Communications Director

Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Bemidji MN

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) is one of the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) established by the McKnight Foundation in 1986 to assist Minnesota’s rural regions during the farm crisis in the 1980s. As the region’s MIF and the only community foundation in the region, NMF has been serving the vast nonprofit community in northwest Minnesota for more than 30 years.

NMF provides grants and loans to organizations and small businesses and scholarships to individuals within the 12-county region and the two tribal nations. Since its founding, NMF has invested millions to help make the region a better place to live and work.

The Communications Director position is accountable for leading the Foundation's communications strategy, focusing on developing and implementing an integrated, organization-wide strategic communications plan to broaden awareness of the philanthropy sector and strengthen the brand identity. This includes creating a brand/marketing/public relations strategy that enables NMF's Board of Directors, leadership team, and staff to cultivate meaningful relations with external audiences. The Communications Director will ensure communications strategies are inclusive and equitably accessible.

• You will lead the Foundation’s communications strategy including but not limited to developing and implementing an integrated, organization-wide strategic communications plan to broaden awareness of the philanthropy sector and strengthen the Foundation’s brand identity across key stakeholder audiences.
• You will create a brand/marketing/public relations strategy that will allow NMF’s Board of Directors, leadership team, and all staff to cultivate and enhance meaningful relations with targeted external audiences.
• You will work with the board and staff to recognize internal and external communications opportunities and solutions and define and execute appropriate strategies to support them. You will work with the board and staff to ensure that communications strategies are inclusive of all audiences and equitably accessible.
• You will manage the communications operations and oversee the continued development, adherence to, and use of the NMF brand. Some duties will include but not be limited to: oversee and execute all copy intended for public consumption to ensure its alignment with the strategic communications plan; oversee or execute the development of all print and branded materials; oversee or execute the development of electronic communications including NMF website;
  
  curate content and increase audience engagement on NMF’s social media channels; advise on any new communication platforms that will enhance our branding and messaging; exercise judgement to prioritize media opportunities, prepare talking points, speeches, presentations, and other supporting material as needed; serve as a lead point person on media interactions that help promote and/or impact the organization and actively cultivate and manage press relationships to ensure coverage of issues of strategic importance to the sector, as well as NMF’s programs, special events, public announcements, and other projects;
  
  manage relationships with any communications-related vendors or consultants; oversee the communications budget.
• You will support team development and manage a communications support team, relying on shared staff, and intern talent, to support the development and execution of the communications strategy. You will develop a culture where staff are NMF brand advocates.
• You will work closely with the Philanthropy team to support fundraising and development needs including consulting on case statements and use of events and curating stories to share the power of philanthropy in Northwest Minnesota.
• You will work closely with the Programs team to support the sharing of programs’ work through white papers, conference presentations, video testimonials, press releases, eBlasts, website announcements, and/or curating stories to share the impact of NMF programs.
• You will work with NMF leadership to establish an ongoing evaluation of NMF’s…