About Color Of Change

Color Of Change is a high-impact, collaborative team of activists committed to making justice real for Black people, and passionate about designing strategic, creative and winning campaigns. We are powered by our membership, and an ever-expanding, innovative team – in New York, Oakland, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C. with experience in strategy, organizing, media, technology, and organizational growth.

We believe in racial justice, we believe in Black brilliance, we believe we should leave no one in silence. We are a Black-led organization with a powerful multiracial team, made stronger by our ability to collaborate and leverage our diversity across gender, age, upbringing, education, talent, sexual orientation, and life experience. We are committed to high standards, high impact, and working with deep respect for one another, our members, and our partners. Until justice is real.

Color Of Change has built and is growing an effective and powerful infrastructure for changing the rules society lives by and ending the injustices Black people face.

As the nation’s largest online racial justice organization driven by over 7 million action takers in the last year, we are people powered at our core: enabling our members to respond effectively to injustice in the world around them, and manage their political lives. We make Black people and our allies powerful enough to end practices and systems that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward: in politics and culture, in the work place and the economy, in criminal justice and community life, and wherever racism exists.

Driven by the collective action of our more than one million members, our strategic campaigns and long-term initiatives move decision makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.

Strategic Initiatives 

Democracy & Census: We are engaging local leaders and our 7M members to help set a progressive agenda and boostcivic participation in Black communities. We continue to focus on prosecutor elections—when popularized, they canmotivate Black voter participation more than most others, and though they often run under the radar, prosecutor elections have an outsized impact on the life and wellbeing of Black communities.

COC Hollywood: Color Of Change Hollywood is our initiative to change the rules in Hollywood by ensuring accurate, diverse, empathetic, and human portrayals of Black people onscreen. We consult on film and TV projects, partner with changemakers inside the industry, work to raise standards around hiring and diversity, and elevate Black stories. And we commission game-changing research, like our Race in the Writer’s Room or upcoming procedural report, to unearth problems and advance solutions on how to make the stories we as a society see more honest, diverse, and equitable.

Winning Justice: We continue to build momentum to end the most unjust, destructive and racist practices underpinning our criminal justice system from money bail to over-sentencing, over-policing, and sending our children to adult prisons.

Not To Be Trusted: Reliability in the news is more important than ever. Who can we trust? Not surprisingly, when it comes to information about Black people, most news outlets that influence the thinking of decision makers and the public are not to be trusted. They inaccurately represent Black people as drivers of crime, mischaracterize and demonize Black protestors, under-play Black contributions to society, single out and attack Black mothers, and the list goes on. Through our News Accuracy Ratings & Report Card, we are exposing this deeply unfair pattern of inaccuracy, and creating a roadmap for improving standards and practices in the news.

OrganizeFor: OrganizeFor is a petition platform and training resource launched by Color Of Change to help people in ourcommunities effectively challenge the injustices affecting the people they care about—family, neighbors, friends and allies.We have also launched the Movement-Building Partnership Program to provide expert training, and a dedicated channelon our platform, for staff at ally organizations.

RECENT WINS

Pinterest, The Knot & Zola: Drop Plantation Weddings: Pressured some of the country’s major wedding aggregate sites to commit to no longer featuring vendors who offer plantations as wedding/party venues

PG County: #EndMoneyBail: The State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Aisha Braveboy, stopped requesting money bail for people awaiting trial

Gov Newsom: Pass bill to pay NCAA players in CA: We created huge public pressure to pay college athletes in California through the Fair Pay to Play Act (SB 206)

Google: Ban High Rate Payday Lending Apps: We got Google to ban predatory lending apps from Google Play in order to protect Black people from the unmanageable terms, continual refinancing, high default rates, and otherwise manipulative practices

Facebook, White Nationalist Policy: Facebook conceded to our demand to conduct a civil rights audit to address their flawed white nationalism policies

For more information on Color Of Change, please visit www.colorofchange.org.
 

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

The Chief Marketing and Storytelling Officer will lead the execution of the Color Of Change brand strategy and content strategy, translating and advancing our values, vision and efforts across a broad set of national influencers and grassroots activists.

The CMSO will harness the power of narrative to drive action and create change and support organizational efforts to deliver on our main promise: Provoking the level and frequency of action from our members and allies that will force decision makers across government, industry and culture to take action, and thereby achieve real world impact and lasting, systemic change.

Reporting directly to the President, Rashad Robinson, and collaborating with other senior leaders, the CMSO will have lead responsibility for brand management, strategic content development, content distribution, and high-level media relations. The CMSO will also oversee the work of multiple departments focused on advancing the narrative and culture change work of the organization and help grow and execute the vision for growing and sustaining the brand and content strategy for the organization. This includes our communications/marketing efforts, social media and content, Hollywood work and our growing change industry initiatives.

