Summary

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA) is actively seeking a passionate Communications Director to lead our Food 360 platform.

The Communications Director will  be the voice for USFRA’s vision and mission. Directing communications activities across USFRA’s projects and grants by working closely with the USFSA leadership, team and constituents. The Communications Director oversees internal and external communications programs, manages the communications team and supporting the Board of Directors’ communications needs. The Director oversees partner and supporter communications and committee engagement on an ongoing basis. Manages the timely completion of projects to further build the reputation of USFRA and the agriculture and food industries.

The Communications Director should have a general passion for sustainability and the contributions the food and ag sector can make towards a net zero economy. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and the ability to multi-task several projects at once.  In addition, be a lifelong learner, flexible and adaptable self-starter is essential.

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA), is a nonprofit, that works with farmer and rancher-led organizations, and food and agricultural partners, with a common vision to further our global sustainable food systems. We believe farmers uniquely contribute to nourishing our planet, people, and natural resources. Our focus is creating a proactive collaboration between the best minds in food, agriculture, science, and technology to co-create solutions that will result in environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Learn more at www.usfarmersandranchers.org


Duties and Responsibilities

  • Overall strategic voice of the USFRA; providing strategic and long-term focus for design and support of programs and initiatives
  • Reputation management for the USFRA and Ag Sector
  • Provide thought leadership and perspectives on sustainability and climate issues, developments, and opportunities
  • Supporting and coordinating support for USFRA CEO messaging
  • Communicate strategically to simplify complex ideas through the lens of stakeholders
  • Collaborate to deliver defined measurable outcomes in Sustainability programs and support other programs and initiatives
  • Engage colleagues in authentic relationships to advance the mission and vision of USFRA
  • Provide leadership in an environment of change and high-level focus
  • Work closely with Sustainability Director, CEO and leadership on delivering USFRA mission
  • Manages communications team and partners
  • Tracks project performance, specifically to report to staff, committee members and board of directors as needed
  • Ongoing project and KPI reporting as well as the ability to create final reports

 

Capabilities

  • Innate passion and in-depth understanding of sustainability and climate issues and movement
  • Exceptional verbal and written communications skills with senior leaders, stakeholders and partner organizations
  • Design and facilitation of external meetings and forums
  • One on one engagement skills
  • Ability to leverage internal and external resources
  • Strong project management capabilities including planning and implementing all aspects of a broad-spectrum project (scope, resources (financial and human), and time management, with choice point management and goal orientation
  • Self-Starter with an entrepreneurial spirit who has the ability to navigate ambiguity to achieve results
  • Extremely organized with strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
  • Self-starter with a bias for actions and results
  • Proven results in meeting deadlines consistently
  • Flexible and able to work in a start-up environment
  • Consummate collaborator and adept at working across multiple teams both internally and externally
  • Ability to take direction and channel it into progressive work
  • Ability to excel in internal and external environments
  • Comfortable in a fast-paced environment and able to manage multiple projects

 

Experience


  • Bachelor's Degree (journalism, sustainability, marketing, etc.)
  • 10+ years of experience in communications with increasing levels of responsibility for communications, public affairs, constituent relations and media relations.
  • 5+ years leading engagement or outreach programs
  • Experience in the filed of agriculture, food and/or sustainability is strongly desired
  • Proven program and team leadership
  • Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills
  • Strong organizational skills, including attention to detail and multitasking skills
  • Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite and Adobe Professional
  • Comfortable with email building and communications websites such as Constant Contact and Salesforce Marketing cloud
  • Working knowledge of Zoom, SharePoint, Box, CRMs, Salesforce and Monday.com is a plus

 

Disclaimer

Phone calls will not be accepted. Contact from recruitment agencies will also not be accepted.

Travel

This position will require 30-40% domestic travel throughout the year. Currently travel is on hold due to COVID.


ADA Specifications

This is a largely sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.


 

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