Responsibilities

• Strategy & Executive Counsel
• Develop and lead an integrated communications strategy tied to Freedom House's institutional priorities, fundraising goals, advocacy objectives, and audience growth.
• Define priority audiences by issue, campaign, and objective, including donors, policymakers, allied governments, journalists, diaspora communities, civil society partners, and engaged digital audiences.
• Serve as principal communications counsel to the CEO and help shape the CEO's public voice across speeches, op-eds, media, social platforms, donor communications, and major institutional moments.
• Work with Advocacy to support policy priorities by turning policy objectives into clear public messages, campaigns, media products, and audience-specific communications.
• Media, Content & Digital Voice
• Build and execute communications campaigns around Freedom House's core work, including political prisoners, authoritarian repression, internet freedom, transnational repression, democratic resilience, and frontline support.
• Lead Freedom House's owned-channel strategy, including website, email, newsletters, LinkedIn, social platforms, short-form video, and campaign landing pages, with a focus on audience growth, engagement, and conversion.
• Champion a video-forward, digital-first storytelling approach — building on Freedom House's strongest online engagement in years — with particular emphasis on the stories of political prisoners and human rights defenders, including Russian activists, which resonate with private funders and engaged digital audiences.
• Oversee digital content strategy and ensure Freedom House is producing platform-appropriate content, including visual explainers, short videos, data-driven content, direct testimony, campaign updates, and donor- facing proof points.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in communications, humanities, journalism, international relations, political science, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Significant experience leading communications in a mission-driven, policy, advocacy, campaign, journalism, government, philanthropic, or public affairs environment.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute communications strategies that move defined audiences, not simply manage outputs.
• Strong grounding in foreign policy, democracy, human rights, international affairs, or related public policy issues, with the ability to engage substantively with Freedom House experts and quickly understand the political context surrounding the countries and issues Freedom House covers.
• Experience turning complex research, policy, advocacy, or programmatic work into clear public narratives, campaigns, media opportunities, digital content, and donor-relevant communications.
• Excellence building and managing communications campaigns across earned media, owned channels, digital platforms, email, website content, executive voice, and partner amplification.
• Familiarity with national or international media, including building relationships with journalists, editors, producers, podcast hosts, and other public platforms.
• Serving in an advisory capacity to senior executives/ principals on communications strategy, public positioning, media opportunities, speeches, op-eds, and external engagements.
• Experience managing staff, setting priorities, maintaining editorial or campaign calendars, and driving execution across a communications team.
• Expertise developing or overseeing modern digital content, including short-form video, visual explainers, social-first storytelling, newsletters, and platform-specific audience growth.

Preferred

• Success communicating with donors or working in an organization supported by private philanthropy is highly desirable.
• Freedom House is open to candidates with less traditional tenure who demonstrate strong digital instincts, creativity, and modern storytelling savvy; digital fluency matters as much as years of experience.
• A generalist orientation is preferred — comfort working across multiple countries and international issues rather than deep specialization in a single region.
• Freedom House is open to candidates with less traditional tenure who demonstrate strong digital instincts, creativity, and modern storytelling savvy; digital fluency matters as much as years of experience.
• Digital fluency matters as much as years of experience.

Benefits

• Multiple medical, dental, and vision plans available on the first date of hire; 403(b) Retirement Plan with up to a 10% employer match.
• Generous, tenure-based paid time off (17–25 days), 10 days sick leave with unlimited roll-over, and 14 paid holidays.
• Caregiver leave (40 days paid), bereavement leave (5 days paid), and paid jury duty.
• A flexible, hybrid work culture with slow-down weeks and "no meeting Fridays."
• Mental health and well-being support through the Employee Assistance Program, flexible spending accounts, and short- and long-term disability and life insurance.