Arena Careers

Position Summary

From advocacy and community building to stakeholder engagement, we harness the power of voice to listen, see trends and patterns, and drive both engagement and action.

Current/recent environmental justice clients include: the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, USDA Forest Service, NASA, The Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation, Up for Growth, The Rockefeller Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other social impact organizations.

Our work in the environmental justice space is growing, and we are seeking a freelance senior associate/associate to work in collaboration with members of the MG team across the company on a variety of client accounts.

The senior associate will specialize in a growing portfolio of work to support, research, and deliver the impact of powerful social marketing, public will building, movement and coalition building efforts, and policy change initiatives.

As such, we are searching for a curious, innovative, and collaborative senior associate who is comfortable in a fast-paced, billable environment. If you thrive when working on and balancing multiple projects, this may be the role for you.

We have a preference for this role to be located in our D.C. or Portland area markets. The contract position is for a limited duration of 6-12 months.

The pay rate for this contract/freelance role will be variable depending on the role and the specific project. Rates will be disclosed at the initial outreach stage.

General Responsibilities

• Support the effective delivery of services for capacity building, technical assistance, and direct strategic communication for social change.
• Support teams working on the design, implementation, and evaluation of the full range of strategic communication, organizational strategy, and intercultural engagement strategies for nonprofit, foundation, and government clients.
• Contribute to client projects through writing, research, media relations and social media, as well as other areas of experience that you bring to teams.
• Write a wide range of communication materials, including content (web and social), news releases, briefing papers, memos, plans, etc.
• Conduct research, including online scans of website, social media, and media coverage; quantitative research through polls, surveys, etc.; and qualitative research through interviews, focus groups, listening sessions, etc.
• Analyze data and information to synthesize findings and develop recommendations, and draft research reports.
• Support project management on selected accounts, including managing budgets, work plans, client updates, and team coordination and communication.
• Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of powerful social marketing, public will building, movement and coalition building efforts, policy change campaigns, and other work within our practice areas.

Requirements

• At least two to four years of experience working in strategic communication (any combination of storytelling, public will building and social marketing, media and public relations, issue framing and message development), community engagement, coalition building, public affairs and policy, etc. This requirement may also be met by experience that includes strategic communication and a combination of organizational development and intercultural communication/engagement.
• A commitment to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion—including a commitment to advancing antiracism and dismantling white supremacy—in the workplace, in our sector, and in our society.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills—including strong, persuasive writing and the ability to present complex ideas for varied audiences.
• Well-developed meeting facilitation and engagement skills, including designing meeting agendas and facilitating virtual, in-person, and hybrid meetings.
• Agency or consulting experience (preferred).
• Bilingual or fluency in Spanish, or other language(s) (preferred).
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Must be authorized to accept work in the United States.

Expectations

• Provide professional consulting services and communications skills to clients as part of a diverse dedicated team.
• Be a team player and excel at team-oriented problem-solving.
• Demonstrate an excellent work ethic.
• Contribute positively to the MG culture and to the psychological safety of an intercultural environment.
• Support and embody the organization’s values, goals, and operating principles.
• Have an upbeat, creative, and professional demeanor.
• Bring curiosity and commitment to our work.

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Metropolitan Group, we know that diverse backgrounds, experiences, and cultures strengthen our work and our workplace. We strive to create an intercultural workplace through greater recognition, understanding, and appreciation of a broad range of differences among individuals and groups within society, and to incorporate an intercultural perspective in our work.

We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, genders, races, religions, ages, sexual orientations or gender identities, abilities, or other identities. We encourage all candidates to apply—even if you don’t believe you meet every requirement outlined above. If you have any questions, please reach out to JoinTheTeam@metgroup.com.

Application Information

Send a cover letter and your resume, and (optional) two writing samples (examples include and are not limited to: campaign strategy and result case studies, policy and advocacy briefs/materials, media releases, social media post(s), articles, website content, etc.) to JoinTheTeam@metgroup.com. Please include in your cover letter how you heard about this role.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

We anticipate a process of two to three sets of interviews for these contract/freelance opportunities.

Download the complete description here.