Description
Position Overview
Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Strategic Communications & Marketing serves as a core member of the Foundation’s leadership team and as its chief narrator and senior communications strategist. The VP leads an integrated communications, marketing, and public affairs strategy that advances the Foundation’s mission, strengthens its national voice, and builds trust among educators, policymakers, funders, partners, and the public at a moment when public education sits squarely at the center of national debate.
This leader is responsible for shaping how the Foundation is understood and valued in the public sphere. The VP sets and safeguards the Foundation’s narrative architecture, ensuring its mission, values, and impact are communicated with clarity, credibility, urgency, and moral coherence across all platforms and audiences. The VP is a skilled storyteller and a driver of the Foundation’s engagement ecosystem. By integrating high-level strategic communications with sophisticated digital marketing and audience-development strategies, the VP expands the Foundation’s influence, visibility, and reach while protecting its reputation and public standing.
In close partnership with the CEO, the VP also supports the Foundation’s executive communications, thought leadership, and external presence, while building the internal systems, team capacity, and digital infrastructure required to scale engagement and impact. The VP supervises communications and marketing staff and relationships with external partners, manages the communications budget, and collaborates closely with program, development, and policy leadership to ensure communications strategies advance fundraising, field-building, and strategic priorities.
The VP represents the Foundation externally as appropriate, cultivating strong media relationships and strategic partnerships, and plays a central role in navigating reputational risk in a complex and evolving public environment. This role demands intellectual rigor, political and cultural fluency, creative instinct, and operational discipline. The ideal candidate can move seamlessly from executive ghostwriting and board-level messaging to data-informed growth strategies—while maintaining an unwavering commitment to the Foundation’s mission and activity.
Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid)
Salary & Benefits
The NEA Foundation offers a rich tapestry of benefits that include medical, dental, life, and vision insurance, retirement savings, and paid time off. The salary range for this position is $165,000-$175,000. Should a candidate with a combination of education and experience over and above what is required emerge, The Foundation may consider hiring at the Senior Vice President level with a higher level of compensation.
How to Apply
Please submit resume, cover letter, references and salary requirements to neafhr@nea.org.
Equal Opportunity Hiring Statement
The NEA Foundation is committed to equity and diversity in all it does, and to that end, not only abides by all requisite Washington, DC laws, but champions the recruitment, hiring, and retainment of diverse candidates in every way.
About The NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is a national nonprofit and philanthropic organization that achieves its mission by investing in educators’ leadership, shared learning and collaboration; supporting partnerships that advance the best in teaching and learning; and sharing improvements in education policy and practice resulting from educators’ and organizational partners’ thought leadership. The Foundation’s aims are furthered through grants programs, strategic initiatives, fellowship and awards programs, and numerous collaborative efforts.
The Foundation believes that the most innovative and effective policies and strategies emanate from educators engaged in authentic partnership with policymakers, students, parents, and others committed to educational justice, equity, excellence, and opportunity. They envision schools as places that foster both educators’ and students’ love of learning, enabling both to excel. They also envision education as every child’s civil right.
The NEA Foundation recognizes that the realization of this vision will require rigorous teaching and learning at every educational level; equitable and just educational resources and practices; an appreciation of students’ and educators’ full identity, physical, social, and emotional well-being; the eradication of racism, prejudice, and negative biases or mindsets; and both the public and policymakers’ openness to innovation and change.
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Communications & Narrative Leadership
Narrative Stewardship: Develop, refine, and institutionalize the Foundation’s core narrative framework, ensuring consistency, integrity, and resonance across programs, platforms, and moments of public engagement.
Strategic Positioning: Translate complex programmatic, policy, and philanthropic work into compelling, values-driven stories that elevate the Foundation’s role as a trusted national voice for public education.
Executive Partnership: Serve as a close strategic advisor to the CEO, shaping her written and spoken voice, keynote remarks, op-eds, and external presentations with precision and strategic intent.
Internal Communications: Design and oversee systems that ensure the Board and staff are well-informed, aligned, and equipped to act as confident ambassadors for the Foundation’s work and vision.
