Reimagining the Civic Commons: Storytelling Manager

Background

Reimagining the Civic Commons is seeking a Storytelling Manager. In this role, you will work with the Director of Reimagining the Civic Commons to create compelling content that supports a growing community of practice by sharing emerging practices and insight, elevates the impacts of the work on the ground, and shares the growing body of research and evidence that demonstrates why high-quality civic infrastructure is so important at this moment in time in our society. This role is an opportunity to fuel a movement that shares in the belief that our civic commons must be part of the solution.

About Reimagining the Civic Commons

Reimagining the Civic Commons is an ambitious national initiative demonstrating that strategic investments in public spaces can connect people of all backgrounds, cultivate trust and create more resilient communities. Since 2016, cities across the U.S. have been transforming how they design, manage and program their civic assets—and are nurturing critical social impacts that are improving neighborhoods and lives.

The initiative is a collaboration of national foundations and local civic leaders working to reimagine local public spaces—such as parks, libraries, trails and community centers—in ways that deliver social, economic and environmental benefits.

We believe in the power of the commons.

Learn more at www.civiccommons.us.

About the Role

Shared learning is integral to Reimagining the Civic Commons. A national Civic Commons Learning Network (Learning Network) housed at U3 Advisors provides a growing community of practice across 10 U.S. cities with access to research and impact assessment, elevation through storytelling and cross-city learning opportunities. It is a hub for fieldbuilding nationwide. We work to measure the impact of investments in the civic commons, support the innovation and collaboration required to achieve those impacts and increase broad-based support for these investments in communities across the country.

The Storytelling Manager will work with the Director of Reimagining the Civic Commons to create and manage compelling content across a variety of channels to inform and inspire a growing community of practice and the broader field. They will serve as a key steward of Reimagining the Civic Commons’ brand and manager of our collaborative, mission-oriented story.

The role is structured as a 1-year contract, with the opportunity for extension at the conclusion of the initial contract period. The role is fully remote (Eastern time zone preferred, but flexibility for Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones).

Scope of Work

The Storytelling Manager reports to the Director of Reimagining the Civic Commons and will be responsible for:

• Creating compelling and engaging content, that tells a cohesive mission-oriented story across all channels including our website, newsletter, online publication and social media platforms
• Developing and managing the initiative’s content calendar, including biannual storytelling submissions from local teams, publication release schedule, op-ed strategy and social media plan
• Elevating thought leadership and Identifying priority industry events, crafting session proposals, and preparing presentations and remarks for speaking opportunities
• Overseeing report production and printing, including leading a series of impact interviews in participating cities in order to produce a magazine-style report
• Compiling quarterly communications reports, and continuously monitoring and analyzing digital content performance metrics, such as engagement rates and click-through rates, to optimize content and increase awareness among key target audiences

Travel

The Storytelling Manager is expected to travel for cross-city learning events, estimated at approximately 5-10% of total time

Experiences, skills, abilities

Required

• Passion and commitment to equitable and resilient cities with an interest in policy and practice, and a deep curiosity in the field and its adjacencies
• Adept at managing multiple communication channels including website (WordPress), newsletter development (Mailchimp), online publication (Medium) and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X)
• Excellent writing, editing and general communications skills, particularly journalistic short-form pieces, op-eds and social media content
• Demonstrated experience successfully communicating to key audiences including city, civic, policy and philanthropic leaders
• Strong project management and organizational skills with keen attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with a variety of partners and outside contractors resulting in high-quality deliverables
• Ability to be adaptable and solve for unexpected problems
• Proactive, self-motivated and effective at managing up in a fully remote and non-hierarchical setting

Additional experience desirable:

• Prior communications experience in related fields such as public space, urban planning, policy, philanthropy, local government or design
• Experience working with city, civic, and philanthropic leaders
• Graphic design skills, particularly layout for short publications, event materials and social media graphics (Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop)
• Familiarity with Basecamp a plus

Compensation

The pay range is $90,000 – $110,000 for this full-time, 1-year contract position

Submittal

To apply, click here.

In your cover letter, please explain what interests and excites you about Reimagining the Civic Commons’ work. For the Storytelling Manager position, please upload a relevant writing sample and/or other examples of storytelling content you have developed. For any questions regarding the application process, please email Mariko Krause at mkrause@u3advisors.com.

Job posting will close January 21, 2025