Part-time Communications Lead

Who We Are:

The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) is a small grassroots nonprofit in the Tongass National Forest in Juneau, Alaska. For 50 years SEACC has been a regional conservation watchdog defending the remaining intact old-growth stands of the Tongass National Forest and the waters of the Inside Passage.

We partner with local communities, Tribes, fishermen, businesses, and visitors to advocate for the conservation and sustainable use of our region’s natural resources, and preserve a uniquely Southeast Alaskan way of life. We mix legal and technical expertise with grassroots organizing and communication skills to engage the public, advance new policy, and maintain existing protections, to ensure the interconnected whole of Southeast Alaska exists for future generations.

Are you someone who loves the written word and writing, and is passionate about editing other people’s work? Do you have fervent dinner table debates about the role of the Oxford comma? Are you so enamored of public communications and branding that you take photos of bad copy to discuss with your friends or share on social media? Do you have background in working with the media, or in journalism? If so, we want to talk to you!

Position Overview:

SEACC seeks a talented part-time team member to lead our written communications work. We are looking for someone who is excited to work with our staff and with the media to ensure that our writing products are as clear, persuasive, and informative as they can be, and who has the relationships or can cultivate the relationships with reporters to ensure that our hard work is reflected in the media and therefore accessible to a broad segment of the public.

More about Juneau, Alaska:

The greater Juneau region is rich with access to the outdoors, including fishing, hunting, foraging, hiking, and skiing. The city is famous for its rainy and dark winters, which is a consideration for those contemplating a relocation. Juneau also has a vibrant arts community with a local theatre, community symphony, and annual free folk music festival as well as a great State Museum and Sealaska Heritage Institute.

What you’ll do:

The Part-time Communications Lead role may evolve over time but you’ll have three major areas of responsibility.

Programmatic Communications:

• Draft and/or copy-edit SEACC’s programmatic communications with the public around our program area work - this includes checking in with program staff for updates on new program work and progress, and ensuring that the communication of that work is prioritized. It specifically includes:
• Action Alerts and Updates - our two main forms of time-sensitive email correspondence
• Water Currents/Forest Trends - our periodic newsletter-style email updates from program teams
• Coordinating with program managers to develop a schedule and workflow to regularly develop and pitch news stories
• Ghostwriting for Program Staff, including on Ravencall articles and ‘special projects’ managed by Outreach and Development Specialist
• Ghostwriting for members of the public if/as needed, including for Letters to the Editor, Op-Eds, etc.
• Program-specific social media content generation for our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram

Media Work:

• Media pitching, coordination and outreach - cultivating relationships with reporters who cover our work, organizing issue briefings for reporters when complex policy issues arise, ensuring we follow up with reporters, that we’re providing high value visual content and b-roll in a timely manner, and ensuring reporters are connected with the relevant staff person in a timely manner
• Maintenance of communications database, tracking and filing of coverage
• Sorting, digitizing, cataloguing or if appropriate, discarding historic media resources (currently in the form of photographs, slides, and VHS recording)
• Writing a brief monthly communications summary, for grant reporting

Development Communications:

• Ghostwriting for the Executive Director when/as needed
• Development copy-editing and some writing support (campaign letters, grant language)

Who You Are:

• To be successful in this job, you must love to write and love the written word, but you should love editing and the collaborative process of editing a peer’s writing even more.
• Academic training or professional background in editing or writing would be ideal, as would experience working as a reporter.
• Comfort with tight turnaround for edits, ghostwriting for other staff members and members of the public, and quickly pushing out high quality writing product is a must.
• Across all of the roles we hire for at SEACC, we look for someone with a can-do attitude who loves making things work, individually and through others, and who has the skills and seasoning to build relationships with members of the public as they fulfill their role.
• Southeast Alaska has a unique social landscape and the conservation movement has a complicated (and at times problematic) regional history. Cultural competency to navigate this complex space is important.

More specifically, you will have or be most of the following:

• At least 1 year of training in writing and editing, or relevant professional experience (more is a plus)
• A proactive and strong problem solver with demonstrated critical thinking abilities
• An effective communicator, able to quickly understand, translate complex ideas for, and communicate with reporters, staff, the public, and decision-makers
• Someone who thrives in a fast-paced work environment, and is detail-oriented, bringing a passion for making things work well (independently or in a team setting)
• An excellent time manager, planning, prioritizing, troubleshooting, and moving tasks forward, while coordinating in all directions, especially across lines of difference (by quickly gaining trust and rapport through warmth, humility, optimism, humor, etc)
• Committed to the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, with demonstrated successes in previous work and awareness of where you need to grow. You work effectively with a diverse team and partners, and act proactively to spot issues of equity and inclusion and bring practical solutions.

To Apply

• Please click "Apply" below to email your resume, a cover letter, three professional references and a less than 1,500 word writing sample in a single PDF.
• Please put ‘Job Application - Communications’ and your last name in the email subject line, as we have two positions open at this time.
• Please mention how you learned of this opening.
• Applications are due by January 6th; submissions will be reviewed on a rolling (weekly) basis thereafter. If the position is still posted on our website, it hasn’t been filled.
• Desired Start Date: ASAP, but not later than February 3, 2020

SEACC recognizes, supports, and values all forms of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This position is based in Juneau, Alaska, and is a one-year temporary position with the option to expand and renew dependent on funding and experience. The compensation range for this role is between $20-25 per hour, for 20 - 30 hours a week. Note: We are unable to offer benefits and healthcare for this position.