Communications Director
Chicken & Egg Pictures
Marketing & Communications
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Posted on Saturday, August 19, 2023
Full-time positionHybrid: 2+ days a week in Brooklyn officeCompensation Range: $100,000-$125,000Robust benefits package (details below)Posted: August 15, 2023Chicken & Egg Pictures is seeking a Communications Director to lead the strategy and execution of its communications program.This senior level position is an exciting, unique opportunity to contribute to the growth of Chicken & Egg Pictures (C&E). The communications program is a core component of our 2023-2025 Strategic Plan. You will create and shape the communications and media strategy to raise C&E’s profile within and beyond the documentary community; implement brand-building that reflects our new vision and mission; and develop and execute a strategy and plan that amplifies the new strategic plan, programs, and the filmmakers who we support.See our 2023-2025 Strategic Plan here:https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Chicken-Egg-Pictures_Strategic-Plan-2023-2025.pdfIn recruiting for this position, we’re seeking a colleague who has significant communications experience working in a nonprofit or in a mission-driven organization or company, ideally, working in one or more of the following fields: gender justice, documentary film, human rights, and social justice. If you do not have experience in the documentary film industry, you are deeply curious about it. You are inspired by Chicken & Egg Pictures’ vision of an inclusive and equitable media industry and our mission to amplify diverse voices in nonfiction film, and you are motivated by a culture of openness and learning and are eager to grow with a team that is passionate about putting our values into practice.Who We AreChicken & Egg Pictures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a global community of women and non-binary documentary filmmakers with creative and financial support to realize their cinematic visions and build fulfilling careers in a gender inclusive media industry. We envision an equitable and just world shaped by the power of documentary films. Our work responds to the reality that sexism, racism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia can still slow or even halt too many people’s careers. Our mission lays the groundwork to disrupt these barriers.Filmmakers need resources, opportunities, and access to thrive in an unbalanced film landscape. So we match strategically timed grants with creative mentorship and community, building peer networks and bringing artists together to learn from and champion one another. This support system is tailored for the unique challenges women and non-binary people experience in their filmmaking and career trajectories.Since our founding, Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded over $12 million in grants and devoted thousands of hours of creative mentorship to over 500 filmmakers from around the world. Films supported by our work have been nationally and internationally recognized with the industry’s highest honors, including Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Peabody Awards. And they have raised visibility and driven social change on urgent issues.Since 2013, the organization has been led by Chief Executive Officer, Jenni Wolfson. Under her leadership, our budget has grown and our programs have expanded, and our stellar team has won honors including the Social Impact Media Awards, Vanguard Award, and the International Documentary Association’s Amicus Award; we were also a finalist for the Nonprofit Excellence Awards. Additional information about us and our current programs may be found on our website: www.chickeneggpics.orgWhat You’ll DoThis position reports to the Chief Executive Officer and will oversee and manage the Communications Manager. This role also works closely with every member of our team, as well as with filmmakers, industry, and partners. Your responsibilities will include:Communications Strategy and Implementation
- Develop and implement C&E’s communications strategy and plan, in alignment with our new 2023-2025 Strategic Plan.
- Roll-out and integrate a refreshed brand identity for the organization.
- Generate key narratives and communications materials that tell the story of C&E’s programmatic strategy and role in building a more inclusive and sustainable documentary ecosystem.
- Create tailored action plans for owned, earned, shared, and paid media.
- Build and maintain relationships with PR firms, journalists, thought leaders, and media outlets.
- Ensure that organizational commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism are prioritized in our communications.
- Review external messaging to donors, partners, and filmmakers to ensure framework consistency, as needed.
- In the event of a crisis, oversee the communications process in collaboration with senior management, design and deploy strategy, and advise on tactics.
- As a member of the senior management team, engage with the CEO, COO, and Program Director in identifying opportunities that promote the sustainability, growth, reputation, and visibility of C&E and its team.
- Provide guidance and coaching to team members in public speaking; and identify opportunities for external positioning.
- Identify and manage communications and communications related resources and consultants.
- Supervise the Communications Manager, providing guidance and professional development.
- Vision and Strategy: Creating and developing innovative communication strategies, institutional messaging, and measurable plans to reach organizational goals.
- Storytelling: Telling powerful, forward thinking stories that synthesize complex issues and cut through a crowded media landscape, positioning the organization as a thought leader.
- Mission-Driven: Working in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization/company.
- Partnerships and Collaboration: Meeting industry peers to explore partnerships and collaborations; managing agencies and consultants.
- Technology: Demonstrated knowledge and proficiency with communications technologies.
- Network: Pitching and landing top tier media.
- Media: Coaching others to be effective communicators in diverse outlets.
- Field: Working in one or more of the following fields: gender justice, documentary film, human rights, and social justice.
- External Representation: Representing an organization as a speaker on panels, public events, and film festivals.
- Advertising: Optimizing marketing strategies and processes with advertising tools (e.g. Google and Microsoft Ad Grants).
- Leadership: You know how to communicate a vision and are able to facilitate collaboration cross-departmentally to make that vision a reality. You are comfortable dealing with ambiguity and leading others through it.
- Supervision: You have proven experience developing and empowering high-performing staff and learning the strengths and challenges so as to place staff in a position to succeed. Your approach to supervision is oriented toward coaching, facilitating, and leading through influence rather than authority.
- Project Management Skills: You enjoy creating and implementing new initiatives. You are adept at managing and executing complex projects that require ingenuity, attention to detail, and accuracy. Highly agile, you are able to synthesize information and be decisive and thoughtful in responding to rapid-response scenarios and tight deadlines.
- Communication: You are a clear, concise, and innovative writer with expertise in working across platforms and materials that reach different audiences. You prioritize advancing equity through external communications; you are able to write persuasively about documentary filmmaking as well as the nuances of films exploring complex social justice issues. You are adept at building new relationships and serving as a spokesperson.
- Work Habits and Approach: You have excellent judgment, a strong work ethic, resourcefulness, and problem-solving skills. Good humor, initiative, and flexibility are among the traits you bring to the table as a collaborative team member. You are curious, a life-long learner, and you value a diversity of thought, background, and perspective.
- Why is being Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Communications Director the next best step for you professionally? What motivates you to want to join Chicken & Egg Pictures?
- Beyond gender parity, Chicken & Egg Pictures strives to create an inclusive documentary film industry by working with filmmakers from all backgrounds. Tell us about how your background and experiences could help you to work towards this mission in your role as the Communications Director.