Director of Strategic Communications and Outreach

Position Focus :

The Tobin Center for Economic Policy at Yale University works to strengthen families, communities, and the nation. We enable research on key challenges facing society and bring the resulting insights to the policy arena for impact.

We do this by building purpose-driven partnerships across government, engaging with the media, and training a more diverse and inclusive generation of social scientists and policy leaders.

Our work has been credited with making significant contributions to United States law and policy across health, climate, education, and economic opportunity.

The Tobin Center is seeking a Director of Strategic Communications and Outreach to amplify our impact. This individual will build the Tobin Center’s brand, establish an institutional tone and standard for public engagement, help attract new partners as philanthropic supporters, and demonstrate how Tobin’s commitment to rigorous research can move the needle for society.

We are looking for candidates with experience turning research insights into compelling content that motivates real-world action.

The most competitive candidates will have experience creating, leading, and overseeing inspiring communications content, and a track-record of deploying innovative strategies for engaging key audiences.

The Director must also understand economic and social policy issues and possess the unique ability to communicate complex research for non-academic audiences.

Principal Responsibilities :

Build and lead an integrated communications program, combining online engagement, media relations, digital engagement, events, and outreach with government, nonprofit, business, private philanthropy, and other stakeholders to maximize the influence and impact of Tobin and our faculty’s work.

Create and implement a communications and engagement strategy to share our work with key audiences that includes concrete goals and clear metrics for evaluating progress.

Design new and pivotal ways - beyond traditional approaches - to make our work understandable and relevant, including generating core messages and language, developing timely content and analysis, and creating opportunities for engagement.

Build and maintain networks and relationships with faculty, media, government, private philanthropy, and partner organizations to inform our communications and outreach strategies and create opportunities.

Lead the coordination and execution of events and convenings, including managing team members who are supporting the event, on-site preparations, related communications plans, and general coordination of logistics.

Develop content style guidelines for communications activities.

Provide coaching and training on media engagement, public speaking, and presentations to staff and faculty.

Essential Duties

1. Serve as senior leader of university and / or professional school communications. 2. Manage key relationships with clients with high degree of professionalism, judgment, and understanding of University initiatives, goals and mission.

3. Oversee long-range and short-range planning for coordinated communications channels. 4. Serve as key strategist to improve broad staff and faculty communications initiatives and campaigns;

design, mange, and implement communication or marketing plans for key initiatives. 5. Develop and implement communication strategic plan promoting Yale’s strength to a variety of audiences throughout the globe, using both traditional and digital media.

6. Direct communications planning for the all internal and / or external announcements, statements and messages on various institutional issues and initiatives and oversee their dissemination to the media and other parities.

7. Direct communication strategies based on user and audience preference; analyze and understand various communication preferences of client group.

8. Establish standards and protocols for best practices in communications. 9. Act as executive producer of content including articles, video and photo galleries.

10. Arrange interviews on various issues and provide briefing and background materials, message points, content and training.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism or related field and eight years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required Skill / Ability 1 :

A skilled and professional communications leader with a track record of engaging a range of audiences, the proven ability to think independently and offer constructive upward feedback, and demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships with senior staff at relevant media outlets.

Required Skill / Ability 2 :

Rigor and fluency in communicating evidence-based social science research with demonstrated expertise writing about complex economic policy issues for non-academic audiences.

Required Skill / Ability 3 :

An entrepreneur and team leader who can thrive in a dynamic, collaborative, and lean start-up work environment, and who will take the initiative to identify and advance opportunities, providing just-in-time support when opportune moments arise.

Required Skill / Ability 4 :

A thoughtful relationship builder and engaging communicator who has successfully built and maintained networks with partners from government, nonprofits, philanthropy, business, and higher education institutions;

and who will engage thoughtfully with issues related to race, class, identity, equity, ethics, and the multi-faceted complexity of relevant policy environments.

Required Skill / Ability 5 :

A flexible, resourceful, strategic, and well-organized project manager who can coordinate multi-faceted and complex projects, including the proven ability to anticipate issues, develop proactive solutions, and engage the right stakeholders to support and champion success.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills :

10+ years of relevant experience; a deep understanding of economics and social policy; demonstrated experience communicating quantitative research is strongly desired.

Drug Screen

Health Screening

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements.

All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

The University maintains policies pertaining to COVID-19. All faculty, staff, students, and trainees are required to comply with these policies, which may be found here :

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position.

Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

EEO Statement :

University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans.

Additionally, in accordance with Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.