Responsibilities

• Marketing, Brand, and Audience Growth (45%) - Create and lead the Pacific Institute’s marketing strategy: audience definition, positioning, and a campaign calendar tied to organizational priorities.
• - Plan and execute time-bound, outcome-measured campaigns tied to research launches, initiative milestones, and funding priorities.
• - Steward the Pacific Institute’s parent brand and associated sub-brands, (CEO Water Mandate and the Water Resilience Coalition), maintaining a consistent voice, messaging frameworks, visual identity standards, and editorial integrity across all properties.
• - Lead content and audience strategy across the Pacific Institute’s digital marketing infrastructure.
• - Build the analytics and reporting capability that shows what marketing and communications activity produced, in terms leadership and funders can act on.
• - Partner with the Chief Growth Officer to build marketing capability that directly supports revenue growth, including funder-facing collateral and messaging, campaign support, and content that opens partnership conversations.
• - Partner with the Chief Research and Programs Officer and programmatic team to integrate communications into research and program initiatives, ensuring communication strategies, audience considerations, and dissemination opportunities are incorporated early into the process.
• - Build a sustained executive visibility and thought leadership program for the Pacific Institute leadership and subject matter experts: media relations, speaking opportunities, and rapid response commentary.
• - Represent the Pacific Institute externally on brand, marketing, and organizational positioning matters, and prepare subject matter experts for media and public appearances.
• Communications Systems and Functional Leadership (25%) - Design and maintain the communications system: the processes, workflows, quality standards, and decision-making norms that govern how communications work gets planned, prioritized, produced, and evaluated.

Requirements

• At least 14 years of progressive experience in marketing, strategic communications, media relations, or public affairs, with demonstrated outcomes at the organizational or enterprise level.
• At least 7 years in a leadership role managing and developing a communications team.
• At least 5 years in a marketing leadership role, independently responsible for a large brand.
• Demonstrated experience building or significantly evolving communications systems, processes, and team structures in a growing or transitioning organization.
• Track record of translating complex, technical, or research-based content into compelling narratives for diverse audiences including policymakers, funders, media, corporate leaders, and communities.
• Experience owning departmental budgets, workforce planning, vendor portfolios, and resourcing strategy.
• Experience with media strategy at the national or international level, including earned media, spokesperson preparation, and crisis communications.
• Experience advising executive leadership or serving in an executive-level communications advisory capacity.
• Working knowledge of how to apply AI tools for strategic advantage in communications and marketing, paired with sound judgment about their ethical use, including accuracy, attribution, and protection of the Pacific Institute’s research credibility and organizational voice.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, Public Policy, or a related field.

Preferred

• Experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, or mission-driven sector, with an understanding of resource constraints, funder accountability, and values-driven organizational culture.
• Familiarity with water, climate, environmental sustainability, or natural resource policy issues.
• Experience communicating with diverse audiences including vulnerable communities, elected officials, corporations, community leaders, and the public.
• Experience translating program and organizational impact data into compelling external narratives and cross-functional brand storytelling for funders, partners, and the public.
• Experience managing communications for organizations undergoing growth, transition, or structural change.
• Fluency in other languages.
• Experience working with international organizations, multilateral institutions, or global sustainability networks.

Benefits

• This position is eligible for paid vacation and benefits.
• The Pacific Institute offers an excellent compensation package, including a generous health, dental, and Institute-matched retirement plan and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience and reflects the field.