Storytelling and Communications Development Associate or Senior Associate
Preferred Application Deadline: August 21st, 2024
Location: Remote, WA, OR, CA, CO, ID, MT (preference near major airport)
Reports to: Senior Communications Manager
- Associate: $68,00 - $72,000, dependent on experience
- Sr Associate: $73,000 - $79,000, dependent on experience
Travel: ~ 30% (seasonal fluctuation, with heavier travel in Spring)
Preferred Start Date: September 18th, 2024
Employment Status: FTE
About Blue Forest
Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that is focused on advancing ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. More recently, Blue Forest has also established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments.
Blue Forest is made up of an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, foresters, finance, and communications professionals committed to the mission: "To accelerate ecological restoration through conservation finance, enabling climate resilience for ecosystems and communities". Employees at Blue Forest are:
Committed to Continuous Learning
Driven by Collaboration
Thoughtful Innovators for Impact
Ground in Science
Passionate about Restoring Earth’s Ecosystems
As we grow and develop new financial solutions to pressing environmental problems, we are seeking to amplify and collaborate with those historically excluded in conservation finance. We recognize that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is not only vital but also a key driver of strength, resilience, and success.
Position Summary
Blue Forest is seeking a Storytelling and Communications Development (Senior) Associate to join our team. This role is responsible for developing compelling written storytelling for Blue Forest, keeping Blue Forest’s communications channels running, and designing and managing communication collateral, including presentation decks. A junior level role, we are seeking an individual who is eager to grow in the role, and stretch their communications skills. This individual will have the unique opportunity to engage across the organization, capture stories from the field, and effectively disseminate them to diverse audiences to encapsulate our mission and impact.
This position requires a blend of strong organizational skills, impactful and engaging writing, initiative and on the ground listening skills to determine the most impactful stories to tell, and a curiosity to find and utilize the latest technologies and trends in communications and social media.
Travel to locations across the Western US approximately 30% of the time.
Responsibilities & Duties
Blue Forest Communications Management - 50%
- Lead the Monthly Blue Forest Newsletter:
Collaborate with various departments to gather content.
Design and compile engaging newsletter content.
Draft and write general Blue Forest blog posts as determined.
Copy edit peers' blog posts.
Ensure timely distribution to stakeholders.
- Develop Weekly Blue Forest Social Media Posts:
Create and curate compelling content for social media platforms.
Manage the content calendar and schedule posts.
Monitor and engage with the Blue Forest community on social media.
Monitor and report performance analytics to the communications team for enhancements.
- Communication System maintenance:
- Maintain the Blue Forest Website:
Regularly update content to reflect the latest information.
Ensure all links are accurate and functional.
Optimize pages for SEO.
- Maintain the Blue Forest Photo Catalog:
Organize and curate the photo catalog.
Ensure photos are leveraged effectively across various channels.
- Maintain the Blue Forest Website:
- Design Collateral by Request from Departments:
Work closely with different departments to create visually appealing collateral.
Ensure brand consistency and messaging alignment.
Slide development and assistance for presentation decks.
- Support Sr Communications Manager:
Collaborate on content development initiatives.
Assist in research and other tasks as directed.
- Coordinate Annual Impact Report:
Support the design and logistics of the annual impact report.
Help shape the content and key impact stories.
Collaborate with relevant departments for content gathering.
- Arrange Content Capturing at Events and Site Visits:
Ensure visual content is captured at all Blue Forest events.
Coordinate with teams to capture site visit highlights.
Pull and design clips from conferences and films that feature Blue Forest to package for socials and other media.
Impact Storytelling - 50%
- Develop compelling and engaging storytelling that effectively communicates the impact of our work through:
Collaboration: Work closely with Blue Forest teams, project collaborators, partners, and other stakeholders to gather stories, insights, and data, ensuring accurate and representative storytelling.
On-the-Ground Storytelling: Travel to various project sites to capture stories, experiences, and impactful moments through interviews, and potentially photography and videography.
Dissemination and Outreach: Execute on dissemination plans for various platforms and channels to share stories and content with target audiences, including social media, newsletters, website, press releases, and community events.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Track and measure the impact of storytelling efforts, including reach, engagement, and effectiveness in driving awareness and support for our work.
Encapsulation and Presentation: Support in distilling the key impacts into compelling presentations for donors, funders, and partners.
Qualifications:
2+ years in communications and content development
1+ years of experience designing and executing on social media and content creation
Strong written communication with attention to detail and ability to tailor messaging for different audiences.
Ability to find compelling stories that draw in audiences through written word.
Experience in design, and presentation design, including in Canva, Illustrator, and Google Slides
Ability to work independently remotely, as well as collaboratively within a team and with cross-functional teams.
Comfortable knowledge of Slack, Zoom, Google Suite, and Asana
Experience with in person and virtual interviews, ability to build trust.
Excellent organizational and project management skills.
Experience in cutting video clips, putting together short video assets for communication channels
Nice to Haves:
Photography or videography experience
Post photography or videography editing
Relevant experience or knowledge of conservation, forest management, ecosystem benefits, wildfires, etc.
Additional Information
Blue Forest is a fully remote company with staff located across all four continental U.S. time zones. The Storytelling and Communications Development (Senior) Associate will generally be expected to be online during their respective standard working hours in order to collaborate with other team members. Blue Forest also hosts an in-person team retreat each year.
Benefits
100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage; subsidized coverage for dependents
Access to a 401k retirement plan with a 4% employer match
Starting 3 weeks paid vacation and 17 paid holidays; paid sick leave and volunteer time
3 months of paid family leave
Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance
Access to Dependent Care FSA
Public Lands Exploration stipend (reimbursements for visits to National Forests, county parks, etc.)
Monthly Home Office stipend or co-working space provided
Travel and partial dependant care costs provided for business travel
Additional stipends for health & wellness; home internet and cell service
Financial support for professional development
Covid Vaccine Requirement
All Blue Forest staff are required to be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines that term. Proof of full vaccination shall be a condition of employment and must be provided prior to starting work, except where prohibited by law. Blue Forest is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and the company will engage in the interactive process regarding reasonable accommodations for candidates who cannot be vaccinated due to a disability/medical condition; a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance; or a claimed exemption under applicable state law.
How to Apply
To apply to this position, please submit a resume through recruitee. People from historically underrepresented populations and candidates with non-traditional career paths are especially encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and those submitted by August 21st, 2024 will be given priority consideration.
If participating in the interview process would require you to incur additional expenses to participate, such as childcare, please let us know and we are happy to reimburse for reasonable expenses incurred up to $30/hour for twice the length of each interview in which you participate. There will be space to request this reimbursement upon offer of an interview.
Blue Forest provides equal employment and opportunities for advancement, compensation, training, and growth according to individual merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, veteran-status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable Federal, state, or local law. Applicants must have authorization to work in the United States.