Director of Strategic Communications

Who We Are

IREX is a global development and education organization. We strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals reach their full potential, governments serve their people, and communities thrive. With a projected annual portfolio of more than $150 million and more than 750 staff worldwide, we work with partners in more than 100 countries in four areas essential to progress: cultivating leaders, empowering youth, strengthening institutions, and increasing access to quality education and information.

The Strategic Communications Director will spearhead efforts to increase awareness of IREX and its impact in the world among audiences identified as strategic to IREX. As a critical leader in IREX’s Strategy and Development Team, they will strategize, enable, and support the most effective ways to communicate and engage priority audiences in government, philanthropy, and the development community on the relevance of IREX’s mission and the solutions IREX provides to advance just, prosperous, and inclusive societies.

We are doers. Our decades of on-the-ground experience help us create greater impact, practical recommendations, and lasting partnerships.

Are you the next member of our team?

Your Background & Skills

• Eight (8) plus years of demonstrated and progressive experience designing and executing communications that advance organizational strategies.
• Master’s degree or equivalent qualification required.
• Excellent written communications skills, with the capacity to edit and write independently.
• Significant knowledge of development issues relevant to IREX’s work.
• Proven experience in marketing organizational capabilities and services, and representing the organization to key external donors, partners, and stakeholders.
• Experience building the capacity of others within an organization to communicate and market specific initiatives and overall organizational goals.
• Familiarity with positioning for new business development.
• Experience communicating with targeted audiences at USAID, the US State Department in DC, and field Missions and Embassies.
• Must demonstrate valid proof of unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

Your Daily Tasks

• Develop and implement an integrated, organization-wide strategic communications plan for key communications products and priority audiences.
• Proactively create strategic communications products that convey key messages about IREX and its capabilities to strategic audiences, expanding awareness of IREX’s impact and brand identity.
• Collaborate with IREX’s Center for Applied Learning and Impact to ensure technical products reach and influence target audiences.
• Coordinate, cultivate, and enhance productive relationships with high-level external audiences and key influencers, including public officials, donors, and the media, in partnership with IREX leaders.
• Identify opportunities for IREX leaders and experts to shape the international development agenda through strategic communications.
• Advise on opportunities for IREX leaders and experts to build awareness of and support for strategic initiatives.
• Represent IREX in meetings with external stakeholders identified as strategic by IREX.
• Analyze the competitive landscape for strategic communications and assess IREX’s performance in reaching its audience, adapting strategies to align with effective practices.
• Provide selective advice on strategic communications to IREX senior managers under the leadership of the Executive Vice President for Strategy and Development.
• Identify high-level external audiences or stakeholders (donors, public officials, foundations, key influencers in academia, and media), develop a strategy for reaching out to them, and effectively disseminate key messages to engage them.
• Oversee the curation, design, production, and distribution of strategic content to support the IREX strategic plan and its communications plan, including collaboration with the Center for Applied Learning and Impact on communication plans for their technical products.
• Collaborate closely with the Director of Center for Applied Learning and Impact to use engagement data analytics to adapt messaging and influence target audiences with technical products.
• Oversee or execute the development of the overarching strategy and architecture for digital communications, including IREX’s website, newsletters, social media, and other electronic communications.
• Oversee or execute the organization of special events identified or anticipated in the strategic communications plan.
• Proactively develop and curate strategic content to increase audience engagement on IREX’s social media channels; initiate internal discussions about the development of strategic content.
• Draft “thought leadership” products such as op-eds, articles, or essays for placement in external publications and website.
• Identify and prioritize opportunities to raise the visibility of IREX, its leaders, and experts; prepare talking points, speeches, presentations, articles, and other strategic communications materials as needed.
• Monitor the development and use of the IREX brand; recommend steps to raise brand awareness proactively.
• Monitor international development trends and identify strategic opportunities for IREX to contribute to shaping international development priorities.
• Manage relationships with communications-related vendors or consultants that support strategic communications.
• Serve as the lead point person on media interactions that promote and impact the organization; actively cultivate and manage press relationships to ensure coverage of issues of strategic importance to IREX, including through special events, public announcements, and other initiatives.
• Manage a small dynamic communications team, augmenting it with available resources from other units of IREX as appropriate, intern or volunteer talent, to support the development and execution of the communications strategy.
• Promote a culture of personal initiative, high performance, and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Mentor a team and develop communications skills across the organizations using a supportive and collaborative approach on a consistent basis.
• Work in partnership with the New Business Development Unit, the Center for Applied Learning and Impact, the Strategic Partnerships Unit, and regional directors to support new business efforts through communications and highlight IREX’s thought leadership.

You will Get:

Committed, passionate, collaborative, and mission-driven colleagues who make IREX a good place to work. You will receive best-in-class learning, development, and growth opportunities, as well as a comprehensive benefits package designed to help you thrive. This includes a well-being and employee assistance program, health, dental, and vision coverage, a flexible work schedule, a generous PTO policy, a technology stipend, a diverse and inclusive work environment, and many more benefits.

This fulfilling position offers an anticipated salary range of approximately $132,000 - $150,000.

We conduct background checks on all successful candidates.

This position is eligible for Telework. The eligible employee is a regular, full-time DC-based staff who works from a worksite outside the DC office for one or more days a week

This position is not eligible for Immigration Sponsorship.

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NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

EOE – Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/vets.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)