Chief Communications Strategist

Chief Communications Strategist

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Location: Washington, DC

Reports to: Chief of Staff

Salary: $

Organizational Overview

We are the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union of about 2 million diverse members in healthcare, the public sector, and property services. We believe in and fight for our Vision for a Just Society: where all workers are valued and all people respected, no matter where we come from or what color we are; where all families and communities can thrive;

and where we leave a better and more equitable world for generations to come. We are an anti-racist union determined to check corporate power and uproot structural racism through unions, worker power, collective action, and government, legislative, and political action. We fight for Unions for All and a Government that Works for All so that all of us, across race and place, can have power together in unions and participate fully in our democracy.

Purpose

The Chief Communications Strategist provides executive leadership for SEIU's transformation into a modern, digitally fluent, and culturally resonant communications operation that builds political power, shapes public narratives, and centers workers' voices. This role elevates communications as a core strategic lever-integrating storytelling, creative expression, digital engagement, and media strategy into organizing, political, and campaign work from inception. As a senior member of SEIU's leadership and in close partnership with the Chief of Staff and Design Committee, the Chief Communications Strategist helps shape and implement the union's strategic vision, ensuring communications advance SEIU's commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization and a 21st-century labor movement leader.

Primary Responsibilities

Any one position may not include all of the specific duties and responsibilities listed. Examples provide a general summary of the work required and should not be treated as a total and complete list of expected duties to be performed by employees in the classification.

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Transformation

• Develop and execute comprehensive communications strategies that advance SEIU's campaigns, organizational goals, and political priorities, with measurable impact on membership growth, public perception, cultural relevance, and policy outcomes.
• Serve as a core member of SEIU's leadership, contributing to high-level strategic direction and translating the vision of the Chief of Staff and Design Committee into clear, executable communications priorities.
• Lead the modernization of SEIU's communications infrastructure, including transition to video-first production, enhanced digital capacity, creative standards, and data-informed decision-making.
• Support organizational change management, ensuring communications capacity aligns with organizing, political, and campaign priorities and functions coherently across the union.
• Establish innovation frameworks that encourage creative experimentation, cultural relevance, and rapid iteration while maintaining message discipline, accountability, and strategic coherence.
• Oversee press, media relations, and external communications, ensuring consistent, values-aligned, and strategically targeted messaging across traditional and emerging platforms.

Digital Strategy & Audience Development

• Build institutional capacity for video production and creative content, including studio infrastructure, production standards, talent development, and training systems that position SEIU as a video-first organization.
• Lead comprehensive digital strategy across owned, earned, and paid channels, prioritizing audience ownership, engagement, and long-term movement-building rather than reliance on traditional media intermediaries.
• Integrate research, data analytics, and audience insights into communications planning, establishing systems for message testing, content performance tracking, and impact measurement.
• Expand narrative reach beyond core membership to include potential members, younger workers, culturally influential communities, diverse geographies, and values-aligned publics.

Narrative…