Communications Associate - Ideas America

The Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) is hiring a Communications Associate to lead the communications work associated with its new Ideas for America initiative and contribute to the success of SSN’s overall communications program. Ideas for America will help scholars develop and then elevate research-based policy proposals during the upcoming presidential election cycle, as well as in federal and state policy circles.

As Ideas for America launches, we anticipate that the Communications Associate will focus on developing custom media strategies for each proposal and work directly with the researchers involved in the project on their media efforts including op-eds and interviews in order to bring attention to their policy ideas and the project as a whole.

Communications Associates work on a variety of issue areas related to our members’ research and interests. In addition to the work around Ideas for America, the Communications Associate will cultivate requests from journalists for connections to scholars or research, proactively identify media opportunities and activate scholars around them, and help individual scholars seeking advice on how to engage with the media.

The Communications Associate is a grant-limited, full-time position with a salary hiring range between $58,000-$66,000, based on qualifications and experience. SSN’s competitive benefits include generous time off, health insurance, professional development opportunities and resources, and a 403B retirement plan with an employer match. This position falls within the SSN employee union and is covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

SSN currently operates in a remote-first, hybrid work environment, but this role may be available as a fully remote position for an exceptionally qualified candidate. For employees located in Massachusetts, SSN provides the option to work at SSN’s main offices, located at 501 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116. Employees located out of state will be expected to participate in-person for semi-annual staff gatherings.

The person in this position will be part of SSN’s Communications team and reports directly to SSN’s Director of Communication. This is a grant-funded position ending in December 2027. Although the grant is expected to end in December 2027, the hope is that additional funding will be obtained to extend employment.

SSN has a Communications team that supports and creates opportunities for a large and growing network of over 2,200 members who work in more than 330 colleges and universities across the US. SSN also supports a network of 37 chapters led by volunteer members in 33 states. Among other tasks, the Communications Associate will:

• Develop custom media strategy plans:
  The Associate will work with SSN’s policy team and the researchers involved in the Ideas for America project to develop detailed, custom media strategy plans for each of the selected projects. These plans will focus on identifying media moments of opportunity, targeted outlets and journalists, and key talking points.
• Identify media opportunities:
  The Associate will monitor national and state level news to identify timely moments to activate particular researchers or elevate specific ideas from the Ideas for America project.
• Broker relationships & support engagement:
  The Associate will build relationships with national and state-level reporters, producers, and editors to help researchers participating in the project elevate their ideas via the media and gain earned media. This will entail actively monitoring and building lists of relevant media stakeholders, conducting direct outreach to build relationships on behalf of SSN, and…