Position Summary

The Communications & Advancement Specialist supports the implementation of the Native Governance Center’s (NGC) advancement and communications strategy by developing and coordinating compelling, culturally grounded communications that help strengthen relationships, increase visibility, and advance NGC’s mission. This position serves as a key communication resource for the organization, including responsibility for content development/management, digital communications, brand management, advancement campaigns, audience engagement, sponsor management, communication systems, and performance evaluation.

The Specialist will develop and implement clear communication plans and practices that reflect the values of NGC. This position will also support fundraising through individual donor campaign management. The Specialist will report to the Director of Advancement and Strategy. Must be able to travel up to 20% of the time and have access to high-speed internet with the ability to work effectively in a remote environment

Essential Job Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions. The following list is not designed to comprise a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that may be required for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Generate content for, design, and produce organizational communications (including newsletters, thought-leadership pieces, social media, website content, email communications, annual reports, program materials, campaign materials, and other multimedia), producing a consistent, purposeful, and impactful message
Management of social media at NGC. Plan, create, schedule, and monitor engaging content across all social media platforms, growing our online presence and fostering community engagement.
Maintain and update the organization's website content, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and a positive user experience.
Predesign, develop, proofread, edit, and provide meaningful feedback to programming and organizational staff to ensure communication content is accurate, accessible, appropriate, and consistent with NGC’s voice and brand, through a collaborative approach.
Collaborate with the Director of Advancement and Strategy to utilize data within our communications strategy.
Leads individual giving and outreach campaigns, including Give to the Max Day, spring campaign, year-end appeal, and other community giving campaigns, in collaboration with the Director of Advancement and Strategy.
Supports fundraising efforts, including appeal mailings, thank you letters, donor stewardship communications, donor recognitions, sponsorship/match materials, and other advancement-related communications.
Manage communications logistics and marketing for NGC events, including event registration communications, promotional materials, digital assets, technical requirements, materials and supplies, and vendor relationships.
Media Relations: Assist in developing and maintaining relationships with media contacts, drafting press releases, media advisories, talking points, and coordinating media inquiries, while tracking earned media in collaboration with organizational leadership
Brand Management: Ensure consistent brand messaging, voice, communication standards, and visual identity across all communications.
Assist in tracking and analyzing website, email, social media, campaign, and other communication performance data and use it within regular communications and engagement reports,
Employ Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to identify opportunities to improve audience reach, engagement, effectiveness, and user experience.
Participates in setting and meeting individual, team, and organizational goals.
Other duties as assigned or required to meet program and organizational needs.

Qualifications

Desired Skills and Abilities:

Excitement for the mission of NGC.
Demonstrated ability to develop and implement effective communication strategies that are audience-centered while maintaining a consistent organizational voice, message, and brand.
Ability, initiative, and motivation to work productively in a remote-first environment and communicate clearly and often with remote team members through email, phone, video calls, and other digital platforms. Access to high-speed internet is required.
Ability to organize workflow by priorities and quickly adjust workflow for change, delays, or unexpected events.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to develop engaging content for a variety of audiences, platforms, and communication channels.
Understand the range of personal, spiritual, community, and cultural protocols around communications, photography, video, storytelling, and representation in Indian Country and be able to differentiate between general communications best practices and communication practices that are appropriate within Indigenous communities and Tribal contexts.
A proactive approach to problem-solving with strong critical thinking skills.
Excellent time management, prioritization, and organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
Capacity to coordinate communications for organizational events, both in-person and virtual, involving multiple logistical components.
Ability to work collaboratively, with programming, advancement, community engagement, research/evaluation, operations, and leadership staff.
Ability to use communications analytics and other information to assess communications effectiveness.
Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple communication projects, campaigns, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.

Education, training, and experience:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and professional experience.
At least three years of experience working in a professional communications, marketing, public relations, advancement, fundraising, or related position.
Experience creating, posting, monitoring, and managing social media content
Experience with graphic design and creating communications pieces using Adobe Creative Cloud or comparable design tools.
Experience creating and maintaining website content using WordPress or a comparable platform.
Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating communications campaigns.
Experience developing newsletters, email communications, digital campaigns, reports, presentations, and other organizational communications content.
Experience supporting or leading fundraising communications, community giving campaigns, donor stewardship, or other advancement-related duties.
Advanced Microsoft Office or Google Suite skills, with an ability to become familiar with organization-specific programs and software.

Preferred:

Advanced degree in graphic design and/or communications or specialized training, certification, or professional development in communications, advancement, marketing, public relations, digital media, fundraising, or a related field.
Experience with Salesforce or other CRM databases.
Strong technical skills and experience with WordPress, Adobe Cloud, Mailchimp, Hootsuite, Google Analytics, Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Experience working in or with Native nations, Tribal organizations, Indigenous communities, or Native serving organizations.
Resides within our service region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska)

Typical physical requirements:

Essential tasks for this position are typically performed on a computer, with some travel and transporting of supplies.

Repetitive motion of hands, fingers, wrists for 4 to 8 hours per day.
Computer screen use for up to 8 hours per day.
Communicating with others to exchange information.
Travel up to 20% of the time.
Lift up to 25 lbs when transporting supplies to/from events or shipping materials.

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Communications & Advancement Specialist