Potomac Conservancy is hiring a Director, Community & Media Relations to join our growing team. If you love nature and connecting with people who want to make positive difference in our community, Team Potomac is your place. We’re seeking a passionate champion for clean water who enjoys engaging media, the community, and key stakeholders in mission-based work. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience in media relations, marketing strategies, and public outreach.

Founded in 1993, Potomac Conservancy is a nationally accredited land trust and clean water leader in the Potomac River region. We’re fighting to restore the Potomac to full health for the five million people who depend on the river for drinking water and outdoor enjoyment. Our conservation strategies improve local water quality by strengthening natural defenses against pollution and the impacts of the climate crisis. Our passionate movement of 30,000 supporters empowers us to protect streamside forests, pass water protection laws, and restore shoreline habitat.

The Director, Community & Media Relations will be integral to our goals as we embark on an ambitious strategy to restore swimmable and fishable waters to the Potomac River in the next 10 years.

Position Overview

This role offers an exciting leadership opportunity to creatively evolve and expand the organization’s public relations and outreach strategies, building off the organization’s foundation of successful conservation programs, digital content marketing, and fundraising. The position requires a balance of remote and in-person work. This position will report to the Vice President of Communications and will work in close coordination with programmatic staff to elevate Potomac Conservancy’s profile in the Potomac River region and attract new supporters and allies in our clean water efforts.

Key Responsibilities

Media Relations (25%)

• Develop and execute media strategies to promote PC’s clean water experts as local and regional experts in conservation, advocacy, and environmental issues.
• Identify and work with local, regional, and sometimes national media outlets and cultivate relationships with reporters, bloggers, editors, and other media professionals.
• Pitch story ideas, participate in interviews, and craft compelling press materials that achieve media results.
• Regularly evaluate and improve the efficacy of our media strategies.
• Provide light coaching for spokespersons to ensure effective and consistent public messaging.

Community Relations (45%)

• Lead a public outreach strategy to increase our brand visibility and profile in the region. • Connect with community leaders, businesses, and influencers to build relationships and explore co-branded opportunities that can help us reach new audiences and advance our mission
• Oversee a paid marketing and advertising budget.
• Manage key components of our climate awareness work and public clean water campaign.
• Represent the organization at select public events and develop a scalable strategy to increase volunteer presence at community-led activities.
• Coordinate and assist with some community-building events and public awareness activities (e.g., socials, digital expert panel, co-hosting activities with sponsors, etc.).
• Center BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and historically marginalized communities in our work.

Brand (20%)

• Assist the President with public engagement activities and identify new opportunities that increase their profile as a trusted thought leader.
• Provide light coaching for brand ambassadors to ensure cross-organization consistency; expand our ambassador cohort in the out-years.
• Manage branded supplies, create and oversee a new digital store, and secure community sponsors for co-branded materials.

Additional responsibilities (10%)

• Assist with light invoicing and communications-related administrative tasks.
• Participate in group diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) learning and integrated work.

Qualifications

This position uses a variety of skills. We encourage you to apply if you think you would be a great fit, even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in journalism, communications, marketing, and/or public outreach with a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; 5+ years of relevant work experience with no college degree.
• Experience in media relations and press outreach is a must. Stellar verbal and written communications skills; adept at persuasion messaging.
• Excellent people and relationship-building skills; desires in-person interaction.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Brings a creative, goal-oriented mindset.
• Proficiency in assessing market trends and analyzing key performance metrics.
• An ability to get up to speed fast with digital tools we use daily: EveryAction CRM, Microsoft Teams, ClickUp, Canva, Google Drive, Flickr, Miro, etc.
• Commitment to PC’s values and mission.
• Additional skills that will be considered (not required):
  • Volunteer management and/or brand ambassador training;
  • Established relationships with regional reporters, bloggers, and/or influencers a plus.
  • Fundraising, advocacy, conservation, and other related clean water work;
  • Fluency in Spanish or languages;
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work or training;

Compensation, Benefits, and Location

• This is a full-time position with a salary range of $60,000-64,000 based on the level of experience and skills you bring.
• Potomac Conservancy’s office is located in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland within a short walking distance of the Silver Spring MARC and Metro stations.
• As a regionally focused organization, we value having staff live locally in our watershed.
• The organization champions a flexible hybrid policy with generous allowances for remote hours. Community-based activities and meetings with partners must be in person as much as possible.
• An annual professional development budget for each employee.
• Flexible work schedule. Hours must be typical office hours, but our organizational culture maintains responsible flexibility for life needs and work-life balance.
• Medical benefits offered with 80 percent of individual premiums covered by the organization.
• Life Insurance paid for by the Conservancy.
• 18 days paid time off and 11 holidays per year. Three additional personal holidays per year.
• Summer Friday afternoons and one week at the end of the year are provided as paid time off.
• Travel reimbursement for work-related trips.
• Working with bright, fun coworkers and interacting with a supportive board of directors.
• 403(b) matching with no vesting period and flex spending accounts.

Desired start date: March/April 2024. The position will remain open until it is filled.

To Apply: Email a thoughtful cover letter, resume, and 2-3 relevant writing samples to Melissa Diemand (diemand@potomac.org). Please include “Director, Community & Media Relations” in the subject line. The position will remain open until filled. Applications submitted before February 29, 2024, will be given first consideration. Potomac Conservancy is an equal opportunity employer.

We recognize the environmental movement has a history of excluding historically discriminated communities including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), people from working class backgrounds, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. We encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other communities that have been historically excluded from the environmental movement.

Potomac Conservancy staff are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This vaccine requirement applies to all staff working remotely, in a hybrid work arrangement, and on-site. Effective June 2, 2022, new hires will be required to provide proof of full vaccination with a government-approved vaccine as a condition for employment. Requests for reasonable accommodation or exceptions (medical or religious reasons) will be considered. Candidates are NOT required to state their COVID-19 vaccine status in their application.