About People’s Action/Institute
People’s Action Institute (501c3) and its sister organization People’s Action (501c4) are national progressive organizations supporting the mobilization and leadership of the grassroots in support of a long term agenda that reflects people over profits. People’s Action/Institute is a national organization focused on building the power of poor and working people in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change.
With offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, and remote staff across the country, we support and advance state-based and national fights for progressive policies on the environment, health care, economic security, housing, education, and more. Our member organizations, nearly 40 organizations across 29 states, improve lives by running local- and state-level issues and electoral campaigns, leading statewide tables, and collectively coming together to change national policy and politics.
People’s Action/ Institute has a track record of leadership in coordinating field mobilization and advocacy in advancing an array of issues at the local, state, and federal levels. Our member organizations have won important victories at the national, state, and local levels, including health insurance for millions and the reversal of health care laws that discriminate based on citizenship, stopping Wall Street banks from selling predatory payday loans to their customers, and historic legislation like the Community Reinvestment Act to victory and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
For more information on PAI, please visit https://peoplesactioninstitute.org/.
The Opportunity
Are you a relationship builder who enjoys supporting communication and digital teams by building relationships with members of the media, pitching, and managing media opportunities? Do you want to help tell our stories and stop authoritarianism in its tracks? If so, this might be the opportunity for you.
Overview of the Position
People’s Action Institute is looking for an associate who will play a critical role in supporting the communications goals of People’s Action Institute, People’s Action, and People’s Action Power through media outreach and monitoring, story banking, and digital communications
As a Communications Associate, your responsibilities can include (but aren’t limited to):
Research & Writing
Write and edit drafts for products to be distributed to reporters and the media, including press releases, advisories, letters to the editor, and other products.
Source storytellers from our network and build out our story bank
Perform basic research to support the creation of talking points and other materials; Build awareness about relevant news events to help identify opportunities.
Pitching, Reporting & Analysis Support
Perform basic media and narrative analyses to inform campaign strategies and press plans.
Support the team by pitching in with a range of administrative duties, including tracking media hits and mentions, compiling clips, maintaining press lists, coordinating and planning our network communications cohort, training storytellers, and creating reports to help analyze the department’s work.
Pitch interviews, stories, and events for People’s Action, People’s Action Institute, and People’s Action Power.
Relationship Building & Team Support
Assist in building relationships and making follow-up calls with members of the press, especially regional and local press in our priority regions of work.
Assist in organizing press conferences and other public events.
Collaborate with colleagues in other departments in an efficient and professional manner; supporting department colleagues and representing team well in external settings.
Working with tools like Meltwater for managing media contacts is preferred.
Manage online inbox and forward messages to appropriate staff
Other Duties as Assigned
The ideal Communications Associate should have the following experience and qualifications:
Strong commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside the organization.
Ability to work with diverse people and organizations
At least 1 year of experience working in community, labor, or electoral organizations working with poor and working-class people in a communications role;
The courage to pick up the phone or schedule a Zoom meeting with new contacts to make a new pitch and the resilience to keep making pitches in the face of resistance;
Ability to write quickly and clearly for an audience of journalists, editors, and other media professionals;
Ability to gather and synthesize information from a wide variety of people and sources;
Ability to de-wonkify policy and communicate complex issues in an accessible way to the everyday person;
Curiosity about the work of our local member organizations and their issue fights and challenges;
Ability to thrive in environments with multiple stakeholders, frequent change, and diverse objectives;
Experience working with tools like Meltwater for managing media contacts is preferred.
Compensation and Benefits:
Status: Full-time, Regular, Exempt, benefits-eligible
Union Position (Yes/No): Yes
Salary Range: Level A - $61,324 - $75,487, salary commensurate with experience
**Location: **Can be based in our Chicago, IL or Washington, D.C. office. Remote locations may be considered anywhere within the continental United States.
**Reports to: **Media Strategy Director
Travel Requirements (Yes/No): Yes, up to six times a year
**Benefits include: **Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Medical, on the first day of employment, and Dependent Care Flex Spending Account after 90 days, 401(k) plan after 30 days, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, 4 floating holidays (Presidents Day, May Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Veterans Day, a week off during the summer, 9 paid holidays plus the last two weeks of the year that include Christmas Eve/Christmas Day as well as, New Year’s Eve, and you accrue two weeks of vacation your first year of employment.
Our Commitment to Equitable Compensation:
We believe in fair compensation for your work - no matter where you live. Our salary scale is comparable to salaries you would find in Chicago, IL, where our headquarters is based. It is based on your months/years of work experience. While we do not determine education as a factor in whether we hire someone to work for People’s Action Institute, we do factor in any relevant higher education experience that you have. To further counter pay inequities and inequality on the team, we have a non-negotiable compensation practice - this also includes vacation and benefits - and provide opportunities for advancement for full-time employees based on performance evaluation. Your starting pay reflects where you sit within our salary scale and is based on the information that you provide us on your resume. PAI continues to monitor wages through triennial compensation analysis to ensure that we continue to offer our prospective and current employees fair wages.
Hiring Process
Here at People’s Action Institute, we are committed to providing an equitable and intentional hiring process for all of our candidates. Our process consists of three rounds. The first round will be conducted by our HR staff, the second round will be conducted by a hiring committee that includes staff from different parts of the organization or volunteers that have a stake in the position and the hiring manager for the position. Before anyone moves to the final round, you will complete a project meant to evaluate your skills for the position. Anything that you submit or complete for the project will be used to evaluate you for the position you are applying to. After you complete the project, if you advance to final interviews, we will also request references from our finalists. Our final round will be conducted by the hiring manager and their supervisor.
Commitment to Disability, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
People’s Action/Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer; womxn, people of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI people are strongly encouraged to apply.
Union
People’s Action Institute recognizes our staff bargaining unit affiliated with Chicago Midwest Regional Join Board, Workers United (CMRJB). Any position that is indicated as included in People’s Action Institute’s bargaining unit will be covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
Close date: September 2, 2024
No phone calls, please.