Overview


Vice President, Social Justice Communications
Los Angeles, CA

Fenton is the social change agency taking on the world’s toughest challenges in human rights, social and economic justice, environment, education and public health. Primed with deep issue expertise and powered by creativity and passion, we create strategies for clients to help build a more just, equitable and sustainable world. Our communications and digital experts combine creative skills with deep sector expertise to help changemakers maximize the impact of their work.


With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco we develop and execute strategic public awareness campaigns. Fenton has a culture steeped in social change and activism, with a collaborative work environment, excellent benefits and a strong sense of purpose and community across the agency.


We are currently seeking a Vice President to join our Los Angeles, CA team who shares our passion for building a more representative democracy and just society. They will bring their expertise and depth of knowledge in helping foundations influence and change the narrative around progressive issues and guiding them in effectively engaging their staff and grantees to succeed in carrying out their mission. 

They will play a pivotal role in the strategic direction of our account work and new business activities. This role requires a strategic thinker who is able to gain a deep understanding of the agency capabilities, recommend how we develop and package those capabilities and match them to client needs.


The VP oversees account teams in addition to direct reports; contributes to and leads the creation of strategies that strengthen our firm in areas such as professional development or strengthening our subject areas of focus for the firm. They are a trusted counselor to our clients, a standard-bearer of excellence in our firm and a role model of leadership to our staff.

Essential responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Client Relations
  • Providing the highest level of substantive, strategist counsel to clients to foster the relationship of a trusted advisor
  • Ensuring that work produced by job team is of the highest quality
  • Providing day-to-day oversight of multiple large accounts including strategic counsel, quality control checks, and evaluation of account progress and client satisfaction
  • Ensuring that assigned clients receive regular status reports and budget updates
  • Conducting strategic planning for individual organizations and coalition movements
  • Writing contracts, grant proposals, high level strategy memos, and foundation reports
  • Overseeing the development of strategy documents, communication plans, memos, press kits, and other collaterals by staff
  • Editing press materials, including press releases, fact sheets and opinion pieces
  • Editing and advising on the creations of research reports
  • Pitching key reporters, prospective funders, and potential allies
  • Conducting media trainings for clients and other spokespeople
  • Advising on a range of public interest media campaigns
  • Managing client budgets for profitability for preventing overages
  • Ensuring direct reports meet or exceed weekly billings requirements
  • Pitching and securing new business, focusing on potential clients who share Fenton’s progressive social perspective and commitment to sound environmental practices
  • Meeting revenue goals established in advance with Managing Director
  • Leading pitch teams
  • Reviewing proposals and budgets for new accounts
  • Providing budget projections for weekly financial meetings
  • Developing and writing proposals
  • Managing job teams and individual staff
  • Assuming an office-wide role in training and mentoring staff
  • Projecting hours needed from staff assigned to your accounts, working with other senior staff to distribute billable hours among junior staff as necessary
  • Participating in regular strategy meetings with senior staff on organizational goals, growth and vision
  • Attending staff/job team meetings and providing input and feedback on business, including client service, staff development, and office procedures
  • Maintaining effective and efficient office structure through proper selection processes and coordination with Human Resources

Marketing/New Business
  • Pro-actively targeting key industry prospects; developing & writing proposals; pitching and securing new business, focusing on potential clients who share Fenton’s progressive social perspective and commitment to sound environmental practices
  • Building, genuine, long-term relationships with potential clients in order to drive revenue
  • Tracking and monitoring ongoing leads in an organized, shareable fashion, collaborating with lead account individuals to work towards united success and client conversion

Qualifications:
  • Minimum Bachelors’ degree or equivalent work experience. Non-traditional educational paths welcomed!
  • 8-12 years’ experience in leading communication strategies either in an agency or political non-profit organizations
  • Demonstrated knowledge of standards, principles, and techniques of public relations, communications, and social activism
  • Prior experience managing project budgets
  • Demonstrated ability to manage client accounts
  • Demonstrated ability to design a long-term creative communications campaign
  • Developing networks of business and political contacts
  • Excellent news and political savviness
  • Strong computer skills
  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively – both verbally and written, with various levels of staff, clients, contractors, and media
  • Demonstrated resourcefulness, optimism, and flexibility in approach to project assignments
  • Ability to interact and meet client and team expectations in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
  • Knowledge of one of more of Fenton’s issue areas
  • Extensive knowledge of traditional news and digital media
Fenton Offers
  • A competitive salary against industry standards
  • Commitment to pay equity practices
  • Published salary bands across all levels
  • Salary band for 140,000 - $190,000
  • Year-end discretionary bonus
  • New Business commission incentive
  • Comprehensive healthcare plans with generous employer premium contribution 
  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
  • 401K with employer match (50% up to 6% of your salary, eligible at 90 days of employment)
  • Profit sharing plan (4% of total W2 earnings, eligible after a year of employment)
  • Unlimited PTO for exempt staff and generous accrual policy for non-exempt staff
  • 11 paid company holidays
  • Discretionary company closing between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays
  • Pre-tax commuter benefits via WageWorks
  • Mobile Phone Reimbursement
  • A stipend to support your work-from-home setup
People of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and women are strongly encouraged to apply. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are committed to building and nurturing a diverse and inclusive staff. We believe that our firm’s continued success is driven by hiring and retaining high caliber staff from all backgrounds, experiences, identities, and orientations. We are committed to supporting our staff in growing their careers.  

This job will be remote for the duration of the effects of the Covid pandemic.  Please note that we are in the process of determining a new model to resume working in person which could include a remote and in-office hybrid approach.



 
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