This person will ideally be located in Los Angeles or New York City, and willing to travel regularly as part of this role.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The Chief Marketing & Storytelling Officer (CMSO) of Color Of Change will possess the following attributes and competencies:

Passion for the Mission

The CMSO will have a demonstrated passion for the mission of Color Of Change and a personal commitment to furthering the goals of the organization. This person will believe strongly in the ability of grassroots efforts – particularly member-driven strategic, collective action – to change the course of history. The CMSO will understand the importance of meeting this transformative moment in culture. They will also share the organization’s commitment to racial justice:Building real leverage and power for Black people in the domains of politics, industry, and culture.

Strategic Marketing & Storytelling Expertise

The CMSO will be an experienced leader in the field of marketing and communications with a curious mindset, creative savvy, and a high level of strategic focus. This person will have an understanding of how to advance social change by creating highly effective, integrated communication strategies, and a belief in the power of narrative. This role will be tasked with developing innovative, 360-degree ideas for content that meets the objectives of our content needs while staying true to our ownable and unique brand voice.

The CMSO will have demonstrated experience in setting and implementing innovative communications strategies in complex organizations and is capable of integrating disparate elements into a cohesive whole. They understand how to build formal and informal collaborations and how to collectively amplify perspectives in a world of fast-paced communications. They are analytical and data-driven, able to conceptualize and analyze both problems and solutions and identify key metrics that will help Color Of Change work towards its strategic objectives.

A natural storyteller, this leader will have a proven ability to translate and advance Color Of Change’s initiatives across a broad spectrum of media channels. The CMSO will be laser-focused on maximizing strategic opportunities for Color Of Change: exercising a deep understanding of how to leverage content and storytelling to spark member action and growth, influence the media environment, and then leverage that media environment to move decision-makers. The ideal candidate is a leader with extensive expertise in branded digital, video, and editorial storytelling.

Building Relationships and Using Influence

It is critical that the CMSO is a bridge builder and diplomatic in spirit. They must be able to establish and maintain strong and productive relationships internally and with a variety of external constituencies: potential funders and our Board of Directors, ally organizations and influencers in the field, creative and content partners, and the media generally. This person will be a charismatic, high-energy leader who can serve as a compelling ambassador for the organization across a variety of audiences. The CMSO will understand the importance of strategic partnerships and increasing the power of the organization broadly and be adept at positioning Color Of Change as a force to be reckoned with.

Strategic Leadership and Management

The CMSO will be a strategic leader who will help set and execute a vision for the organization’s next chapter. This person will work with internal and external partners to develop a strategic approach and provide ongoing counsel for increasing impact. This person will also build and retain a talented team, which they will manage effectively to implement strategy, achieve target goals and create new opportunities for impact. They will leverage the collective results of efforts and support staff and partners by creating a communications function that leverages the power and talents of the organization as a whole.

Key Qualifications

We don’t like to insert a long list of “must haves” here. What we know is that this is not a traditional communications role with a main focus on PR. We are looking for a creative and strategic leader with vision and insight, recognizing that person could come from a range of marketing and content backgrounds.

-Strong management skills and experience cultivating and retaining talent.
-Impeccable writing and verbal skills. The ability to communicate information clearly is fundamental to this role, especially via reports, strategy decks, memos, and other strategy-related documents.
-Strong public speaking skills and experience presenting to groups along with an ability to inspire colleagues and peers around a common mission or set of powerful ideas.
-Strong organizational and financial management skills and experience with budgeting and planning.
-Highly strategic mindset, including strong instincts and a demonstrated ability to identify media moments and opportunities, and to develop, execute and deliver on plans for growth.
-Excellent interpersonal skills. You are confident in interacting with other staff, external partners, organizations, and consultants.
-Ability to effectively use a Black/racial justice frame of reference to write strong and persuasive strategic plans and program development materials.
-Believe strongly in the ability of grassroots efforts – particularly member-driven strategic, collective action – to change the course of history.
-Commitment to confidentiality and ability to exercise absolute discretion.
-Able to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment and under tight deadlines to meet goals, with a proactive approach.
-Dedication and ability to work flexible hours, and travel (15-45%).
-Solution-oriented.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The starting point for the CMSO’s annual salary will be $195,000, and final salary will be based on experience and location, and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Color Of Change also offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

CONTACT

Molly Brennan, Melissa Madzel, and Amber Brown of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express your interest in this role please submit your materials here or email the Koya team directly at CoCCMSOSearch@koyapartners.com. 

All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
 

Color Of Change is an equal opportunity employer with a strong organizational commitment to respecting differences of all kinds. Color Of Change prohibits unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, genetic characteristics, disability, status as a special disabled veteran or veteran, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity or any other basis prohibited by law. In that spirit, we strongly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, LGBT applicants and others that will contribute to the diversity of our staff.

About Koya Partners

Koya Partners, a part of the Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy— The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

At Koya, we don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it for the benefit of our team, our clients, and the communities we serve.

Koya is an equal opportunity employer fully committed to creating an environment and team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, styles, and experiences. We encourage all to apply because we believe a diversity of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone. Koya does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

For more information about Koya Partners, visit www.koyapartners.com.