Announcement: Communications Director: Full-Time, 40 hours per week, Salaried, Exempt
Friends of Family Farmers (FoFF) seeks a passionate and dedicated person to join our team and help advance policies and programs that protect, promote and sustain resilient and economically viable community agricultural systems in Oregon. This position will serve a vital function in communicating our work to the public and generating support from the community. We are seeking a detail oriented, self motivated person who is very organized, thrives with a diversity of job duties and enjoys working with people.
Description and Responsibilities
The Communications Director (CD) will serve the vital function of bringing FoFF’s work to the public by creating and implementing a strategic communications plan to meet FoFF’s outreach and engagement goals. This position has a hand in the success of all of our farmer programs and helps sustain our activities through outreach and marketing. The CD will help expand the name recognition and engagement of farmers and ranchers as well as non-farmers and donors. The CD will be responsible for working with program staff to create promotional materials for our farmer programs, set up and manage event sign up forms and design program newsletters and emails sent through our CRM program.
Working Conditions
This job requires a significant amount of time working on the computer and phone communicating with FoFF staff and partners, as well as occasional travel for events and gatherings. All staff work from home, so the ideal candidate must be organized, self-motivated, and able to create a reliable working space including a good internet connection. The position is 40 hours per week with the majority of hours worked M-F and occasional evenings or weekends required with advanced notice. The CD will work with all department leads on various projects and will report to the Co-Executive Directors.
*Note on use of AI in this role: our team strives for minimal use of AI tools in our work due to the demand of data centers on natural resources including conversion of farmland. We are looking to hire someone who values human created storytelling, writing and design*
Responsibilities:
Communications and Marketing strategy development (40 %)
- Develop, coordinate and implement a cohesive communications strategy to support FoFF’s advocacy, program and fundraising goals.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of current communications channels and styles using Google Analytics, email reporting from Every Action and Meta platforms
- Develop audience-specific communications strategies. Research and apply best practices to improve performance, and identify and implement new strategies to maximize FoFF’s impact.
- Establish tracking systems and use data to improve FoFF’s outreach methods and maximize engagement including audience reach and engagement metrics.
- Design and manage annual communications plan and calendar, working with staff members across programs to coordinate organization-wide participation in outreach activities.
- Work closely with the Advocacy, OPN and OFL Directors to strategize on program outreach campaigns and analyze effectiveness of outreach efforts.
- Manage website projects with web development contractors as needed.
- Manage spending for communications expenses. Associate all communications budget line items with the communications work plan.
Marketing Asset Creation (50 %)
- Coordinate gathering content from staff and create FoFF’s general communications across our: monthly newsletter, general farmer emails, websites and social media.
- Keep website information up to date and visually in line with FoFF’s branding. Ie. program pages, calendar, fundraising and business sponsorship pages.
- Support FoFF staff in editing of materials as needed and posting/sending according to communications schedule.
- Create assets for program outreach needs including registration pages, targeted email, newsletters, social media posts, print or digital ads and posters/fliers.
- Create visually effective, FoFF branded educational assets from content supplied by program staff.
- Visual design and branding of reporting metrics as needed for grants.
- Assisting the Co-ED of Policy and Development in creating and sending fundraising communications for our two annual individual giving drives and for business partnership opportunities. ie fundraising emails, designing social media posts etc.
- Designing and implementing specialized donor engagement communications through email and traditional mail.
Organizational Support (10%)
- Assisting FoFF staff with occasional farmer outreach and events.
- Participate in weekly online staff meetings, rotating check-ins with supervisors and attend DEI and all staff training. Occasional in person meetings.
- Contribute to FoFF’s annual priority setting and strategic planning.
- Adapt to emergent needs and farmer led initiatives.
Qualifications
Required:
- Education/Experience: Either a Bachelor’s degree in a related field (ie communications, journalism, public relations, marketing) or the Equivalent Number of Years of related Career Experience plus the following communications specific experience:
- 2+ years of strategic leadership experience in communications, ideally within the nonprofit sector.
- A strong sense of empathy for working with donors, farmers, stakeholders and the general public.
- Exceptional writing and editing skills with the ability to translate complex topics into compelling narratives.
- 3+ years experience in the following areas:
- Writing communications on behalf of an organization or company.
- Developing and implementing marketing campaigns for a program, organization or company.
- Graphic design with a keen eye for visual appeal and branding.
- Technical proficiency using a CRM and targeted email platform. As well as social media management, basic WordPress editing and using graphic design software such as Canva, Adobe Suite or Affinity.
- Demonstrated commitment to service, humility, integrity, and transparency; hold a high level of trust and respect for self and others.
- Commitment to advancing socially responsible agriculture, a justice centered food system and the mission of Friends of Family Farmers.
- Must have access to reliable transportation to locations throughout Oregon for in-person events and meetings. Must own a reliable vehicle or have the ability to rent a car (drivers license, good driving record etc).
- Must be based in Oregon or within 1 hour drive of the Oregon border. Preference given to candidates living in or relocating to Oregon.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience using Every Action (our CRM and ESP)
- Knowledge of Oregon’s small and mid-sized agricultural community; food justice issues; rural life; working with coalitions of diverse individuals and groups to address a community need
- Experience building and editing WordPress websites
Compensation and Benefits:
- This position is full time, 40 hours/week
- The base salary for this position is $67,161. According to our compensation guidelines: candidates fluent in both English and Spanish (other languages considered), or with an advanced degree or significant experience related to this position may qualify for a starting wage above the base rate.
- 100% employer paid FoFF Health, Vision and Dental Insurance (Currently Pacific Source Gold Plan) or stipend if employee opts out of FoFF coverage. 50% premiums covered for dependents
- Monthly home office stipend of $135
- 15 paid holidays
- 152 hours Paid Time Off, annual increase of 8 hours per year worked
- 401k plan with 3% match
- Sabbatical plan available after 5 years worked
- Flexible work schedule with a supportive team that values work/life balance
- This is a work-from-home position, and travel reimbursements will be available when traveling for work outside of the home base area.
How to apply: Please send a resume, cover letter, and answers to the following questions to Alice Morrison alice@friendsoffamilyfarmers.org
Application questions (limit responses to 1 page or less total):
- What purpose does a communications strategy serve for an organization with distinct programs but an overarching mission?
- At FoFF we are working to apply an equity lens to all the work we do. What does that
bring up or mean for you in the context of this position? - Our team works remotely and you will need to maintain a quiet, reliable work environment with high speed internet access. Do you have any concerns about those requirements?
- Do you have a driver’s license, insurance and reliable vehicle or the ability to rent a car? Do you anticipate any concerns about your driving record? Travel may include rural locations where there is limited or no public transportation.
The position is open until filled with a preference for applications submitted by July 29th. Interviews scheduled to begin early August, 2026 with an ideal start date by early September.
*Our hiring process includes communication with all applicants and you should receive a confirmation of receipt of your application and communications on whether or not you will be moving forward in the interview process. We will ask finalists for communications/design work samples and three references to contact. For fairness, we will only be reviewing resume, cover letter, and application question answers in our initial screening, please do not submit additional documents.
*A note to potential candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary, BIPOC, and other candidates from most-impacted communities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a background less traditional to our field of work, and that’s welcome. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.
Friends of Family Farmers is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.