Communications Coordinator, HECHO

Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF or Federation) is America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state/territorial affiliates and more than six million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes. The Federation's mission is to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitats and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, connecting children with nature, and addressing the causes and consequences of climate change.

Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) was created in 2013 to help fulfill our duty to conserve and protect our public lands for future generations. In 2017, HECHO became a program of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) through a unique and mutually beneficial partnership built upon values of inclusion and equity and a commitment to elevating underrepresented perspectives as part of our conservation missions.

HECHO provides a platform for Hispanics to contribute knowledge and perspectives about public lands conservation issues, enhance leadership capacity of Hispanic leaders, and promote Hispanic cultural heritage and connections to nature. While our focus is on the protection of public lands in the American Southwest, our work has a national scope and impact. To achieve our mission of empowering Hispanic leaders to engage their communities in the conservation of our nation’s public lands, we are seeking an experienced Communications Coordinator to work in AZ, CO, DC, NM, NV, UT, Northern VA, or Central VA (due to COVID-19 all employees are working remotely until we make return to office decisions).

Initially reporting to HECHO’s Executive Director, the HECHO Communications Coordinator will support the HECHO Communications Manager in developing compelling messages, uplifting strong messengers, and using targeted communications vehicles to support our advocacy and education campaigns. This person will work closely with the National Wildlife Federation’s communication department, HECHO’s advisory board members, HECHO’s Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council, and HECHO and other NWF staff to implement successful communications campaigns, projects, strategies, and tasks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist the Communications Manager to develop and implement a comprehensive communications outreach plan for both English-language and Spanish-language content, including an editorial and social media calendar, to authentically engage HECHO’s followers, event participants, and volunteers.
• Regularly write content in English and Spanish including blog posts, fact sheets, issue briefs, letters, op-eds, and newsletters.
• Write and distribute press releases and background materials in English and Spanish on efforts of interest to national, regional, and web media.  
• Develop talking points for program staff and prepare staff for media interviews.
• Help with media training of staff, advisory board, and members. 
• Coordinate with partners and work on media strategy in coalition with trusted partners.
• Work with program staff and partners to assess media needs and develop appropriate media messages.  
• Assist with developing and maintaining media lists and contacts in English and Spanish media. 
• Create and schedule social media postings.
• Track social media and website analytics.

Qualifications: 

• Outstanding written and oral communication skills. 
• Familiarity and passion in conservation issues, public land management agencies, and legislative and administrative processes.
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to get along with diverse personalities; tactful, mature, and flexible.
• Fluent and conversational English and Spanish language skills preferred.
• Capable of representing and bolstering marginalized voices in advocacy.
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal peers and external partners and allies.
• Experience with social media scheduling platforms (Hootsuite, Buffer, etc.)
• High level of creativity to complement social media experience and skills, especially on Twitter and Facebook.
• Knowledge and ability to use multimedia communications tools, including producing graphics.

Experience:

• 2+ years’ experience in journalism and/or social media coordination.
• Proven experience in reporting, advocacy communications, and/or public relations. 
• Experienced storyteller and wordsmith.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Hispanic heritage, in particular cultural and historical connections to the land, air, and water, and ability to share knowledge in a culturally responsive way
• Experience or familiarity developing outreach plans and implementing outreach communication activities, including building email lists.
• Experience monitoring media and managing media monitoring platforms, as well as digital analytics and email metrics.
• Experience using a range of digital platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Squarespace and/or others. 

NWF Values:

Your actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus.  Your competencies should include:

• Being motivated by values of equity and responsibility to those most marginalized;
• Consistently bringing a high level of empathy and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions;
• Being committed to deepening an environmental justice approach in policy priorities, program development and partner engagement;
• Actively seeks feedback, direction, and guidance from all team members and keeps staff informed of decisions that impact them;
• Being dedicated to advancing NWF’s internal equity transformation and compelling partners and allies to incorporate equity into their work; and
• Passion for and commitment to NWF's mission

Travel Requirements

Expect travel 2-4 times per year, 12-15 nights per year in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.

Salary Range and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $45,000 to $50,000 annually, dependent upon qualifications and experience.

We are proud of our designation by Mogul as a Top 100 Workplace with the Best Benefits in 2021!  We value work-life balance and a family-friendly atmosphere with flexible scheduling.  We want you to be able to integrate work and personal life with attention to your self-care, so that your work schedule is not depleting.  We offer benefits so you feel restored and fueled through the day and week.

We offer these supports to help manage your mental, emotional, and physical health: 

• Paid time off: Vacation that starts off at three weeks accrual, unlimited wellbeing (this time can be used for physical, spiritual, emotional, cultural, religious or financial wellbeing for yourself, a partner, or family member – including pets), 10 holidays, and 3 floating holidays
• We close down for a paid winter break between December 25 to January 1 to recognize end of-year stress, and time for reflection, rejuvenation, and spending time with family.
• Up to 16 weeks of fully paid Family and Medical Leave
• Low cost health, dental, and vision insurance options – all outpatient mental health is covered at in-network rates
• Therapist available at no cost
• Pet insurance and discount perk program
• Annual wellbeing allowance

In addition to your salary, we offer the following supports to your personal finances:

• Retirement plan with immediate match and vesting
• Annual year end retirement contribution
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Adoption and Surrogacy assistance
• Pet adoption stipend
• Student Loan management

Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s benefits package at https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers.

COVID Consideration:

The National Wildlife Federation closely follows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease and has implemented processes that promote the safety of our employees, candidates, and communities.  Because the health of our employees and candidates is a top priority, we conduct our hiring process virtually via phone or video until further notice.  We are currently starting our positions as remote, but will transition to onsite work when our offices re-open, expected to be in 2022.  Proof of vaccination will be required as a condition to join the National Wildlife Federation.

Application:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will be accepted through June 30, 2022.

Please submit your resume, along with a letter responding to the following, as a PDF:

1. Why is HECHO’s mission of interest to you?
2. How do your experiences and personal strengths prepare you for this position?
3. Describe a successful communications project in which you have been involved.

We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world. We recruit, employ, train compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at nwf.org/equity.

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, therefore our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge that translates to our openings. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.

Please let us know if you require accommodations during the application or interview process by reaching us at hrhelp@nwf.org or 703-438-6244.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.

www.nwf.org