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 eventsupport 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/.