Communications Associate – Portland, Oregon

Organization: Climate Solutions

Job Title: Communications Associate

Location: Portland, Oregon

Hours and Compensation: full time; $42,000

Application Deadline: none listed

Position Dates: immediately

Posted On: Jan 7, 2013

Organization Overview

Climate Solutions’ mission is to accelerate practical and profitable solutions to global warming by galvanizing leadership, growing investment, and bridging divides. Since 1998, Climate Solutions has pioneered the vision and cultivated political leadership in the Northwest for the proposition that clean energy and broadly‐shared economic prosperity can go hand‐in‐hand. Through our Business Leaders for Climate Solutions, New Energy Cities, and Harvesting Clean Energy programs, Climate Solutions builds a powerful constituency for local, regional, and national action on climate and clean energy. Climate Solutions has offices in Seattle, Olympia, and Portland. For more information about Climate Solutions, visit www.climatesolutions.org.

Description

Climate Solutions is seeking a hungry, smart, nimble and collaborative Communications Associate to assist the organization in increasing the reach to our priority audiences. The Communications Associate will use media outreach, social media engagement and direct communications to advance and track real results, build partnerships with our many allies to maximize the communications strength of the larger movement, and to assist in marketing our organization to increase our program and fundraising effectiveness. The Communications Associate will work with the Communications and Marketing Director, the Communications Specialist and other Climate Solutions staff to provide communications support on programs and campaigns, and further the organizational mission. This position is supervised by the Communications and Marketing Director and is preferably located in Portland, but also could be located in either Olympia or Seattle.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the communications team to implement communications and marketing plans for the organization’s campaigns and ongoing programs to increase the reach to priority audiences.
• Work with the Communications and Marketing Director to conduct media outreach on rapid responses, longer‐term proactive story cultivation, and news conferences, and other media events.
• Draft and distribute news releases and core organizational and program communications for media outlets and top audiences.
• Work with the communications team to further the organization’s social media presence, both deepening the engagement with current channels and implementing plans with new ones.
• Track media coverage for the organization and the issue areas.
• Assist in tracking and managing data to measure and improve organizational communications and reach over time.
• Maintain and update media contacts in the Salesforce database.
• Additional duties may be assigned within the course of the work.

Qualifications

• Strong writing, editing, presentation, verbal, and analytic skills.
• Experience and knowledge of social media communications.
• Ability to craft and pitch reporters on story ideas.
• Ability to set priorities and manage multiple short‐term and long‐term projects simultaneously.
• A hungry, collaborative and inspirational nature.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and with a team in a fast‐paced, dynamic environment.
• Ability to operate desktop computer and Microsoft Windows and Office software, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and specialized software applications in a network environment
• Functional knowledge of social networking, blog, design and web interfaces.
• Strong commitment to the mission and vision of Climate Solutions.
• Candidates with at least two years of advocacy communications experience in either the nonprofit or public sectors strongly preferred.
• Candidates with less experience may be considered.
• Candidates experienced with social media, media outreach and databases (Salesforce) preferred.
• Strong writing and public speaking skills required.
• Education and Training:  Bachelor’s degree required.
• Licenses or Certificates: Possession of, or ability to possess, within 3 months, a driver’s license and auto insurance.

How to Apply

Email a résumé, cover letter and at least three professional reference contacts in PDF format to [email protected].

Please put COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE as the subject line of the email and address the cover letter to Kimberly Larson,  Director of Communications and Marketing.

Please label the cover letter and resume with your last name.

In the body of the email, please let us know how you found out about the position.