to the diversity of race, ethnicities, perspectives, and opportunities, WestEd offers a variety of social and professional learning communities, such as Employee Resources groups, the Data Intelligence, Insights, and Innovation PLC, and the WestEd Parent Community, just to name a few. We hope you'll consider joining us to build better schools, communities, learning pathways, and more!