Senior Manager, Nonprofit Communications

Position:Senior Manager, Nonprofit Communications

Location: Austin, TX

Job :1398

# of Openings:1

Senior Manager, Nonprofit Communications

APA! BACKGROUND:
Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization is a leader in the national No Kill movement and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a No Kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals.

The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional, community-based animal rescue work.

The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both.

The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services, with a goal of providing personalized, proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.

Reporting to the Director of Marketing Communications, the Senior Manager, Nonprofit Communications is a core member of the APA! Advancement team. This role balances strategic planning with hands-on content creation across national, regional, and local levels. The Senior Manager is responsible for developing internal and external communications that align with APA!’s cohesive brand voice, managing the organizational media calendar, and overseeing a multi-channel distribution strategy that includes internal communications, website copy, and donor-facing narratives.

They will frame organizational impact through storytelling, lead reputation management efforts, and coordinate media relations to expand APA!'s reach and mission.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.

( The Employer reserves the right to revise the position title at its discretion to meet organizational and business needs. Such changes, including the use of Officer in lieu of Manager, do not alter the essential functions, duties, or terms and conditions of employment unless otherwise communicated. )

• Lead proactive media pitching, assist with crisis communications, and manage brand reputation across all platforms.
• Create organizational communications, ensuring a consistent content cadence across internal and external channels to prioritize deadlines and messaging.
• Work closely with members of the Advancement, Programs, and Operations teams to gather stories and translate complex program information into compelling narratives.
• Maintain content guidelines and brand voice; oversee the creation of assets including donor communications upon request, website copy, internal newsletters, and impact reports.
• Oversee distribution across owned channels (website, internal communications, etc) in addition to earned media to increase reach and engagement.
• Manage a small team of paid staff, interns, and volunteers to meet departmental and mission-driven KPIs.
• Foster and model a volunteer-powered culture across the team by ensuring that every staff member is partnered with volunteers on every shift, with the goal of empowering volunteers to lead and grow within the program.
• Serve as a facilitator and coach to staff and volunteers, ensuring the work is shared, not…