Lead creation of key thought-leadership assets (annual impact report, research briefs/white papers, educator insight reports) that build credibility with educators, donors, and partners.
Integrated Marketing & Audience Growth
Audience Strategy: Lead a comprehensive growth strategy that expands and deepens engagement with educators, donors, partners, and influencers, moving audiences from awareness to sustained relationship.
Conduct audience insights and research (educator sentiment, donor/funder perceptions, segmentation, and message testing) and use what you learn to shape narrative, campaigns, and content.
Partner closely with Development to drive donor marketing, including acquisition and retention campaigns, stewardship communications, and monitoring donor/funder trends.
Content Strategy & Excellence: Oversee the creation of high-quality, mission-aligned content across formats (print, digital, video, social) that is both intellectually substantive and emotionally resonant.
Digital Ecosystem Leadership: Own the Foundation’s digital presence, including website strategy, UX design, and platform integration, ensuring accessibility, discoverability, and alignment with strategic goals.
Oversee digital marketing to grow reach and results, including SEO, email strategy, conversion optimization, and paid media/paid social (as applicable), with clear performance goals.
Campaign Integration: Align marketing campaigns with development, programs, and policy priorities to support fundraising, partnerships, and field-building efforts.
Own brand strategy and standards, including messaging, visual identity, and brand voice; set and track brand awareness and brand health measures over time.
Media Relations, Public Affairs & Reputation Management
Media Strategy: Serve as the Foundation’s principal media strategist and, as appropriate, spokesperson, cultivating strong relationships with national and regional education reporters, editors, and digital media leaders.
Earned Media Leadership: Proactively shape and execute an earned-media agenda that includes op-eds, feature stories, podcasts, and speaking opportunities that elevate the Foundation’s impact and thought leadership.
Public Narrative Defense: Anticipate and respond to reputational and political risks with clarity, speed, and sound judgment, protecting the Foundation’s credibility and public trust in a contested environment.
Crisis Communications: Lead crisis-response planning and execution, ensuring consistent messaging, disciplined decision-making, and alignment with organizational values.
Team Leadership, Operations & Impact Measurement
Team & Vendor Leadership: Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing communications and marketing team, while overseeing relationships with external partners (PR firms, creatives, web developers).
Operational Management: Develop and manage the communications and marketing budget, ensuring strategic allocation of resources and measurable impact.
Analytics & Learning: Establish clear metrics for success, using data and social-listening tools to assess reach, engagement, narrative penetration, and return on investment—and to inform continuous improvement Including metrics prioritized in the Foundation impact assessment framework.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner closely with other Foundation teams to ensure communications strategies advance organizational priorities and reinforce collective impact.
Qualifications
Experience: Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in strategic communications, public relations, marketing, or related fields; experience in philanthropy, education, or nonprofit organizations strongly preferred.
Strategic Writing Excellence: Exceptional writing and editorial skills, with demonstrated ability to translate complex ideas, data, and policy contexts into clear, compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
Digital & Marketing Fluency: Deep understanding of digital strategy, website management, social platforms,-adjacent tools and analytics; and an ability to connect storytelling with audience growth and engagement.
Judgment & Presence: Proven ability to operate at the executive and board level with discretion, political savvy, and sound judgment in high-visibility or high-stakes situations.
Mission Alignment: Deep commitment to public education, democratic values, and equity; energized by purpose-driven work in a fast-paced, intellectually demanding environment.
Education: Master’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public affairs, or a related field strongly preferred.
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to understand key audiences, identify what drives action, and translate insights into clear messaging, smart plans, and measurable results.
Proven brand leadership, including the discipline to maintain a consistent voice and standards across channels while keeping the brand current and credible.
Demonstrated ability to partner with fundraising/development teams to support donor engagement, stewardship, and growth through effective communications and marketing.
Experience developing high-credibility content (e.g., impact reports, briefs, thought leadership) that builds trust with educators, donors, and partners.
