1 month ago
Media Director
Human Rights Watch
District of Columbia, USA (Hybrid)Full time$150K/yr – $160K/yr
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Media Director
District of Columbia, USA (Hybrid)
$150K/yr – $160K/yrSenior Level10+ years expFull time
Posted 1 month ago
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Job Summary
Own the global media strategy and crisis capability to advance advocacy with executive visibility and sustained influence across top outlets and emerging formats.
- Editorial leadership and alignment of media programs with global strategy, moments, audiences, and formats.
- Lead crisis communications and high-profile positioning across time zones and forums.
- Data-informed planning using audience and performance insights to guide activations, calendars, and outlet selection.
Job Description
Responsibilities
- Set and lead editorial vision for HRW’s media engagement to advance advocacy priorities, strengthen institutional voice, and maintain prominence and relevance across traditional and emerging platforms;
- Provide strategic leadership to the media division, driving performance, cohesion, and accountability while aligning divisional priorities with the goals of the wider Department and organization, while ensuring effective support and coordination across time zones and a sustainable approach to workload and resourcing;
- Translate HRW’s global strategy into clear media priorities, ensuring the division’s work is focused on moments, audiences, and channels where influence is most effectively exercised;
- Oversee the development and deployment of media products and interventions to meet the changing influence and technology landscape, maintaining consistent editorial standards and judgement to determine appropriate formats, levels of activation, and timing;
- Direct budget planning and resource allocation to prioritize high-impact interventions and emerging opportunities while maintaining operational discipline;
- Build and sustain relationships with influential external audiences, including senior journalists, editors, commentators, podcasters and newsletter writers, and represent HRW when needed in high-level public and international forums;
- Working closely with senior leadership, especially the Executive Director, to strategically shape their visibility and thought leadership;
- Act as a strategic advisor internally, working closely with leadership in the Communication Division, the Executive Committee and Program teams to inform organizational decisions on public positioning, opportunity and risk;
- Lead HRW’s crisis communications capability, ensuring rapid and authoritative responses during high-risk moments, with clear messaging and effective spokesperson deployment;
- Set and maintain high editorial standards across all media outputs, overseeing messaging, press materials, op-eds, and media engagement to ensure news value and strategic focus;
Human Rights Watch
3.5 Glassdoor
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
Founded in 1978
New York, New York, USA
1.6K employees (110 in marketing)
55% recommend to a friend
60% CEO approval
Traffic Signals
Monthly Visitors
2M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$111.1K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
59.1%
Direct
29.9%
Referral
8.6%
Social
1.8%
Paid
0.5%
Headcount Trend
Current headcount: ~1.6K
Marketing Team
Marketing Team Size
85 (5% of company)
Median Career Experience
13.5 years
Median Tenure
10.8 years
People
Founders / CEO
HR / Recruitment
Marketing Leadership
Kylee Lorio
Associate Director, Digital Marketing
At the company for 2 years
Brian Peterson, CFP®, CAP®
Managing Director, Gift Planning & Marketing
At the company for 12 years 7 months
Duncan Gray
Associate Director, Talent Acquisition and Global Mobility
At the company for 8 years 11 months
Alex Parker
Associate Director of Marketing
At the company for 13 years
Funding
Total Funding
$300K
Last Raise
$300K
Grant, 9 months ago
Funding History
- Jun 2025Grant • $300K