Position Overview:

Homelessness is solvable. This is not an aspiration or a belief. It is a reality that communities are proving every day. Community Solutions considers it our responsibility to share this truth as loudly and clearly as possible, in service of change. The Strategic Communications team is responsible for 1) harnessing the learning and stories of communities and leaders realizing a reality where homelessness is rare and brief 2) providing direct capacity and support to communities, so they can leverage communications as a tool to reduce and end homelessness.

As an organization, we support a diverse movement of more than 100 communities across the country, of all sizes and geographical and political contexts. We know that homelessness is solvable everywhere, and it is our job to 1) help communities leverage communications to get to zero, and 2) create a new set of expectations across the country that demands for homelessness to be rare and brief, everywhere.

We harness communications to change expectations, behaviors, and conditions that can accelerate us toward a new normal where this homelessness is rare and brief, everywhere. We rigorously measure success across four critical lanes of work:

• Communities can leverage communications to accelerate their own progress toward zero homelessness. Everything we do stems from our work with communities. We bring our knowledge as communications experts to provide strategic capacity, support, and resources to help local leaders harness the power of communications to get to zero. We measure success by looking at platform-specific measures, as well as qualitative feedback from our community partners.
• Solutions for homelessness — and proof that it is solvable — is well documented and reaching key audiences. We capture the compelling and complex stories of what it takes to solve homelessness, and proof that it is possible. We develop content that is tailored to effectively communicate to different audiences and ensure it is disseminated to reach them. The success of these distribution efforts are measured by platform specific measures across our owned channels, including email, social media, paid advertising, web, video, and partner content.
• A widely observed discourse creates understanding and accountability for homelessness as a solvable, systems problem. By 2026, share of voice around the discourse on solving homelessness (on both social and earned media) will reflect an understanding that homelessness is a solvable systems problem (25%). Other measures used to complement share of voice will also reflect a shift in an understanding of homelessness as a solvable systems problem.
• Key audiences take actions and influence peers to create accountability for population-level outcomes. Our communications efforts are intended to drive behavior change. We work to ensure that a critical mass of influential opinion leaders and priority publications create accountability for population-level outcomes and reinforce the understanding that homelessness is solvable. We develop guidance and examples of key actions different groups can take to help communities get to zero homelessness.

The Principal of Strategic Communications and Campaigns is a critical leader at Community Solutions, responsible for overseeing communications, which encompasses team operations, strategy development and alignment, and execution on the strategic plan aims. They will work closely with the Chief of Strategic Affairs and the communications, policy, partnerships and program team to advance organizational strategic plan aims. The Principal will work closely with other teams, leaders across the organization, and external collaborators to foster collaboration that moves the movement collectively towards a tipping point for ending homelessness. In addition to this affirmative communications work, they will lead strategies to prevent and mitigate crises and step into emerging and responsive opportunities.

The Principal will report to the Chief of Strategic Affairs and serve on the organization's senior management team.

Defining Success for this Position:

• Healthy team culture and environment. The Principal will foster an environment that reflects our organizational values and upholds the team's own principles. This includes a healthy, effective, results-driven, and supportive team environment with regular feedback loops.
• Strategies and accountability mechanisms that support results. The Principal will ensure that every member of the Communications team has clarity on their roles and expectations related to the organization's strategic plan and take ownership for driving progress against it.
• Data and learning that fuels progress. Our progress is driven by how quickly we can learn. To that end, the Principal will champion a rigorous, data-driven approach across the team that is grounded in continuous improvement, which includes weekly reporting, the facilitation of after-action reviews; and constantly model an approach that embraces failing forward and learning.
• Strategic coordination and collaboration. Members within the team should work together seamlessly to build upon and support each other's work and expertise. The Principal will constantly Identify and facilitate opportunities for deep and meaningful collaboration with teams to advance progress toward organizational strategic aims.
• Organizational leadership. The Principal will serve as an operational and thought partner to members of the Executive and Senior Management team, responding to both internal and external needs for communications leadership and support.
• Effective change management and communication with staff and stakeholders. The Principal will ensure that changes are effectively communicated to the team and feedback loops are used to identify areas of misunderstanding or improvement. They will serve as a partner in leveraging communications — affirmatively and reactively — to anticipate, mitigate, and prevent crises.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategy and accountability for results

