About the Role

Reporting to the Director of Development, the position provides an excellent opportunity for an emerging digital communications professional with strong writing and editing skills to work and learn in a dynamic, fast-paced organization, with an opportunity for promotion and professional development. 

The Communications and Development Associate serves a key role coordinating across the organization – working closely with program and fundraising staff to develop strategic communications and engaging online content, including social media, web posts, online petitions and actions, email, and other communications necessary to further NYLPI’s fundraising goals and legislative, policy, and litigation campaigns. The position is also responsible for assisting the development team with the execution of various events, including virtual events, cultivation and program events, and fundraising events.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

Serving as a key member of the NYLPI Development team, the Communications and Development Associate will provide support in all areas of communications and fundraising, including: 

Communications:

• Create communication content and materials, including website posts, digital actions, electronic fundraising appeals, and event flyers 
• Help cultivate NYLPI’s identity and voice and increase followers and influence on social media
• Manage a communications calendar to ensure NYLPI program and Development staff prioritize key content across teams and platforms. 
• Provide coordination and coverage for organization social media postings in collaboration with posts from program staff  
• Track and produce reports as needed for campaign-specific press content to support foundation grant reports and proposals
• Partner with the Policy Team to develop and execute strategic communication campaigns to support NYLPI policy priorities during State and City legislative sessions. 
• Track key communications metrics, including website and social media analytics

Development:

• Assist with details for fundraising and cultivation events ranging from a large annual luncheon, golf event, and community-focused spotlight events, and other cultivation events (virtual and in-person) including vendor relationships and timelines, coordination with other event contractors, etc.  
• Manage the communication schedule for all pre-and post-event marketing, and implement all event promotion, including writing, designing and producing e-blasts and social media posts  
• Logistics support for all event committee meetings, communication, and solicitations  
• Support Development Team with follow up outreach for event sponsors and attendees

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Organized self-starter, able to prioritize tasks and projects, and to meet deadlines 
• Strong writing, editing, and communication skills
• Ability to craft messages for diverse audiences including elected officials, lawyers and law firm professionals, individual donors, partners at community-based organizations, and individual community members 
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365
• Experience and comfort with social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram
• Ability to work well with team members across axes of diversity and difference 
• Commitment to social justice and civil rights
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Preferred

• One to three years of digital communications experience 
• Written and spoken proficiency in Spanish
• Experience with website management and graphic design software, including InDesign, Adobe Suite, Canva, and WordPress 
• Experience with managing and supporting online events, including Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube 

This is a full-time position with a salary range of $56,000 to $63,000, depending on experience. NYLPI offers comprehensive employer-paid benefits, including health insurance, short- and long-term disability and life insurance, an outstanding retirement savings plan (after 12 months, NYLPI contributes 5% of an employee’s annual salary and will match up to an additional 2½%), paid family and sick leave, fifteen (15) days of vacation during the first year of employment (increasing to 24 in the third year) and five personal days, eleven (11) official office holidays, and a holiday swapping policy to allow for the observation of holidays of your choice, as well as extensive voluntary benefits.   

Please send applications to [email protected] with the subject line: “Attention: Communications and Development Associate.”  Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and must include:

1. Detailed cover letter explaining your interest and experience, and answering the following required question: How have your background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural competency and diversity, equity, and inclusion? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.  
2. Resume
3. Writing Sample

We strongly encourage candidates fluent in multiple languages and candidates from historically oppressed groups to apply. We are committed to advancing social justice and civil rights in our advocacy, and we value the dynamism and perspective that staff diversity, equity, and inclusion bring to the work and culture of the office. We strive to promote behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable us to work inclusively and effectively in cross-cultural situations with clients, co-workers, and community partners. We actively recruit and seek to grow and maintain a staff that is diverse along many axes, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, and national origin; disability; socioeconomic background; and sexual orientation and gender identity. 

About NYLPI

For more than 45 years, NYLPI has been a leading civil rights advocate for New Yorkers opposing marginalization based on race, immigration status, poverty, disability, and a range of intersectional identities.  NYLPI pioneered the practice of community lawyering in the five boroughs of New York City.  These communities shape our priorities, and their struggles for justice demand innovative solutions.  Our interdisciplinary teams of advocates use every tool available – community organizing, impact litigation and individual representation, policy advocacy, media, pro bono partnerships, and public education – to solve seemingly intractable problems, develop leaders, and build collective power to achieve justice.  We strive to create equal access to health care, achieve equality of opportunity and self-determination for people with disabilities, ensure immigrant opportunity, strengthen local nonprofits, and secure environmental justice for frontline communities. 

To learn more about NYLPI, visit www.nylpi.org.