Arena Careers

The Opportunity Futuro San Antonio is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization founded in September, 2023 dedicated to ensuring all San Antonio children have access to an excellent public education and greater prosperity for their futuro (future). By harnessing the power of community, Futuro SA will promote civic engagement, invest in leadership capacity, and organize a grassroots movement.

To accomplish our mission for families in San Antonio we have three strategic priorities:

• Build Community Power: Organize grassroots, activate civic leadership & increase voter engagement around equitable access to great public education.
• Improve Education Policy: Achieve better policies so every student can access great public schools that meet their unique needs.
• Elect Education Champions: Cultivate and elect bold, education champions who ground decision-making on better outcomes for students and families.

To Apply Interested candidates can apply by completing the application form and resume upload at this link. The priority deadline to apply is 5pm CT on Thursday, December 19th. We will review applications on a rolling basis after this deadline, but the application window may close at any time following this date. We encourage interested applicants to apply as close to the priority deadline as possible.

Position Details Futuro San Antonio is seeking an experienced Communications Director to lead the organization’s communications strategy and manage the execution of high-impact advocacy, political, and community engagement campaigns. We need someone who believes in the power of grassroots organizing and engagement to make significant political and policy changes that impact the lives of students and their families.

Our Communications Director will collaborate with the Executive Director and other team members to lead an internal and external communication strategy that advances our political goals, strengthens community ties, and ensures broad public awareness of our work. Specifically, the Communications Director will be responsible for the following:

• Strategic Planning & Implementation:
  • Create and implement comprehensive communication plans that align with our advocacy goals and objectives.
  • Maintain and enhance our brand, ensuring consistent messaging across all channels.
  • Plan, execute, and evaluate communication campaigns to raise awareness, mobilize support, endorse candidates, and influence policy.
  • Prepare regular reports on communication activities, outcomes, and impact for the organization’s leadership and stakeholders.
• Content Creation & Internal Communications:
  • Produce high-quality content, including press releases, newsletters, social media posts, blog articles, reports, advocacy materials, and talking points.
  • Manage the organization’s website, social media accounts, and email newsletters, ensuring regular updates and engagement.
  • Support the CEO with content related work, ensuring all communication materials are prepared and ready in advance of meetings and engagements
  • Work closely with other team members, including program staff, development, and executive leadership, to ensure cohesive communication efforts and to support colleagues with communications related work
• Community Engagement & Advocacy:
  • Engage with parents, families, and community members through various communication channels to build trust and support for advocacy initiatives, amplify the organization's message, and attain political outcomes
  • Support in organizing and promoting events such as workshops, seminars, rallies, and community meetings to support advocacy goals
  • Communicate policy positions and advocacy messages to policymakers, stakeholders, and the public
  • Train and support staff and volunteers in effective communication practices and advocacy messaging
  • Develop and maintain relationships with journalists, bloggers, and media outlets to secure coverage of the organization’s work and advocacy efforts
• Organizational Commitments: Futuro is a collaborative, dynamic team in the start-up phase of our development. We have an all-hands on deck approach and our team works hard in service of our mission. As a result, there may be additional responsibilities dependent on capacity, interest, skill, and organizational need.
  • We need someone who is comfortable with late-night work sessions and weekend projects when we have events, deadlines are pressing, or urgent communication needs arise. At the same time, we really care about our staff. We have a very flexible work environment and we often take time off as a team after particularly busy stretches.

Skills & Mindsets All team members at Futuro must share our commitment to our vision, mission, and educational equity. Specifically, they must believe in disrupting patterns of racial inequity and advocating for public education reform in San Antonio through grassroots, community led strategies. Team members must also demonstrate our values of:

• We Step into Leadership
• We Organize in Community
• We Engage with Humility
• We Value Equity
• We Embody Commitment

Additionally, successful candidates for the Communications Director role must demonstrate:

• Project Management: Strong leadership in managing complex projects from inception to completion, often under tight deadlines (e.g., marketing and/or advocacy campaigns). Able to balance multiple priorities and navigate ambiguity while ensuring high-quality, impactful communications. Collaborative skills, working with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to create a broad range of high-quality content across multiple platforms, including blogs, videos, infographics, newsletters, digital ads, and long-form reports, all tailored for diverse audiences. Adept at translating complex policy issues into compelling narratives for diverse audiences, including community members, media outlets, and policymakers.
• Agility and Responsiveness: Capable of leading in a dynamic, fast-moving environment, with the ability to incorporate feedback quickly and continuously improve strategies and operations. Ability to be flexible and respond quickly to changing contexts and dynamics in the organization and local context. Calm under pressure, staying composed even when situations are intense or time-sensitive. Experience in leading teams through periods of rapid change or crisis is a plus.
• Strong Relationship Building: The ability to build authentic, trusting relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders including Futuro team members, parents, community partners, media contacts, policy makers, etc. Skilled communicator who is comfortable talking to anyone, including community members, media, or government officials.
• Critical Thinking and Strategic Problem Solving: High-level strategic thinking, with the ability to develop long-term plans and lead aligned strategies to outcomes. Resourceful and skilled at finding answers you need to get the job done, even when the information isn’t readily available.
• Organization and Reliability: Very strong organization skills and attention to details, ensuring that every piece of content you produce is free from errors. Skilled at organizing information and data. Able to look for ways to streamline communications processes and bring order to complex projects. Experience handling confidential and sensitive information with the utmost discretion.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in advanced communications, design, and marketing tools including Google Suite, Canva, and other digital marketing platforms, and the ability to learn new technology platforms that enhance communication strategies.

Experience Strong candidates will demonstrate most, if not all, of the following: Required:

• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible experience
• Work in public relations, strategic communications, and/or public policy
• Experience in leading branded communication campaigns, including setting key performance indicators (KPIs), developing targeted messaging, and adapting strategies
• Success in shaping organizational messaging to influence public opinion and/or policy

Preferred:

• Work in public education and educational equity
• Experience working in advocacy communications
• Experience in nonprofit leadership or director-level role
• Experience using digital platforms to enhance community engagement, build coalitions, and drive advocacy initiatives
• Experience working in the San Antonio area
• Spanish language proficiency (written and verbal)

Compensation and Benefits Futuro offers a competitive salary and benefits package that includes competitive health, vision, and dental insurance, mileage reimbursement, holidays and vacation days, flexible work schedule, cell phone reimbursement, paid parental leave, and retirement plan contributions.

The salary range for this position is budgeted at $85,000-$95,000. Starting salary will be determined by someone’s aligned experience starting in this role and equity among the existing Futuro team.

Futuro is an Equal Opportunity Employer and upholds the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and job applicants. Futuro makes employment-based decisions, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, assignment, conditions of employment, compensation, benefits, training, promotion, transfer and termination, without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, color, age, national or ethnic origin, pregnancy, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, military status, disability, religion, genetic trait or information, or any other legally protected status or characteristic under federal, state, and local law.