Communications Associate (Full-Time, Remote)

THE OPPORTUNITY:

The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) is seeking a full-time Communications Associate to implement effective communications strategies. 

The Communications Associate is an important member of the communications team at NFFC. The role involves maintaining an up-to-date understanding of diverse audiences, and providing communications and educational support to advance the mission, vision, and initiatives of NFFC.

Working with NFFC’s Director of Communications and Strategic Content Designer, the Communications Associate fosters reciprocal relationships and communications within our ally networks; helps develop educational materials and opportunities; and ensures NFFC’s online presence is organized and up-to-date. In addition, the position will provide support for event planning. 

The individual will report to the Director of Communications.

WHO WE ARE:

National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) was founded in 1986, at the height of the 1980s farm crisis, to be a voice for farmers in Washington, DC – and we still are. Today, we are the only national coalition representing grassroots farm, ranch, and fishing organizations in the nation’s capital. Our 30 member organizations collectively represent constituents in all 50 states. Our members are fighting for farmer rights, fair prices, clean air, and water, strong local economies, the right to sell and buy locally grown and processed food, the right to be free from corporate domination, the right to live in vibrant and healthy communities, and much more. NFFC operates within a shared leadership model with its sister organization, the North American Marine Alliance.

WHO YOU ARE:

• You bring a deep commitment to racial equity and social, economic, environmental, and food justice
• You understand the significance of community organizing and movement building
• You honor the voices of grassroots communities
• You are masterful in writing, storytelling, and persuasion skills, with proven success tailoring to various audiences
• You are committed to NFFC’s mission, work, philosophy, the policy transformations we seek, and the market avenues we are pursuing  
• You have exceptional interpersonal and deep listening skills, and social-emotional intelligence
• You are eager to mobilize and organize our base to take action
• You have a desire to work collaboratively in support of building a team-based, problem-solving work culture
• You thrive in a multicultural environment
• You treat all persons with dignity and respect with high standards, integrity, and a sense of humor

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure NFFCs online presence is organized and up-to-date
  • Maintain the Constant Contact email list
  • Ensure that media highlights and stories are making their way to NFFC’s website and social media channels
  • Maintain the photo library and YouTube channel
  • As needed, edit photos and videos 
  • Update NFFC websites with news stories, events, blogs, fact sheets, and newsletters added on an ongoing basis

• In collaboration with the Strategic Content Designer:
• Develop press materials
• Identify press contacts to receive materials and maintain press list
• Create content and graphics for social media
• Plan, execute, and promote public-facing events, like webinars
• Develop educational and outreach materials, such as fact sheets and toolkits
• Develop, monitor, and publish NFFC’s monthly newsletter 
• Manage NFFC’s social media platforms 
  • Monitor metrics/analytics of social media accounts
  • Manage the NFFC Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts in alignment with our communications goals 
  • Manage NFFC’s social media editorial calendar
  • Collaborate with the Development Team to organize fundraising campaigns on social media platforms

• Network outreach
  • Maintain an up-to-date understanding of the make-up and priorities of partnering organizations and networks, to ensure the communication team effectively tailors messaging to different audiences
  • Foster reciprocal relationships and communication with partner organizations and ally networks by sharing NFFC’s messages and opportunities with their listservs, including but not limited to US Food Sovereignty Alliance, Climate Justice Alliance, and others with whom we have close allyship

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working in nonprofit setting 
• Ability to write, edit, and present complex topics in clear, concise, and compelling ways to diverse audiences
• Experience in design and execution of multi-faceted education and communication strategies that advance campaigns/initiatives and increase organizational visibility
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, team-building, and networking skills
• Organized and able to prioritize and tackle multiple tasks at once within established deadlines
• Proven ability to learn quickly, make decisions, follow through, and see tasks through to completion
• Ability to work independently in a remote/virtual environment often with minimal in-person interaction with other team members
• Excellent conceptualization, problem-solving, and project leadership skills
• Fluency with social media, comfort using web content management systems, familiarity with webinar and event platforms
• Demonstrated proficiency in web-based applications, various shared workplace tools, Google Suites, Canva, and Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

OUR COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY AND DIVERSITY:

We are a national organization who has made an explicit commitment to ensuring equity across our food system and society as a whole. Our team includes native and non-native English speakers, the self-taught and university-educated, people with all sorts of professional backgrounds. If doing the job you just read about would make you excited to come to work, if you’re talented, hard-working and committed to making a difference – we want you to apply.

We are engaged in national and global movement building to support the food providers who lead our work. They range from rural to urban, and although primarily white, also include Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and immigrants from around the world. Food-providing businesses are perceived as mostly male-dominated operations, however, women, trans people, nonbinary people, lesbian, gay, queer, and bisexual people grow, harvest, and process food. We cannot bring in the voices of the marginalized on the land and water without considering gender. 

We believe we can only succeed by building a diverse team full of fresh perspectives and original ideas, and we are committed to creating a working environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfill their potential.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, ancestry, citizenship, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, national origin, political affiliation, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

We would value your suggestions for putting these values into practice through our hiring process. 

We’ll provide reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities to participate in the application process, so please let us know if you have such a request when you apply.

PREFERRED LOCATION:  

Flexible. Most of NFFC’s team members operate in the Eastern Time Zone. The Communications Associate can work remotely or in one of our offices in Washington, DC or Gloucester, MA, should they live near either. 

SALARY and BENEFITS:

NFFC is an at-will and equal opportunity employer. The Communications Associate is a full-time, non-exempt position. 

The salary range for this position is $54,000-$63,000 annually. Salary is commensurate with experience and location. 

NFFC provides health, dental, and vision insurance through the Center for Nonprofit Advancement unless the employee is self-insured, in which case NFFC reimburses staff for those premium costs and offers Simple IRA with 3% match by NFFC, generous holiday, sick leave, and personal time leave. 

HOW TO APPLY: 

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, 2-3 brief writing samples, 2-3 social media posts and three references to jobs@nffc.net. Ideal start date is October 1, 2024.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.