Policy & Communications Associate

District of Columbia, USA (Hybrid)

$63K/yr – $82K/yrMid Level2+ years expFull time

Posted 9 days ago

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Job Summary

Own and execute the organization’s digital and communications work by updating the website, developing features, creating social content, highlighting people, and measuring impact across internal and external channels.

  • Lead online content updates and site features to keep information precise and engaging for policymakers, partners, and donors.
  • Coordinate cross-functional digital communications including social media, press materials, and event content across international teams.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Updates content on the DIL website on a regular basis to ensure information is precise, accurate, current, well-organized, optimized for user experience, and compelling to target audiences, including policymakers, partners, donors, and other stakeholders.
  • In coordination with senior leadership, help develop new digital features for the DIL website, including new project and event pages.
  • Plans and drafts regular social media posts aligned with new research results, project updates, and evolving organizational priorities, primarily on LinkedIn and X.
  • Identifies and executes creative ways to highlight students, staff, and alumni on digital channels.
  • Develops and tracks communications metrics to quantify website and social media reach and engagement and inform recommendations for improvement.
  • Boosts DIL participation in external events by coordinating, creating and disseminating event-related content, including through press releases, multimedia, and social media.
  • Supports field teams to engage local photographers and ensure regular production of visual content.
  • Writes and edits content that translates complex research into engaging, plain-language summaries suitable for broad audiences on DIL’s website, social media platforms, and targeted emails, in collaboration with internal subject matter experts.
  • Coordinates production of press releases for DIL team members and dissemination to targeted media outlets, both in the US and overseas.
  • Supports the creation of funding pitch decks, donor communications, reports, and other projects as assigned.

Requirements

  • Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
  • Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
  • Certifications: ---

Preferred

  • Demonstrated experience communicating complex research findings and policy recommendations. Candidates may be recent graduates with related internships, or with past experience in communications, research, and/or international development.
  • Masters degree in economics, public policy, communications, journalism or a related field.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Familiarity with design tools (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite) and content management systems (e.g., WordPress).
  • Coursework in economics and/or demonstrated success communicating evidence-based policy.
  • Intermediate-level training in economics and/or public policy (econometrics, statistics, quantitative analysis training).
  • Experience translating complex research into plain-language content for a mainstream policy audience.
  • Demonstrated success supporting multiple-platform engagement strategies.
  • Ability to write engaging content with close attention to detail, precision, and accuracy to research findings.
  • Ability to coordinate effectively across international teams and locations and adapt working style to different professional contexts.

Benefits

  • Benefits Eligible Yes The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook .
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University of Chicago

One of the world’s great intellectual destinations, the University of Chicago empowers scholars and students to ask tough questions, cross disciplinary boundaries, and challenge conventional thinking to enrich human life around the globe. http://www.uchicago.edu/about/

Chicago, Illinois, USA
18K employees (570 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
8.6M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$590.1K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
47.7%
Direct
41.5%
Referral
9.4%
Social
0.7%
Paid
0.4%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~17.9K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
412 (2% of company)
Median Career Experience
21 years
Median Tenure
4.1 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
2

Funding

Total Funding
$203.6M
Last Raise
$4M
Grant, 6 months ago

Funding History

  • Sep 2025
    Grant • $4M
  • Oct 2024
    Grant
  • Jun 2024
    Grant • $1.8M

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