Director of Communications & Events Marketing

Posted on December 22, 2022

Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) is a public foundation working to advance gender equity, which we believe to be inherently interconnected with racial, economic, and health equity. CFW envisions a world in which all women and girls, transgender, and gender nonbinary people have the opportunity to thrive in safe, just, and healthy communities. We celebrate the spectrum of identities and experiences of women and girls, uplift their leadership and center the voices of the community to achieve true equity.

To support our philanthropy, the Foundation promotes increased investment in women and girls, raises awareness about their issues and potential, and develops them as leaders and philanthropists. Since 1985, the Foundation has awarded over $42 million to hundreds of organizations that help achieve its mission of gender equity across the Chicago region.

CFW looks at the broad spectrum of needs of all women. We support the areas of freedom from violence, economic security, and access to health, which we see as integrally related and are paths forward toward an equitable society.

Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) is committed to becoming an anti-racist institution. The Foundation is in the midst of change, from an institution that tolerates racial and identity differences to one that excites these differences as powerful tools for systemic, anti-racist change. CFW is committed to engaging in continual analysis and essential restructuring to ensure the Foundation’s way of being is one that wields a shared power and holds itself accountable to racially oppressed groups to achieve its gender equity goal.

The Director of Communications & Events Marketing will oversee all communications involving the organization including development and implementation of communication strategy and a broad and diverse range of marketing communications. This individual will work closely with the President/CEO, colleagues across the organization, external communications support team, the Communications Committee of CFW’s Board of Directors, and frequently serve as a spokesperson for the Foundation to the media, community members, donors and organizational allies.

How the Director of Communications & Events Marketing Position Breaks Down:

Public Relations (30%)

• Amplify the Foundation’s reputation in the Chicago region and nationally, increasing awareness of the Foundation’s mission to key audiences including the media, influential community members and policymakers, current and potential donors, organizational partners, and corporations.
• Design and execute annual public relations plan that includes a proactive media outreach calendar.
• Serve as primary staff liaison for CFW public relations consultants, project manage consultant workloads and ensure they are meeting key targets.
• Grow relationships with news media that result in proactive news coverage as well as media sponsor ships of the organization and/or specific events.
• Promote President/CEO as key voice on women’s issues; book interviews and speaking engagements with media, professional conferences, and community groups, and write speeches and talking points as needed.
• Partner with key CFW ambassadors including board, staff, donors, and grantees to develop a CFW speakers’ bureau to extend CFW’s reach into new communities and audiences.
• Serve as CFW representative and spokesperson in advocacy and policy networks and coalitions; grow personal expertise pertaining to the Illinois policy landscape to ensure key CFW staff members and stakeholders remain knowledgeable on current issues influencing women and girls.

Marketing (30%)

• Develop, design, and edit Foundation marketing…