We are seeking a Digital Engagement Strategist to join CHCF’s Communications and Engagement team. This role is an opportunity to shape how CHCF reaches, engages, and builds relationships with key audiences across California’s health care ecosystem. The Digital Engagement Strategist leads CHCF’s email communications, social media strategy, audience lifecycle management, and CRM strategy, bringing together compelling content, audience insight, technology, and data to strengthen the reach and impact of CHCF’s work.
This position is well suited for someone who enjoys working at the intersection of strategy and execution. The ideal candidate can move comfortably from developing an audience engagement strategy to drafting content, building an email campaign, interpreting performance data, or partnering with colleagues to improve how CHCF understands and engages its audiences.
Position Overview
The Digital Engagement Strategist is responsible for developing, implementing, and continually improving digital strategies that increase awareness, engagement, and impact of CHCF’s work. Reporting to the Director of Engagement, this role leads digital marketing and audience engagement initiatives that support organizational priorities and ensure CHCF’s insights, resources, and thought leadership reach the people who can use them.
The Strategist serves as CHCF’s lead for email communications, social media, and lifecycle management of priority audiences, including California policymakers, health care leaders and system administrators, advocacy organizations, and media. Working closely with Communications and Engagement, Program, and IT colleagues, this person helps identify and organize priority contacts, manages audience information through CHCF’s CRM, and develops strategies to strengthen and measure engagement.
This is a full-time, exempt position based in CHCF’s Oakland office and requires in-office presence two days per week, with occasional flexibility for a third day.
What You’ll Do
Lead Email Communications and Audience Engagement
- Shape CHCF’s email strategy. Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of CHCF’s email marketing strategy to ensure the foundation’s content, insights, and thought leadership effectively reach priority audiences.
- Develop audience journeys. Create thoughtful user journeys that anticipate audience communication needs and strengthen engagement over the course of their relationship with CHCF.
- Create compelling communications. Partner with Communications and Engagement colleagues to brainstorm and draft newsletters, event communications, outreach campaigns, and other email content.
- Optimize performance. Develop segmentation, personalization, distribution, A/B testing, and other strategies that improve relevance, reach, and engagement.
- Build effective campaigns. Design and build email templates consistent with CHCF’s brand and accessibility standards and stage content for distribution.
Drive Social Media and Digital Marketing
- Lead social media strategy. Plan, execute, and continuously improve CHCF’s social media strategy based on channel opportunities, content trends, and audience behaviors.
- Develop integrated campaigns. Create organic and, when appropriate, paid campaigns that promote CHCF research, publications, events, thought leadership, and other organizational content.
- Create engaging content. Collaborate with Communications and Engagement colleagues to develop social content and campaigns, including written and visual assets.
- Explore emerging channels. Identify and evaluate new digital platforms and approaches that align with CHCF’s communications goals and audiences.
- Protect brand and mission alignment. Ensure digital marketing reflects CHCF’s mission, brand standards, accessibility requirements, and commitment to health equity.
- Manage external partners. Oversee digital marketing, design, content, or video vendors as needed.
Lead CRM and Data Governance
- Serve as CRM Product Owner. Serve as Product Owner for CHCF’s enterprise Salesforce CRM, partnering with stakeholders across the organization to understand business needs and with IT to define requirements, improvements, fixes, and priorities.
- Connect communications systems. Oversee integration between CHCF’s CRM and email marketing platform.
- Strengthen data governance. Develop workflows, practices, and standards that help ensure audience data is accurate, organized, and usable.
- Measure engagement. Partner with the Director of Engagement and IT to define how audience touchpoints are captured and how engagement contributes to organizational impact.
Turn Audience Data into Insight
- Grow priority audiences. Develop strategies to expand, engage, and strengthen relationships with the audiences most important to CHCF’s mission.
- Use data to guide decisions. Apply audience data, stakeholder insights, and engagement trends to improve communications strategies and outreach.
- Monitor CHCF’s digital presence. Track CHCF’s online reputation, identify opportunities for engagement, and support crisis communications when needed.
- Measure and improve. Contribute analysis to monthly dashboards and annual reporting and translate performance findings into recommendations for continuous improvement.
Collaborate Across the Foundation
- Serve as an internal advisor. Provide expertise on digital marketing, content dissemination, audience engagement, and digital communications best practices.
