Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications Resilient Forests

Department: Marketing & Communications 

Reports To: Senior Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications 

Location: Remote 

FLSA Category: Exempt 

Posted On: January 15, 2025
Application Deadline: January 31, 2025
Candidate Notifications Begin: February 3, 2025 

ABOUT US 

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to wilderness, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water, and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for nearly 150 years.  

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible (DEIA) workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member.  

POSITION SUMMARY 

The Resilient Forests program at American Forests is dedicated to restoring healthy biodiverse forests and advancing forest climate solutions across North America. By addressing pressing challenges such as wildfire, disease, pests, and drought—exacerbated by climate change—the program employs climate-smart forestry, cutting-edge science, and strategic policy advocacy to safeguard forest landscapes. A key focus is fostering partnerships with federal and state agencies, Tribal governments, land managers, corporations, and other stakeholders to scale up restoration efforts. Since its inception, the program has demonstrated significant impact, having planted and regenerated more than 82 million trees over three decades, while achieving conservation milestones like supporting the recovery of the Kirtland’s warbler from the brink of extinction and reforesting landscapes in Hawaii and California. 

We restore resilience in forest ecosystems where it has been lost, for people, water, wildlife, and climate. We advance this work through science and innovation, reforestation practice, investing in restoration supply chains, and through policy and thought leadership.  

To help us achieve the goals of the Resilient Forests program, American Forests seeks an experienced strategic marketing and communications professional to help take American Forests to a new level. As a leader within the Marketing and Communications team, the Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications – Resilient Forests, will be a subject matter expert regarding all things related to the Resilient Forests program at American Forests, including forest restoration, climate and forest carbon science and conservation policy. In coordination with the Senior Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications, they will develop a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy for the Resilient Forests program that maps to the program’s outreach, advocacy, and other impact goals, and the overall marketing and communications strategic plan and aligns to the broader American Forest goals and objectives. The Director will be a critical partner to the Chief Program Officer of Resilient Forests, and the technical leads within the program team. 

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES 

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to: 

Strategic Leadership  

• Oversee all marketing and communications related to American Forests’ large landscape-scale forest restoration and forestry science initiatives happening across the U.S., ensuring alignment with the overall marketing and communications strategy, as well as American Forests’ overall brand and mission. 
• Collaborate closely with senior leadership, including the Chief Program Officer – Resilient Forests, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Director, Strategic Marketing and Communications, to shape and refine messaging, positioning, and outreach strategies. 
• Lead cross-functional teams in executing marketing and communications initiatives that drive public awareness, engagement, and action to support forest restoration and climate science initiatives. 
• Manage select contractors and marketing and communications partners. 

Marketing and Communications Planning  

• Craft, implement and evaluate a strategic marketing and communications plan that leverages key messaging, themes, audiences, and activities as outlined in the Resilient Forests program’s objectives. 
• Lead the design and oversee the execution of integrated marketing campaigns that drive engagement and action among target audiences, including federal, state, Tribal and private landowners, policymakers, community leaders, corporate partners, donors and the public. 
• In coordination with the Senior Director, Digital Marketing & Creative Content, drive content creation and storytelling efforts that highlight science-informed reforestation efforts and success stories, partnerships with public and private landowners, opportunities for rural and Indigenous landowners, advancements in restoration research, and more. Develop and oversee implementation of social media, email campaigns, and website content, to ensure consistent and impactful messaging. 
• Strategize and collaborate with public relations leads to plan for and respond to media opportunities.
• In coordination with external partners, develop and manage a calendar of communications initiatives, events, thought leadership opportunities, and media outreach to support the promotion of Resilient Forests initiatives. 

Stakeholder Engagement  

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key external stakeholders, including federal and state subject matter experts and communications officers, community organizations and leaders, media partners and contractors. 
• Coordinate with internal teams, including the Marketing and Communications team, Executive Office, Resilient Forests program, GIS & Data Science team, Policy team, and the Philanthropy team, to ensure cohesive messaging and aligned communication strategies around proactive communications opportunities, events and thought leadership. 
• Oversee the creation and distribution of collateral materials, including toolkits, brochures, and reports, to support outreach and advocacy efforts. 

Thought Leadership and Content Creation  

• Position American Forests as a thought leader on climate-smart forestry, forest adaptation to climate change, wildfire, biodiveristy conservation, and ecological restoration, working with the Resilient Forests program in developing and disseminating compelling content, including articles, blogs, op-eds, reports and case studies.
• Coordinate with American Forests’ leadership team to amplify their voices at events and in media, highlighting the organization’s role in advancing Resilient Forests. 
• Lead efforts to showcase success stories and validators. 

Measurement and Evaluation  

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for marketing and communication initiatives, tracking and reporting on progress and outcomes. 
• Working with channel leads, use data-driven insights to refine strategies and tactics, ensuring continuous improvement and maximum impact of marketing and communication efforts.

QUALIFICATIONS 

While we do not expect any one candidate to possess all of these qualifications, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal skills and qualities: 

• 7+ years of experience in strategic marketing and communications and/or campaigns, with a focus on environmental, social impact, or nonprofit sectors. Environmental or forestry research and field experience a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations or a related field required. Additional experience considered in lieu of.
• Proven interest and ability to stay abreast of latest news in environmental conservation, forestry and climate change.
• Proven track record of developing and executing successful marketing and communication strategies that drive engagement and achieve organizational goals.
• Experience leading brand management and public relations efforts, with a strong understanding of digital and social media marketing.
• Strong leadership and project management skills, with the ability to manage cross-functional teams and multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to craft compelling messages and narratives.
• Passion for climate change solutions, forests, environmental justice and sustainability, with a commitment to advancing the mission of American Forests and the Resilient Forests program.

AMERICAN FORESTS’ CORE COMPETENCIES: 

• Attitude: Brings a positive outlook to the work and helps inspires others to achieve excellence.
• Communication: Produces strong written documents, edits documents effectively, engages in effective verbal communication—1-on-1 and small group—and conducts effective large group presentations.
• Organization: Prioritizes tasks effectively, accomplishes tasks efficiently, follows through on all commitments, breaks down large projects to make them manageable, and effectively manages complex projects involving multiple actors.
• Problem-Solving & Creativity: Identifies issues, effectively structures problems, analyzes data to produce insights, and generates wise, actionable recommendations. Understands the limited resources available and produces creative solutions.
• Representing the Organization: Serves as an effective ambassador, builds connections, and maintains relationships with outside partners, vendors and donors. Brings credibility to the organization in how they present themselves.

LOCATION & WORKING CONDITIONS 

This is a remote position. Up to 25% of travel to American Forests’ headquarters in Washington, D.C. or throughout the U.S. for key stakeholder meetings, events and projects may be required.  

Subject to applicable laws, American Forests requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. We will consider requests for accommodation to this vaccination requirement during the recruiting process. Any requested accommodation(s) must be reviewed and approved (if applicable) in advance of your start date.  

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

The individual must be comfortable with prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing at a desk and working on a computer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.  

SUPERVISORY REQUIREMENTS 

This position does not have any supervisory requirements.  

American Forests is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.  

Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran/LGBTQ+ 

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.