• Ensure that the team's efforts are aligned with the strategic plan
• Work with team to set annual and six month aims and measures, and regular processes for ensuring progress against them
• Identify and support team members to improve execution and strategy
• Manage cross-organizational coordination and campaigns
• Establish and adapt core messaging in line with organizational learning
• Oversee and hold accountable team members for messaging alignment and and quality assurance across organizational channels (which includes, but is not limited to, earned, social, digital, and shared media)
• Encourage and facilitate continuous improvement and learning, which includes action reviews around campaigns and key moments

Strengthening the movement

• Support and foster partnership and collaboration with communities in Built for Zero to 1) inform the broader communications strategy and 2) drive community-level supports and resources
• Harness relationships across the movement — which includes the organization's funding and strategic partners and other partners working to end homelessness — to strengthen our collective progress toward a tipping point
• Support team members in engaging influential partners in our communications and campaigns that can disproportionately impact the behaviors of their peers and the broader discourse around homelessness

Team culture and environment

• Manage regular feedback loops to maintain a positive, equitable, healthy working environment
• Model organizational values and foster an environment that celebrates achievements and embodiment of those values by team members
• Model key behaviors for learning and progress, like taking ownership, providing and receiving direct feedback, being curious, and acting in good faith

Effective change management and internal communication

• Support the communication of internal developments and changes
• Ensure that team-wide meetings and retreats are well designed, effective, and responsive to the needs of the team

Organizational and operational leadership

• Serve as a member of the organization's management team
• Provide leadership on internal and external matters requiring communications expertise and ownership
• Oversee organizational brand and reputation and prevent, anticipate, and mitigate crises
• Serve as an operational and thought partner to the Chief of Strategic Affairs
• Supervise portfolio leads on the communications team
• Oversee the team's budget

Professional Experience and Qualifications:

• 8-10 years of communications expertise with at least 6 years of experience managing people/teams as the leader of a communications team, preferably in an organization that supports a wide network or membership or as a part of a broad campaign to achieve a measurable goal
• Strong team and project portfolio management skills, as evidenced by leading teams and projects to successful and measurable completion
• Collaborative work ethic and a high tolerance for feedback, direct communication, and proactive conflict resolution
• Experience communicating about, or driving campaigns related to, complex issues
• Strong background in analyzing and applying data and learning
• Strong writing and editing skills
• Extremely organized and attentive to detail
• High degree of professionalism and outstanding judgment in dealing with diverse groups of people, including Board members, senior executives, staff, community leaders, donors, and people with lived experience of homelessness or other intersecting or adjacent systems.
• Relevant work experience is required to apply for this role. A college degree may be helpful, but is not required. If you think you have the right experience, but you're worried we might not ‘get it,' you could be right! Please use your resume and cover letter to make sure we understand your experience and why you're qualified for this role.
• Ability to prioritize and complete a high volume of tasks with limited guidance
• Passion for supporting efforts to end homelessness or other complex social problems

Software/Apps Used:

• Google Business Apps
• Microsoft Office Apps, especially Excel
• Zoom video conferencing software
• Salesforce
• Adobe
• Slack
• Asana

Salary Range:

CS offers competitive salaries and benefits packages for every position. The salary range for this position is between $118,045 - $153,459. The actual salary is commensurate with the candidate's experience and may go beyond the listed range.

Work Environment:

This position is fully remote and can be located anywhere in the continental United States. Community Solutions has office space in Los Angeles, and New York City, but the position provides for the flexibility to work from a remote location without the standard support available at an office if such an arrangement meets the needs of Community Solutions.

Up to 15% travel will be required to attend company retreats and events, essential policy meetings, media events and/or other training and convenings

Diversity and Inclusion:

We strive for inclusivity and diversity by attracting extraordinary people from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We seek to employ an all-star team of people who vary by their race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, culture, religion, veteran status, physical and mental abilities. We promote equal opportunity in the recruitment, selection, training, compensation, promotion, and benefits of all employees.

COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate:

COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all Community Solutions staff—full-time, part-time, and contracted. Vaccination documentation must be provided to Community Solutions. Vaccination information is completely confidential between the staff member and HR.