Communications & Outreach Manager
Summary:
Kingston Common Futures is an emerging project that is guided by a community fund design created in 2023-2024 by 18 Kingston residents. Kingston Common Futures began operating in September 2024 with two co-directors and is expanding to include an Communications & Outreach Manager to implement the pilot fund.
The Communications & Outreach Manager will work in close collaboration with the Kingston Common Futures Directors and the Good Work Institute, to enhance and evolve a multifaceted strategy that radially engages the local community to participate in the fund process. They will also serve as a hub to a group of four called the Street Team and volunteers to organize, coordinate, and execute these strategies on the ground.
Beyond funding local initiatives that serve the community, Kingston Common Futures’ primary goal is to cultivate a network of supportive relationships that help each other thrive. The C&O Manager position is central to this goal. We are a highly grassroots initiative that depends on community engagement to see our vision through. We envision the C&O Manager serving as a hub to many spokes, orchestrating a vibrant ecosystem to ensure the right information gets to the right folks in the right way at the right time, so that we may have a diverse team of energized applicants eager to apply, and volunteers excited and committed to supporting the process.
Key Responsibilities:
Marketing & Communications
Refine and launch communication and outreach strategy in collaboration with Directors and GWI staff to ensure the launch of the fund makes a big splash in Kingston and reaches diverse communities, in accordance with the mission of the fund.
Use your strong writing and communication skills as well as project management skills to implement a robust flow of outwards facing communications. This includes creation of content for multiple channels (website, social media channels, press releases, marketing materials).
Provide and/or coordinate translation and interpretation support for Kingston Common Futures materials into Spanish, and help to assess whether translation into additional languages is necessary for the pilot.
Adapt and evolve communication messaging and tactics based on real-time data and feedback from the community with agility.
Outreach & Coordination
Work with and coordinate Street Team, volunteers, and local organizations to create and share content and host events that invite people in, engage them, and motivate them to get involved.
Maintain an effective archive and records of outreach efforts so that the fund can continuously be testing and learning from our innovative efforts.
Lead coordination of community volunteers supporting the fund process (application readers, mentors, etc.), with support from the Director of Learning & Process.
Act as the primary point of coordination for the Street Team and collaborate with other volunteers as needed (e.g. on events).
Support forging and maintaining strong relationships with peer funds/organizations, community organizations and local businesses who might be potential partners or funders for KCF.
Learning: Impact Measurement and Reporting
Work closely with the Director of Process & Learning and Impact Catalyst during the impact reporting process, synthesizing funded project reports into stories to share with the broader Kingston community.
Encourage a culture of continuous learning and reflection across KCF.
Kingston Common Futures is seeking a candidate with great energy and skills. We are committed to hiring from within the Kingston community and recognize that great applicants may not have all the skills or experience we have named. Kingston Common Futures is invested in growth and continuous learning for individuals and the wider community. We value life experience in addition to degrees and professional credits. Folks who are energized by our mission, people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and people from low-income backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Qualifications
Expertise developing and launching marketing, communications, and/or community outreach strategies and tactics, ideally within a community organizing, nonprofit, or business context.
Excellent, versatile writer who enjoys creating content for everything from press releases to posters and social media captions.
Proficiency in basic design tools to create visuals and marketing material on the fly.
A natural “pollinator” who enjoys communicating across multiple channels, from in person, to zoom, to large events, to social media.
A strategic relationship builder with excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to engage and build relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Ability and desire to motivate and organize people who are going to be intrinsic to the success of this project, including volunteers.
Demonstrated experience designing and managing projects from start to finish.
Proficiency in project management, including project planning, time management, and strategic planning.
Comfort with emergence, complexity, iteration, and change.
Enjoys creative problem-solving with a willingness to get scrappy.
An interest and passion for building systems that empower community.
Experience with and excitement for community outreach and engagement in Kingston.
Availability for some evening and weekend events and activities.
Required: Fluency in Spanish and/or other languages represented in Kingston.
Preferred: deep connection to the Kingston community and/or organizations serving the Kingston community.
Compensation
Salary $62,400 with benefits for 40 hours/week.
All full-time employees are offered full medical and partial dental benefits for themselves, their partners, and their dependents. Additionally, there is a generous PTO policy, 15 days of office closures, and a flexible work schedule that is intended to support a healthy work/life balance. Work is currently hybrid, partially remote and partially based out of the Good Work Institute.
To Apply:
Please fill out the application form and send your resume to hello@kingstoncommonfutures.org. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
About Kingston Common Futures
Kingston Common Futures is a fiscally sponsored project of the Good Work Institute and is also being incubated by GWI. Under Model A fiscal sponsorship, employees of Kingston Common Futures are technically GWI employees and are offered the same employee benefits. GWI incubation services include collaborative support from GWI staff for this role.
MISSION
Kingston Common Futures exists to redistribute power, provide support, and democratically allocate financial resources back in the hands of the people of Kingston for a more just and thriving community. We are guided by the principles of Just Transition in all our work.
CORE VALUES
We share power and nurture democratic decision-making
We actively listen to community
We operate with trust, transparency, and generosity
We are passionate about building relationships across difference
We believe conflict is an opportunity for learning and growth
Our Work Culture:
As we begin building the foundation of our initiative, we strive to co-create a culture that is inclusive, equitable, and supportive so that folks can bring their whole selves to their work. We strive to invoke a way of working that protects us from normative, pressurized and perfectionist standards of today’s world, that invites personal and collective reflection.
Our Partners
Kingston Common Futures is a fiscally sponsored project of the Good Work Institute and is also being incubated by GWI, with seed funding from NoVo in Kingston.
To learn more about how Kingston Common Futures came to be, check out: https://goodworkinstitute.org/building-community-wealth/