Program and Communications Officer

What We Need

The World Affairs Council is hiring a Program and Communications Officer to join our team. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys bringing people together, developing engaging public programs, and helping grow the Council's visibility and impact throughout the region. This is a unique opportunity to help build out a relatively new role for the Council, so we need someone who is excited to help shape the position.

We're looking for a highly organized, creative, and detail-oriented team member who can successfully plan, market, and execute multiple events each month and who can help tell our story, especially as we're celebrating our 75th anniversary. You'll report to the Director of Community Programs and Operations, supporting a wide range of initiatives while collaborating closely with colleagues across the organization, primarily the Development team and the President/CEO.

We value flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to suggest and embrace new ideas in programming and communications. This position offers an exciting opportunity to help shape how the Council engages existing audiences while reaching new communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.

If you're passionate about global affairs, lifelong learning, and connecting people through meaningful conversations, we'd love to hear from you.

We envision an inclusive and informed community inspired to create a just and equitable world. Our work advances global understanding and cultivates enduring relationships within our local community and with the world.

For 75 years, the Council has built a local community of globally engaged citizens. Through international exchanges, public programs, and education initiatives, we bring the world to Seattle—making global citizenship accessible to everyone.

Duties and Responsibilities:

In this role, you will create and deliver discussions on international issues for our members and the broader community while also playing an important role in strengthening the Council's communications and public presence. You will develop compelling content, promote events across multiple channels, and help ensure the Council's brand remains visible, dynamic, professional, and relevant.

• Develop topics and speaker suggestions for all Community Programs (CP) and Fellows events.
• Manage speaker invitations and liaise with speakers (and their staff when necessary) to ensure everyone has what they need for a successful experience.
• Manage outside requests for events and shape these events to best suit the goals of the Council.

• Oversee logistics related to successful CP events.
• Maintain internal and external events calendars and work with colleagues to ensure all events are appropriately staffed.
• Support senior staff by providing moderator preparation as needed as well as a detailed run‑of‑show and attendee list.
• Manage post‑event follow‑up, evaluation, and documentation to inform future programming.
• Support the Director of Community Programs and Operations in managing the Community Programs internship program.

• In partnership with senior staff, implement communications strategies that support organizational priorities.
• Help strengthen the Council's voice across programs and initiatives by maintaining a consistent organizational voice and visual identity across communications.
• Create engaging content for email campaigns, social media, the Council website, and digital event platforms that increases engagement and expands our audience.
• Monitor communications metrics—including email performance, website traffic, and social media analytics—and use data to improve outreach strategies.
• Identify opportunities to promote Council programming through community calendars, media outlets, partner organizations, and cross‑promotional campaigns.
• Represent the World Affairs Council at meetings, networking events, and community functions to strengthen partnerships and increase organizational visibility.
• Participat…