Director Marketing Communications

JOB SUMARY

The Director of Communications & Marketing is a strategic leader responsible for shaping and advancing Whatcom Community Foundation’s (WCF) communications, brand, and marketing efforts.

Reporting to the President & CEO, the Director develops clear, audience-centered strategies that strengthen donor engagement, fundraising, community leadership, organizational visibility and trust. The role combines big-picture direction with hands-on execution and serves as a key advisor and connector across the organization.

WCF is entering a transformative period marked by major community investments, growing donor engagement, and the continued development of the Millworks and other community leadership initiatives. As WCF’s first full-time communications AND MARKETING?? director, this position offers a distinctive opportunity to shape how philanthropy, community leadership, and collective impact are understood and experienced across Whatcom County, while building the systems and partnerships needed for a strong, sustainable communications function.

Will work with the support of various external partners who will provide graphic design, writing and content development and website design and development.

• Develop and lead an organization-wide communications and marketing strategy aligned with WCF’s mission, values, strategic priorities, fundraising goals, racial equity commitments, and community leadership work.
• Steward WCF’s brand, voice, messaging, and reputation across audiences and channels; advise the President & CEO and other leaders on high-impact communications, emerging opportunities, and communications risks.
• Translate complex community issues, data, partnerships, and investments into clear and compelling stories, messages, presentations, and materials that connect mission, evidence, and lived community experience and inspire philanthropy.
• Guide media relations and earned visibility, including relationships with local and regional media, public announcements, thought leadership opportunities, and crisis or rapid-response communications when needed.

• Lead integrated engagement strategies and campaigns for donors, fund holders, nonprofit partners, community members, civic leaders, and other priority audiences across digital, print, email, events, and emerging channels.
• Oversee WCF’s website, social media, email marketing, and public-facing content, using audience insights and analytics to strengthen reach, relevance, and marketing strategies.

• Partner across WCF philanthropy, grants and community engagement, finance, operations, and special initiatives to clarify communications goals, prioritize needs, and coordinate work around organizational priorities.
• Support WCF donor cultivation and stewardship, fundraising campaigns, grantmaking and community initiatives, board and executive communications, and other high-priority organizational work.
• Strengthen internal communications and communications capacity by equipping staff, board members, and ambassadors with clear messages, tools, coaching, and training.

• Build practical communications calendars, workflows, project-intake and prioritization practices, measurement dashboards, and reporting systems appropriate for a small, high-performing organization.
• Assess team capacity and determine which communications priorities should be handled internally, supported by external partners, deferred, or phased to ensure realistic workloads and effective execution.
• Manage communications budgets and external partners, which may include…