Position: Senior Communications Manager

Reports to: Vice President of Grants, Programs, and Communications

Location: San Francisco, CA

The Organization

Horizons Foundation has been dedicated to serving, funding, and helping to lead the LGBTQ community for over 40 years. Established in 1980 as a San Francisco–based community foundation, Horizons’ mission statement reads: As the world’s first community foundation of, by, and for LGBTQ people, Horizons invests in LGBTQ nonprofits, strengthens a culture of LGBTQ giving, and builds a permanent endowment to secure our community’s future for generations to come.

Horizons is a national leader in promoting LGBTQ philanthropy, recently recognized as one of the LGBTQ movement’s “Top 10” funders by the national advocacy group Funders for LGBTQ Issues. Last year, Horizons distributed more than $6 million in grants to hundreds of nonprofits throughout the country, with more than half supporting organizations in the Bay Area. Grants were awarded to LGBTQ nonprofits and to LGBTQ-focused programs at non-LGBTQ-specific organizations. Through its donor-advised fund (DAF) program, Horizons also makes grants to non-LGBTQ nonprofits regionally and nationally.

In addition to helping meet today’s needs, Horizons is working to ensure that future generations of LGBTQ people have the resources they will need to serve, protect, advocate for, and celebrate our community far into the future. To that end, the foundation is building the first LGBTQ community endowment fund dedicated to future generations and to helping donors today find ways to create personally meaningful – and impactful – legacies. To date, Horizons has identified more than $120 million in future legacy gifts that donors are leaving to the foundation and our community.

The Position

Our role at the hub of LGBTQ giving and community engagement in the Bay Area and as a respected thought leader on LGBTQ philanthropy nationally means that Horizons has a unique voice to share. To amplify that voice, we are excited to bring on a skilled leader for a new position as our Senior Manager of Communications.

Foremost a superb writer, the Senior Manager will spearhead the foundation’s external content, from fundraising appeals and speeches to grantee stories and talking points. A strong media-relations strategist, the Senior Manager will also lead and execute the foundation’s work in the media, with a focus on strengthening Horizons’ role as a leader in LGBTQ philanthropy through developing strong media relations and both proactive and reactive media placements. A skilled digital communicator, this role will also oversee the foundation’s website and digital communications.

The Senior Communications Manager will manage a team that includes a Communication Coordinator and relevant consultants and vendors. The Manager will ensure that all communications efforts -- whether in service of fundraising, our programs, or our perspective on philanthropy and the LGBT movement -- are working together in harmony. This position offers the opportunity to lead a communications program and team that will grow as the Foundation grows and to play a key role in ensuring the long-term sustainability of a nationally respected, well-established organization with a powerful story to tell – both of its own impact and that of the hundreds of organizations it supports each year.

Responsibilities

The Senior Manager of Communications will focus primarily on four major areas:

Lead the co-creation, management, and implementation of a communications strategy and plan that brings a consistent, compelling voice to our communications and expands our reach to new audiences.
- Craft and implement a dynamic communications strategy that inspires increased engagement by our current stakeholders and reaches out to potential donors and other audiences across the SF Bay Area.
- Coordinate with our program and development teams, and lead the co-creation of our annual plan, goals, timeline, editorial calendar, and key messages.
- Manage implementation of the communications plan.
- Identify and incorporate new marketing and communications opportunities to widen our circle of support.
- Analyze and evaluate our communications tactics including cost tracking, website usage analysis, and audience segmentation and analytics to ensure we are learning and adapting constantly.
- Build dynamic partnership and in-kind sponsorship opportunities with the media and other community partners.
Lead the creation, curation, and promotion of communications content that effectively promotes Horizons to its stakeholders – the LGBT community, donors, grantees, corporate and foundation partners.
- Manage all communications production and create and curate a range of content including, among other assets, Horizons’ e-newsletter, website updates, annual report, brochures, event-related materials, and video
- Ensure that systems are maintained to store our communications media, videos, photographs, and other resources
Manage our communications channels and outreach to increase Horizons’ visibility locally and nationally.
- Ensure that we have a consistent accurate online presence on key sites and that our website, social media, print, and e-communications convey the breadth of our programs, perspectives, and values
- Secure proactive and reactive media placements through press releases, statements, article pitches, sponsorships, and op-eds, building and leveraging relationships with the media, especially local Bay Area media, LGBTQ media, and philanthropy media;
- Take a proactive approach to outreach to mainstream, issue-based, and LGBTQ media outlets to ensure that they see Horizons Foundation as a go-to resource for perspectives and insights on LGBTQ and progressive philanthropic issues
- Reach out to relevant editors, bloggers, and journalists to pitch story ideas and seek opportunities to showcase the work of our grantees, profile our partners, funders, and supporters, and advocate for LGBT philanthropy locally and nationally.
Manage our communications team and work collaboratively across the foundation.
- Supervise and mentor communication team members;
- Work in close collaboration with colleagues across programs, development, and Horizons’ president;

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate will be:

Passionate about Horizons Foundation’s mission with a demonstrated commitment to social justice and familiarity with the social and legal issues impacting the LGBTQ community
An experienced communications professional: with at least 5-7 years of progressively senior experience in communications and marketing in a nonprofit organization; or other closely relevant experience in public relations, media, and communications
A skilled story-teller able to communicate to a wide range of audiences
A strategic thinker capable of developing and implementing a comprehensive organization-wide communications and marketing plan
A strong implementer with proven project management skills;
A technology enthusiast: skilled and experienced at using WordPress and MailChimp (or a similar email solution), and with working knowledge of Adobe Creative key apps;
A media-savvy communicator with knowledge of the operation of print, broadcast, and online news media and, ideally, experience and connections with local and LGBTQ media;
A stickler for details with excellent follow-through and superb editing and proofreading skills.
A team builder and inspiring manager able to work effectively in a diverse workplace and promote high performance and accountability
Resourceful and innovative: bringing an optimistic, can-do, hands-on approach to achieving the most possible with the resources available and responding flexibly as opportunities and events arise.

Compensation, Hours, And Office

This is a full-time salaried position. Your schedule may vary based on need and could extend at times into the early evening, with some occasional weekend hours. The full salary range for this position is $90,000 - $115,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience. The starting salary is generally at or near the mid-point of the salary range, with the opportunity for future growth. In addition to federal and other paid holidays, Horizons’ current practice is to offer staff an additional day off on the last Friday of the month. The generous benefits package includes full health, vision, and dental coverage, vacation, sick leave, significant employer contribution to a 403(b) plan retirement plan, and the pride of working at a critical community institution.

Horizons’ current practice is for staff to work from the foundation’s downtown San Francisco office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Mondays and Fridays can be remote work days. The foundation’s office is conveniently located 1.5 blocks from the Montgomery BART/MUNI station.

Equal Opportunity

Horizons Foundation is an equal opportunity employer that supports and lives diversity in our staffing and values. We actively seek and welcome applications from people who identify as people of color; women; transgender, gender-nonconforming, and non-binary; LGBTQ; and people living with disabilities. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment, and encourage and seek qualified candidates of all backgrounds.

To Apply

To be considered for this position, please send a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples (ideally in fundraising communications and/or media relations, such as an op-ed) – preferably in a single document – to: careers@horizonsfoundation.org. Please put “Senior Communications Manager” in the subject line of your message.

Applications are due by April 26, 2024.

Thank you for your interest in Horizons Foundation and your support for the LGBTQ community.

Horizons Foundation

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Senior Communications Manager