Director, Internal Communications Content & Employee Engagement

Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

NRDC is seeking a Director, Internal Communications Content & Employee Engagement to work with the Communications team in our New York or Washington D.C. office.

Position Summary

NRDC is seeking a Director, Internal Communications Content & Engagement to play a critical role in the strategic development and execution of all internal communications and employee engagement programs with an aim to build internal understanding of NRDC’s mission, strategy, culture, and values.

NRDC is evolving as an organization and workplace, and communications is the key to success. This position actively supports and drives change management efforts and the advancement of NRDC culture through organization-wide employee communications across a variety of platforms (e.g. intranet, email, in-person gatherings). They will also keep the pulse on internal sentiment and issues and consistently and clearly message leadership’s priorities into the organization through all employee communications.

This role is highly tactical and requires strong project management and follow-through capacity. The successful candidate will be forward-thinking and possess good judgement and discretion around the nuances of communications considerations across different situations and stakeholder groups. NRDC is actively focused on creating a culture of dignity and belonging, so we are seeking a Director who will help the Communications team drive forward NRDC’s internal communications and employee engagement strategy embedded with those values. 

This role will report to the Communications team’s Managing Director, Content & Operations, and will work closely with the President’s Office team.

Responsibilities

• Draft and edit internal communications content that connects the work we do internally and externally to our internal messaging and culture-building.
• Lead internal communications strategy—including planning, project managing, and executing— across the organization to support unified and coordinated messages to staff across a range of issues, from employee engagement to leadership direction and change management.
• Manage flow of internal communications content across all aspects of our work, linking strategy and vision to people and culture, and the external work that links our mission to our people.
• Develop a multichannel internal communications strategy that includes email, intranet, Microsoft Teams, and in-office touchpoints.
• Plan and manage cross-organization calendar of internal communications activities – including and leveraging the voices of NRDC program leaders as appropriate.
• Inform internal communications strategy related to employee engagement, operations, future of work, and workplace strategy, in partnership with HR Communications.
• Support the President/CEO’s and the Executive Leadership Team’s internal communications priorities, writing and editing materials and planning for leadership messages across all channels.
• Establish employee engagement program, including identifying and implementing communications opportunities to connect leadership with employees, and developing key messages and communications materials.
• Establish and track metrics that help correlate internal communications programs to organization performance.
• Help manage internal communications around relevant NRDC leadership and personnel announcements.
• As appropriate, tailor core internal communications content to reflect nuances of different situations and internal stakeholder audiences.
• As needed, help manage internal communications around sensitive issues and organizational challenges.
• As needed, coordinate with other functional teams across both Communications and NRDC more broadly, including but not limited to, President/CEO’s office, Media Relations, each of the NRDC offices, and Program teams.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Eight (8)+ years of communications, public relations, or marketing experience or other relevant roles and/or fields
• Proven experience working globally/cross culturally
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to help shape and translate complicated, nuanced communication on a range of issues and for a variety of internal audiences
• Excellent presentation and communication skills. An outstanding writer with the ability to create compelling messages that provides all levels of employees with a clear line of sight to business strategy
• Proactive self-starter with proven ability to plan, juggle, prioritize, and execute communication products for a complex internal calendar of engagements, delivering written products well in advance of events
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and deliver strong written products on short deadline when needed
• Ability to work independently and use strategic judgment in decision-making, including setting and managing priorities and meeting competing deadlines
• Extremely strong attention to detail, including strong proofreading/copy editing skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Problem solving ability that can identify source of problem, impact of problem as it relates to other functions, impact on stakeholders, and recommended solution
• Excellent collaboration and interpersonal skills and the ability to interface with all levels of an organization
• Sound judgment and ability to maintain confidentiality
• Comfortable with accepting feedback and adapting to deliver the desired product
• Proficiency in word processing and MS PowerPoint
• Team-player, collegial attitude
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission and values

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. For this position, the salary is $116,000 to $145,000. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer.

Since March 2020, NRDC’s offices have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be associated with one of our offices, but until circumstances allow us to re-open, we will continue to support NRDCers with remote working arrangements.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé, cover letter, and 2-3 existing writing samples. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.