Strategic Communication Associate

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 "Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For" by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

SUMMARY

PHI is seeking a Strategic Communication Associate for one of its programs, Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG). The ideal candidate will be an avid and critical reader of the news who enjoys exploring how a range of issues get reported. This role requires someone who is equal parts analytical and creative, with an ability to take research findings from BMSG's media analyses and convey them in clear, compelling, and accessible ways. The Strategic Communication Associate will thrive on routine but will be innovative, adaptable, and able to pivot as needs change amid our ever-shifting media, technology, and policy environments.

This is a regular full-time position that is expected to work 100% FTE with a standard schedule of 40 hours/week. While this is a remote position that can be based anywhere in the United States, the incumbent must be able to travel semi-annually for in-person co-working and staff retreats, primarily in California and in the Midwest region. The incumbent can be fully remote from anywhere within the United States.

The typical hiring range for this position is from $64,542 to $78,482, based on 100% FTE. Full salary range for this position is $64,452 to $92,421 per year. The starting salary is determined using a variety of factors, such as the candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as internal equity consideration and budget availability.

Under the supervision of the Strategic Communication Director, the Strategic Communication Associate will assist with a range of duties from content creation to website maintenance to outreach. One core responsibility will be to curate and disseminate concise news digests that BMSG shares with funders, clients, and advocates around the country to keep them updated on topics related to health equity and racial justice; the prevention of sexual, domestic, and community-level violence; climate change and environmental racism; reproductive justice; the overdose epidemic; and more. (To see examples of the news digests, sign up here.)

The Strategic Communication Associate will also create a variety of other content, including new blogs, videos, case studies, or other resources that showcase best practices and lessons learned from real-world strategic communication campaigns. Additionally, the Associate will help define BMSG's digital strategy, routinely posting to our social platforms; uplifting BMSG's publications and services; and engaging our partners, including community-based organizations and government agencies, such as local health departments.

Employment Type: Full Time

ABOUT BERKELEY MEDIA STUDIES GROUP

Having access to accurate, reliable information is increasingly recognized as a social determinant of health (SDoH), which influences not only how the public perceives health information, but also how decision-makers craft policies, how people vote, and ultimately, our health outcomes. This is the water BMSG swims in. Positioned at the intersection of media and public health, BMSG is a small, nimble group committed to improving community health and advancing racial and health equity by improving the quality of our information environments, especially mass media. We do this by 1) studying how public health and social justice issues are portrayed in the news and identifying problematic patterns; 2) building the capacity of public health practitioners, advocates, and organizers to become more skilled communicators adept at changing narratives that undermine health; and 3) sharing insights from our media research with journalists who want to deepen their reporting on the often overlooked social and structural factors that influence health.

We take our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion seriously, both in our work with clients and in the culture we've created internally. We strive to foster a working environment that prioritizes well-being for every team member: Our philosophy is that we are humans first, employees second. We encourage people to bring their whole selves - all backgrounds and neurotypes welcome - into our workspace. We also support professional development and growth opportunities for staff and host regular brainstorming sessions to encourage outside-the-box thinking. If a norm or process isn't working, we challenge and address it. BMSG's average employee tenure is eight and a half years.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide support and shape strategy for BMSG's communication team:

• Contribute to BMSG's daily monitoring by scanning news coverage of public health issues in traditional and digital formats (e.g., newspapers, blogs, and video), and compiling the news coverage in concise digests (30%).
• Support BMSG's dissemination and online engagement efforts, including by creating visually rich content for the organization's multi-platform social media presence (20%).
• Using a health equity lens, provide additional writing and editing support by contributing to blogs, news releases, reports, social media posts, web copy, and other content, such as grant proposals, as needed (15%).
• Help maintain BMSG's website by uploading and formatting pages and posts, updating existing content, and ensuring content is accessible and categorized correctly in WordPress (10%).
• Help maintain the communication team's infrastructure and administrative tools (e.g., content calendar, event calendar, press list, etc.) to aid in efficient function (10%).
• Provide additional web and graphic design creative support as needed (5%).
• Attend twice weekly meetings with the Director of Strategic Communication (5%).
• Complete other tasks as assigned (5%).

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required:

Minimum Qualifications

• At least three years of relevant communication experience, including experience with:
  • social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, etc.;
  • email marketing tools (e.g. Constant Contact)
  • social media management tools (e.g. Hootsuite)
  • photo editing and design software (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, etc.)
  • website management platforms (e.g. Wordpress)
• Bachelor's degree in media studies, journalism, communication, marketing, or a related field is required, or you can substitute with four additional years of related experience.

Other Required Qualifications

• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills - ability to write clearly and succinctly for a variety of audiences, often under deadline pressure.
• Strong interest in and understanding of public health.
• A commitment to racial and health equity and social justice.
• Experience collaborating with and interviewing people from diverse groups, such as community organizers, policy advocates, and government agencies, and the ability to understand and tailor approaches and communication to their contexts.
• Strong attention to detail, ability to take initiative, and good organizational skills.
• Ability to work well alone or in a group, and to stay focused while handling multiple assignments and priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a nonprofit, educational, or mission-driven organization.
• Experience analyzing digital engagement data for websites and social media.
• Video editing ability.
• Multimedia storytelling ability.
• Working knowledge of basic HTML.
• Fluency in Spanish or another language besides English.
• Master's degree or dual majors that span public health and communication (or media studies, journalism, marketing, etc.)

OTHER INFORMATION

Berkeley Media Studies Group's fiscal sponsor, Public Health Institute (PHI), is an equal-opportunity employer and an inclusive organization. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

All employees are required to adhere to PHI's Covid-19 protocols. Employees whose essential job duties require them to work in person are encouraged to take a proactive and highly protective approach to safeguarding their health. This approach can occur irrespective of what a host entity may require and includes such strategies as voluntarily wearing a mask or taking other reasonable precautions in their workspace.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) STATUS

This position is classified as exempt based on the job duties. However, based on the FTE, salary level of the employee, or federal/state/local laws, the employee may be classified as nonexempt.

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

To apply for any position, you must create an account on the Public Health Institute's job application site. After creating your account, you may search the open positions and apply for the specific position that interests you. Please note, mailed and emailed applications will not be accepted.

We're so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at Recruitment@phi.org.

Additional information about PHI's benefits and compensation offerings can be found here.

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at Recruitment@phi.org.