Overview

The Jain Family Institute is seeking a Communications Associate to assist with the development of our external communications program. Our promotion centers on our current projects, which include digital ethics, guaranteed income, and higher education finance. The communications associate will report directly to the Editorial Director and be responsible for creating and publishing fresh and relevant content on all our external platforms--our website, social media, and more--and will also be central to the ideation and development of new public-facing workstreams and coverage.

The ideal candidate will have 2-5 years of experience in communications and public relations for a similar organization, and wide-ranging interest in all forms of intellectual activity and a passion for interdisciplinary engagement and social impact. Knowledge of economics, political science, or social science is extremely helpful for this role. JFI’s editorial work is growing quickly, and a self-starting, creative, and resourceful approach is crucial. You will be joining a team of generalist-practitioners with backgrounds in policy and academia.

To Apply

Those interested should send the following to [email protected]:

• CV or résumé with contact information,
• a letter of interest;
• a writing sample of 10–15 pages demonstrating an ability to clearly    synthesize, analyze, and communicate information from a variety of sources,. Along with those materials, please submit 4) the names of three institutions that are similar to JFI and have excellent public-facing materials, and explain your choices (no more than 500 words).

Only applicants with all submission materials will be considered.

Selected candidates will be invited to an in-person interview in our Manhattan office in October 2019.

Submit your materials at your earliest convenience, as submissions are considered on a rolling basis. September 15th is the priority deadline.

Tasks

The work will be split into a number of tasks, including some predetermined ones, but there will also be an expectation to create new content streams. Tasks will include:

• Management of external platforms: you will be responsible for updating the website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others on a daily basis with copy that you develop relating to all of JFI’s activities and projects, including news, events, research, new partnerships, seminars, and more
• Maintenance of JFI’s PR Editorial Calendar: you will work with project leads, the operations team and the CSO to log all upcoming items that can be publicized, and prep appropriate content
• Development of external contacts: research on journalists and publications that cover our areas of interest; outreach to scholars and writers
• Assistance with social media advertising and analytics
• Promotion of blog posts and newsletter; assisting with Twitter content and advertising
• Assistance with the development and formalization of communications strategies

Skills and Qualifications

• Most important: curiosity and its corollary, an ability to learn a wide variety of areas quickly; a passion for going beyond your area of expertise
• Excellent analytic and communication skills
• Communications experience in a field related to JFI’s work or at a comparable institution
• The ability to juggle competing priorities and demands across a wide range of projects
• Strong writing skills: an ability to fulfill copywriting, copy-editing and proof-reading deadlines independently and in a timely manner
• Strong proficiency with advertising tools and analytics on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• Graphic design skills; strong proficiency with InDesign, Photoshop, Powerpoint

Commitment

• Full-time
• Confidentiality: as needed

Compensation and Benefits

• Compensation will be commensurate with experience
• Full benefits, including healthcare, dental, vision, and wellness, unlimited PTO
• Opportunities to meet with leading scholars, policy experts, and business leaders

About JFI

JFI is an applied research organization in the social sciences. We work to bring just and equitable research and policy from conception in theory to implementation in society.

Our current active initiatives include applied research in higher education finance, guaranteed income, and digital ethics.

For details about our staff and current projects, see http://www.jainfamilyinstitute.org/.