- Build cross-functional partnerships. Collaborate closely with Program, IT, Communications and Engagement colleagues, and external partners to execute coordinated communications initiatives.
- Support organizational learning. Share emerging trends, audience insights, and best practices that strengthen CHCF’s collective capabilities.
Minimum Qualifications
Digital Marketing and Audience Engagement Expertise
- At least five years of experience developing and implementing digital marketing, audience engagement, or digital communications strategies within a nonprofit, philanthropic, public sector, health care, media, or mission-driven organization.
- Demonstrated experience planning and executing multi-channel digital campaigns that increase audience engagement, content reach, and organizational visibility.
- Experience developing digital communications strategies that align with organizational priorities and support measurable business or mission-related outcomes.
Email Marketing and Content Distribution
- Significant experience managing email marketing programs, including newsletters, audience outreach campaigns, content promotion, audience segmentation, and distribution strategy.
- Experience utilizing email marketing platforms and industry best practices to improve audience engagement, deliverability, and communications effectiveness.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute content dissemination strategies that connect priority audiences with organizational resources, research, and thought leadership.
Audience Development and Digital Communications
- Experience identifying, segmenting, and engaging diverse audiences through digital communications and audience development strategies.
- Demonstrated ability to use audience insights, stakeholder data, and engagement trends to inform communications planning and outreach efforts.
- Experience developing targeted communications approaches that strengthen audience relationships and expand organizational reach.
Analytics and Data-Informed Decision Making
- Experience utilizing digital analytics, performance metrics, and audience data to evaluate communications effectiveness and inform strategic decision-making.
- Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools used to monitor website, email, social media, and campaign performance.
- Demonstrated ability to translate data and audience insights into actionable recommendations that improve engagement and organizational outcomes.
Collaboration, Project Management, and Communication
- Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, coordinate across teams, and successfully execute complex communications initiatives.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex concepts into clear, compelling content and recommendations for diverse audiences.
- Experience working collaboratively with cross-functional teams, external vendors, and organizational leaders to advance shared goals and priorities.
Technological Proficiency
- Proficiency with digital marketing, email marketing, analytics, content management, and online collaboration platforms.
- Ability to quickly learn and leverage new technologies, digital tools, and emerging communications platforms to improve organizational effectiveness and audience engagement.
Skills and Competencies
- Strategic and Audience-Centered Thinking: Develops long-term digital marketing and audience engagement strategies aligned with organizational goals while remaining responsive to evolving audience needs.
- Digital Marketing and Communications Acumen: Effectively uses digital channels, content distribution strategies, and audience engagement approaches to maximize reach, visibility, and impact.
- Data Literacy and Analytical Thinking: Interprets performance data, identifies meaningful insights, and applies findings to strengthen communications strategies and outcomes.
- Collaboration and Influence: Builds trusted relationships across teams and effectively influences decisions through thoughtful recommendations, audience insights, and strategic guidance.
- Adaptability, Initiative, and Execution: Navigates competing priorities and evolving needs while proactively identifying opportunities, solving problems, and delivering high-quality work with strong accountability and attention to detail.
Other Qualifications
- Continuous learning and collaboration. Demonstrates a genuine curiosity and open-mindedness, paired with humility and a readiness to listen and learn from CHCF’s grantees and partners.
- Commitment to anti-racism and inclusivity. Exhibits a deep personal and professional dedication to anti-racist principles and actively participates in the organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
- Constructive feedback dynamics. Possesses the ability to give, receive, and integrate feedback constructively, promoting a culture of open communication and continuous improvement.
Salary and Benefits
The full salary range for this position is $112,000 to $168,000.
The starting salary for this role is $132,000 and is not negotiable.
The foundation provides a generous benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and long-term care insurance; commuter assistance or paid parking; employee assistance and wellness programs; educational assistance; paid time off; and 401(k) retirement benefits.
Commitment to Belonging
The California Health Care Foundation is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff and will honor your experiences, perspectives, and unique identity. We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. Read more about CHCF’s Vision of Belonging: https://www.chcf.org/about-us/a-vision-of-belonging/
The California Health Care Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Employment offers will be contingent on a background check that is limited in scope and compliant with best practices for Fair Chance Hiring. We welcome formerly incarcerated people to apply for this role.
