People's Action Institute

About People’s Action/Institute

People’s Action Institute (501c3), and sister organization People’s Action (501c4), are national progressive organizations supporting the mobilization and leadership of the grassroots in support of an agenda that reflects people over profits. People’s Action/Institute builds the power of poor and working people in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections. 

 

With offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, Ill., and remote staff across the country, we support and advance state-based and national fights for progressive policies on the environment, decarceration, health care, economic security, housing, education, and more. Our member organizations, nearly 40 organizations across 30 states, improve lives by running local- and state-level issue and electoral campaigns, leading statewide tables, and collectively coming together to change national policy and politics.

 

People’s Action/ Institute has a track record of leadership in coordinating field mobilization and advocacy in advancing an array of issues at the local, state, and federal levels. Our member organizations have won important victories at the national, state, and local levels, including health insurance for millions and the reversal of health care laws that discriminate based on citizenship, stopping Wall Street banks from selling predatory payday loans to their customers, and historic legislation like the Community Reinvestment Act to victory and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

 

For more information on PAI, please visit https://peoplesaction.org/.

The Opportunity

Our communications associate is responsible for providing communications support to our communications and digital team. The successful candidate will build relationships with members of the media, pitch media, and manage media opportunities. This position will also assist in building our grassroots story bank and with executing our digital communications plan. 

Overview of the Position

The communications associate will report directly to the communications director. The associate will play a critical role in supporting the communications goals of People’s Action Institute, People’s Action, and People’s Action Power through media outreach and monitoring, story banking, and digital communications. 

As a Communications Associate, your typical day will include (but isn’t limited to): 

Research and Writing: 

• Write and edit drafts for products to be distributed to reporters and the media, including press releases, advisories, letters to the editor, and other products.
• Source storytellers from our network and build out our story bank
• Assist in digital communications, including drafting email updates for our subscribers.
• Perform basic research to support the creation of talking points and other materials.

Pitching, Reporting & Analysis Support

• Perform basic media and narrative analyses to inform campaign strategies and press plans.
• Support the team by pitching in with a range of administrative duties, including tracking media hits and mentions, compiling clips, maintaining press lists, coordinating and planning our network communications cohort, training storytellers, and creating reports to help analyze the department’s work.
• Pitch interviews, stories, and events for People’s Action, People’s Action Institute, and People’s Action Power.

Relationship Building & Team Support

• Assist in building relationships and making follow-up calls with members of the press, especially regional and local press in our priority regions of work. 
• Assist in organizing press conferences and other public events. 
• Collaborate with colleagues in other departments in an efficient and professional manner.
• Other Duties as Assigned

The ideal Communications Associate should have the following experience and qualifications: 

• Strong commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside the organization.
• Ability to work with diverse people and organizations
• At least 1 year of experience working in community, labor, or electoral organizations working with poor and working-class people in a communications role;
• The courage to pick up the phone or schedule a Zoom meeting with new contacts to make a new pitch and the resilience to keep making pitches in the face of resistance; 
• Ability to write quickly and clearly for an audience of journalists, editors, and other media professionals;
• Ability to gather and synthesize information from a wide variety of people and sources;
• Ability to de-wonkify policy and communicate complex issues in an accessible way to the everyday person;
• Curiosity about the work of our local member organizations and their issue fights and challenges;
• Ability to thrive in environments with multiple stakeholders, frequent change, and diverse objectives;
• Experience working with tools like Meltwater for managing media contacts is preferred. 

Compensation and Benefits:

Status: Full-Time, Regular, Exempt, benefits-eligible

Union Position (Yes/No): Yes

Number of Positions: Two

Salary Range: Level A - $58,000 - $74,000, commensurate with experience

Location: Can be based in our Chicago, Ill. or Washington, D.C. office but remote locations may be considered anywhere within the United States except Hawaii and Alaska.   

Reports to: Communications and Digital Director

Supervises: None

Travel Requirements (Yes/No): Yes, up to six times a year

Benefits include: Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Medical, on the first day of employment, and Dependent Care Flex Spending Account after 90 days, 401(k) plan after 30 days, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, 11 paid holidays plus the last two weeks of the year that include Christmas Eve/Christmas Day as well as, New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, and you accrue two weeks of vacation your first year of employment. 

Commitment to Disability, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

People’s Action/Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer; womxn, people of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Vaccination Transparency

Due to travel requirements and in-person interactions during employment, candidates will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated (Two Doses of either Moderna or Pfizer Vaccines or One Dose of J&J as well as all appropriate booster doses)  against COVID-19 before commencing employment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemptions to this requirement in accordance with applicable law.

Close date: 8/26/22

No phone calls, please.