Overview

About W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen

and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as

contributors to the larger community and society. Upon establishing the foundation in 1930,

breakfast cereal pioneer W.K. Kellogg instructed future trustees and staff to “Use the money as

you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children.” To this day,

the foundation envisions, and works toward, a nation that marshals its resource to assure that all

children have an equitable and promising future – a nation in which all children thrive.


To advance this mission, the foundation implements an array of change-making tools –

grantmaking, impact investing, communications, contracting, networking, and convenings and

uses an innovative matrixed organizational design to prioritize investment decisions and

maximize effectiveness toward achieving the desired ends and improvements for children and

their families. A commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership is woven

into each endeavor as essential to the creation of a social context in which all children can thrive,

particularly the most vulnerable. In recent years, the foundation has sharpened its focus on

improving conditions for vulnerable children, concentrating on three key factors of success and

their intersections: education and learning; food, health and well-being; and family economic

security.

 

The Opportunity

Communications Officers at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are responsible for leading

communication strategies that support an assigned body of work; collaborating with internal and

external stakeholders to design, plan and implement strategic communications campaigns and

projects; managing communications; and identifying and nurturing opportunities for affecting

positive systemic change within communities.

An Officer at the Foundation generally has the following responsibilities:

• Execute bodies of work requiring deep functional expertise.

• Cultivate, manage and monitor program/vendor/project portfolios.

• Nurture strong, authentic relationships across the organization and with

grantees/vendors.

• Define, develop and implement projects.

• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with key vendors and partners internally

and externally.

• Provide high-level technical expertise and assistance.

• Identify, document and disseminate results, outcomes and learnings.

• Analyze and solve problems.

• Solicit and respond to stakeholder input.

• Responsible for budget, vendor and contracts management.
 

This new Communications Officer is specifically responsible for work that will include, but is

not limited to, the following:

• Lead, conceptualize, plan, create, deliver, track and assess the foundation’s

communication, both independently and as part of teams and work groups across a

networked organization operating in the United States, Mexico and Haiti.

• Develop strategic communications aligned with grantmaking strategies for the following

DNA communications priorities within the foundation:

o Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) – Lead strategic communications

for TRHT, including for announcements of new communities, in partnership with

grantees, knowledge product development and promotion to target audiences.

TRHT is a comprehensive national and community-based process to plan for and

bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic

and contemporary effects of racism.

o Catalyzing Community Giving (CCG) – Provide strategic communications and event

support to raise awareness and elevate CCG funding. CCG supports communities

of color in using philanthropy to become agents of their own change and to

positively impact the lives of children and families in their own communities.

o National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) – Develop strategic communications to

promote the National Day of Racial Healing and the national WKKF event –

including digital strategy, social media campaigns, media engagement, WKKF

internal communications and communications with WKKF grantees and partners.

NDORH was created with and builds on the work and learnings of TRHT

community partners, bringing all people together in their common humanity and

inspiring collective action to create a more just and equitable world.

o Solidarity Council on Racial Equity (SCoRE) – Lead strategic communications

planning and engage with SCoRE members for influencer outreach strategies.

SCoRE members are recognized global change leaders in advocacy, the arts,

business, education and media. Together with WKKF, they are contributing insight

and creative energy to advance racial equity and create a platform for collective

action.

o Leadership – Lead strategic communications for the Community Leadership

Network and the Fellows Alumni Network. As a world-class leadership

development program in the United States, the WKKF Community Leadership

Network equips leaders with the knowledge and skills to bridge divides in our

society and build a more equitable future for all. Fellows become part of a vast

network of 1,700+ alumni, who collectively are working to effect systemic

change.
 

• Actively develop and manage working relationships with key staff and external

stakeholders and represent the foundation’s voice and profile serving as a lead brand

manager to news and social media, key influencers and thought leaders, grantees and

employees on behalf of the assigned portfolio of work.
 

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and

characteristics:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, English or other field

relevant to assigned area is required; Master’s degree is preferred.

• Minimum five years’ related work experience creating and managing objective-focused

communications content (for both internal/employee-focused and external audiences)

for online, social and traditional media and related project management required.

Preference for significant relevant work experience (8-12+ years) with strong networks

and contacts.

• Foundation or nonprofit experience preferred.

• Ability to work effectively with persons from diverse cultural, social, and ethnic

backgrounds.

• Demonstrated experience contributing to the current national conversation around racial

equity and racial justice.

• Exceptional communication skills (written and verbal) with evidence of proficiency in

writing (to include short analytic communications, interviewing and listening,

narrative/storytelling in a range of forms, media outreach) and ability to use clear

language to inspire action.

• Strong real-time analytic capabilities in all phases of communication work (related to

audience analysis, understanding context, connecting relevant information, message

development, assessing results, debriefing and adaptation).

• Strong independent problem-solving skills, including strategic curiosity, the ability to pose

questions and the tenacity to find answers.

• Strong, demonstrated interpersonal and relationship-building skills to work with staff at

all levels of the organization and with a range of external stakeholders, including social

intelligence, the discipline to work independently and the flexibility to step into team

roles as needed – as leaders, partners or project managers.

• Willingness to adapt and a deep desire to learn.

• Ability to communicate in multiple languages a plus.


For more information on the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org.
For a full job description and instructions on how to apply, please visit https://koyapartners.com/search/kellogg-foundation-communications-officer/.

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