The SPIN Project, a San Francisco-based, national nonprofit program of the Communications Leadership Institute that specializes in strategic communications capacity building for social justice organizations, seeks a program director who will lead and grow The SPIN Project. The program director will work closely with the executive director to hone and execute the strategic plan for the program that promotes its growth and development, and will be responsible for the overall expansion of the SPIN Project through fundraising, marketing, curricular development and execution of its programmatic work. The program director will also provide leadership to SPIN consultants, including personnel management and professional development, and will foster a productive and creative work environment. This is a role for a social entrepreneur who can help the board and executive director grow and expand the business. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

The SPIN Project strengthens grassroots nonprofits working to build a fair, just, and equitable society by helping them communicate effectively for themselves. We provide accessible and affordable strategic communications consulting, training, and coaching. And, we develop our clients’ communications skills, infrastructure and leadership.  We blend our skills and expertise with our commitment to strengthen social justice organizations in order to build their capacity to achieve their mission through effective communications.
 
Our clients are organizations at the forefront of movements including racial, economic, and environmental justice, immigrants’ rights, reproductive rights, women’s rights, and human rights in the United States.  The SPIN Project partners with these organizations in order to strengthen their ability to communicate to build the consciousness, people power and political will needed to put solutions in place.
Our training style is interactive, inclusive and engaging and is modeled on popular education techniques. Over the past ten years, The SPIN Project’s training and consulting has reached more than 5,000 people around the country.
Qualifications and Responsibilities

The program director will be a critical part of the effort to rebuild and expand on the mission of the SPIN Project. An entrepreneurial spirit and a collaborative approach is a must.  Qualified applicants must have five to seven years of professional experience in at least two of the following areas:
•    Online campaign experience and community-building, including a deep understanding of effective online communications, online fundraising, social networks and other new media (strongly preferred)
•    PR/ communications, including pitching and placing stories with national and local press, and demonstrated success at conceiving and directing media campaigns
•    Nonprofit advocacy campaigns, including campaign planning and execution, branding, and both paid and earned media strategies
•    Grassroots community organizing, including campaign planning and execution, fundraising, and staff management
The ideal candidate will possess the right mix of the above experience, as well as:
•    Extensive experience working with senior staff of small and medium-sized nonprofits, including an understanding of the culture of grassroots groups, coalitions, and campaigns
•    Demonstrated ability as a trainer and facilitator, with experience in adult learning and interactive education techniques
•    Experience engaging constituents in community organizing and networks
•    The skills, willingness and initiative to manage complex projects and programs
•    Demonstrated experience in the professional development of others
•    Excellent written and public speaking communications skills
•    The ability to work with diverse groups of people
•    Willingness to travel extensively
In partnership with the executive director, the program director’s key responsibilities include:
•    Management – Lead the SPIN Project team, manage budgets, report to the executive director of the Communications Leadership Institute.
•    Fundraising – Secure ongoing funding from core funders, identify new sources of revenue, provide consistent reporting and communications with funders.
•    Marketing – Develop and carry out marketing strategy. Identify segments of the non-profit community in need of SPIN services. Develop collateral materials and outreach strategy.  
•    Organizational Development – Support organizational growth and change.  With a new vision and plan, re-establish the organization after a period of reduced activity.
•    Personnel Management – Grow the SPIN team, provide direct supervision and mentoring of staff, identify and fill staffing needs, foster a positive team environment.
•    Program and Project Management – Oversee development and delivery of curriculum materials, our annual SPIN Academy and special projects; provide training and consulting services to clients as needed.  Maintain the profitability of client engagements.
•    Client Services – Ensure client capacity-building needs are met: assess client needs, assign consultants to projects, oversee contracting and evaluation of client work.
•    Networking – Build the SPIN network and represent SPIN to all stakeholders.

Compensation Package
The salary for this position is $70-75K with room for growth, and comes with excellent medical benefits and a 401(k) plan.

More about the SPIN Project…
The SPIN Project is known for its signature training conference, the SPIN Academy; for its emphasis on strategic communications; for its leading-edge toolkits and publications; and for a commitment to working with grassroots organizations and communities of color. We are often invited to the table to help shape the work of national coalitions and philanthropic initiatives, and to participate in collaborations to build infrastructure across movements.

The SPIN Project is a program of the Communications Leadership Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nonprofits with the training and tools they need to increase their communications capacity and use high-impact communications campaigns to achieve their goals.  Visit www.communicationsleadership.org for more information.

Apply
Please email your resume to executivesearch@koyaconsulting.com, attention: Dana Levy. Applicants will be reviewed and interviewed on a rolling basis.  Visit The SPIN Project web site at www.spinproject.org to learn more about us.  Please carefully read the job description above, including the qualifications, before applying.  The SPIN Project is seeking an intelligent, creative individual for this job and therefore we are looking for thoughtful, personalized cover letters that demonstrate an applicant's qualifications and work style.  We look forward to reviewing your resume!

Required Experience:

Education Required:

B.A.

Location: San Francisco

Position Type: Full Time

Travel Required: 10% of the time (approximate)

Job Posted Mon 9-Jun-08 2:05 PM

Duration: 90 days
Expiration Date: Sun 7-Sep-08 2:00 PM days
Listing Type: regular days

* NOTE: for jobs that require payment, the expiration date reflects the amount PAID as of this moment and *not* the requested duration.