Senior Communications Strategist

Industrious Labs is fully remote, and this role will report to the Communications Director, while working closely with the North American Steel Campaign Director to advance communications focused on transforming the steel industry. The goal of the steel campaign is to catalyze the transformation of the steel industry by demonstrating the viability at scale of producing high-grade steel with dramatically lower GHG emissions. Specifically, we aim to build demand for green steel through the greening of the auto industry and government supply chains. Additional strategies focused on environmental enforcement, federal trade and energy policy will be pursued. This campaign is intended to yield the funding, incentives, and public pressure to establish new advanced commercial facilities that make and use green steel through cooperation between steel makers, steel buyers and governments.

The Senior Communications Strategist will focus on the following key outcomes:

1. Building and refining a multi-channel communications plan to guide our work to transform the steel industry, working with coalition members to build a shared collaborative vision.
2. Telling the story of the steel campaign through targeted and high-profile media, placing strategic earned media stories that advance the work of Industrious Labs and our partners and promote climate-safe methods, job creation and benefits for communities; and
3. Creating, editing, commissioning, and maintaining a library of multimedia / multichannel communications assets, including social media graphics and text, text-over-image video, a photo library, background briefings/Q&As, newsletter text, etc., according to our agreed messaging and branding guidelines.

Who You Are

The incoming Senior Communications Strategist is driven by their belief and commitment to Industrious Labs’ vision, mission, and values. Through their track record and expertise as a communications professional, the successful candidate will co-create public campaigns that advance Industrious Labs’ and our partners’ goals. The Senior Communications Strategist builds authentic and lasting relationships with coalition members, funders, and the media, engaging with them as partners.  They will possess the diplomatic skills necessary to coordinate press across groups in a way that is empowering and collaborative. 

The Senior Communications Strategist joins a deeply committed team that brings a track record of success in campaign strategy, data analysis, and communications, with a particular focus on climate and clean energy. The successful candidate is entrepreneurial, excited about the prospect of building something new in the climate movement from the ground up. They have the experience of being part of setting vision, establishing, and scaling successful programs with an ethos of creativity, humility and an expectation of continual learning.

Despite enormous obstacles involved in decarbonizing heavy industry, the Industrious Labs team operates with a spirit of possibilities and seeks a Senior Communications Strategist who shares the belief that we can all do things we’ve never done before and can stretch ourselves to achieve incredible results.

This role requires a deep commitment to the principles of environmental and climate justice, proven collaboration skills, and the ability to design and execute coordinated strategies that will generate change in a deeply entrenched and seemingly intractable aspect of the climate movement. The Senior Communications Strategist demonstrates initiative by diving right in to take a concept from idea to implementation, navigating through internal and external barriers as they arise without getting stuck and finding and deploying resources creatively to solve problems. The selected candidate will also possess most of the following Core and Preferred qualifications:

Core:

• Experience developing and delivering myriad communications strategies in a campaign context, bringing a keen understanding of how organized movements create change and accomplish policy objectives.
• Proven track record of delivering strategic earned media, preferably in the climate or labor movements; experience pitching stories and media relationship building. 
• Ability to get up to speed on complex information and analyze data and news efficiently and effectively.

• Outstanding project management abilities to ensure strong collaboration and campaigns and projects that advance on time and on budget.

• Social media savvy with understanding of how to integrate social into comprehensive communications and movement building strategies.
• Multimedia creation skills: ability to create simple social graphics, infographics, and social videos. 
• Strong relationship-building skills with a wide range of diverse external constituencies with the diplomatic abilities and authentic leadership skills that build the trust-based relationships necessary for stakeholders to buy in and share accountability for our collective work.
• Outstanding written and oral communications skills that demonstrate an ability to:
• Convey a compelling story about Industrious Labs’ mission, campaigns, and impact in a clear and engaging voice for op-eds, newsletters, and web content.
• Translate complex data and analysis into persuasive narratives; and 
• Communicate Industrious Labs’ strategies with accessible expertise (without jargon).
• Demonstrated experience working across lines of race, class, gender, and geography and an analysis of how climate change intersects with historically oppressed and marginalized communities.
• Experience working with coalitions.
• Proven ability to prioritize and be flexible in a fast-paced, constantly evolving, and collaborative environment, where working on a team and working individually are all required.
• Commitment to continuous learning, hunger for knowledge, and willingness to ask questions and self-correct; an approach that is curious, self-directed, and entrepreneurial.
• Openness to giving and receiving direct, compassionate feedback.

Preferred:

• At least 5 years of increasing responsibility in communications, with a proven track record of accomplishments. 
• Prior experience and content knowledge in climate, clean energy, public policy and/or the industrial sector, including manufacturing and labor.
• Prior start-up experience as an early team member in a growing organization.
• Ability to lead through influence in a matrixed environment.
• Experience with advocacy communications and desire to work deeply on an issue that can move the dial on climate change.
• Digital organizing and multimedia asset creation/design are a big plus.

Salary and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $90,000 - $110,000, based on experience and qualifications as outlined above. Industrious Labs offers a competitive set of benefits, including 100% of comprehensive health care coverage for employees (medical, dental, and vision), work from home stipend, up to 5% employer match to 401k and 11 paid holidays plus unlimited vacation, starting with a minimum of 15 business days.

Our Commitment to Racial Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Climate Justice:

We believe that diversity in our team isn’t just a value but brings different lived experience and perspective that is essential to solving the climate crisis. If you’ve read this job description and are excited by it, if you can see yourself happily filling this role and making a difference on climate change, we really hope you apply. Industrious Labs is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to transparent and equitable recruitment, hiring and promotion processes that foster inclusion and belonging. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email Cathy Schreiber at cathy@industriouslabs.org.  

Application Procedure: 

To apply or nominate a candidate, please send to cathy@industriouslabs.org with “Senior Communications Strategist” in the subject line a resume and cover letter answering the following:

1. Why are you passionate about climate change?
2. Briefly share a communications or advocacy campaign you played a key role in, particularly a key lesson learned that you would apply to the North American Steel Campaign.

Submission in a combined PDF or Microsoft Word file is preferred. This position is open until filled. Candidate review and phone screens begin immediately and will be conducted throughout the search.