Communications Manager- Erb Family Foundation

Our client, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, is hiring a Communications Manager. The Erb Family Foundation has made over $165 million in grants to improve the quality of life for residents in Southeast Michigan and the Great Lakes region since launching its grantmaking in 2009. Funding has been focused on improving water quality in the Great Lakes basin, promoting environmental health and justice, advancing Alzheimer’s research, strengthening sustainable business, and supporting the arts.

In May 2022, the Erb Family Foundation announced it would shift from a perpetual foundation to a spend-down model and conclude its grantmaking by 2035. The board and staff are currently engaged in strategic planning to identify grantmaking priorities for the Foundation’s final decade. That work is being guided by the Foundation’s new mission and vision:

The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation envisions a flourishing, healthy, and resilient Great Lakes ecosystem and a culturally vibrant, sustainable southeast Michigan. Toward this end, we strengthen the cultural and environmental organizations that share our vision to make this a reality for generations to come.

The Foundation’s investments and way of working will be guided by its values: make a lasting transformative difference, embrace possibility, work and learn in partnership, and pursue fairness and respect. The new grantmaking strategy and program areas will be announced in October 2024

The Opportunity

In recent years, the Erb Family Foundation has expanded its efforts to communicate its impact—and that of its grantees—and to use digital communications to generate awareness and dialogue around issues related to its areas of focus. The Communications Manager will contribute to developing and executing even more robust and effective communications activities to lift the legacy of its founders, advance knowledge sharing, and amplify grantees’ impact in the context of the Foundation’s spenddown strategy and grantmaking priorities.

The Communications Manager position is full-time, hybrid. The Communications Manager will report to the Vice President of Programs, collaborate with Foundation staff, support and advise Foundation leadership, and engage with grant partners.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop, monitor, and assess the annual communications plan with the Foundation’s leadership, administration, and program teams.
• Work closely with program staff to ensure all Foundation grantmaking areas and strategic plan goals are exemplified through active storytelling and content creation.
• Ensure internal and external content is written and edited for accuracy and style, reflects the Foundation’s brand guidelines and voice, and forwards communications goals.
• Proactively identify opportunities to capture and share knowledge, highlight progress and impact, and provide context through communications.
• Produce compelling content and storytelling for a variety of uses including website, blogs, newsletters, social media, videos, media releases, speeches/presentations, biannual report, and more.
• Develop and publish an ongoing schedule of social media content.
• Produce an e-newsletter and maintain distribution lists.
• Produce grants announcements, media releases, e-blasts, and partner social media toolkits.
• Support planning and execution of online and in-person events.
• Prepare analytics and insights—including website, newsletter, social media engagement, and other activities related to the Foundation’s knowledge sharing and other activities.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Personally interested in issues relating to the environment, sustainability, and/or the arts and an understanding of philanthropic or nonprofit organizations.
• Exceptional writing and strong verbal communication skills across diverse media.
• Strong project management skills and attention to detail
• Enjoy making a vital contribution to a team and able to do so with a collaborative mindset, high level of emotional intelligence, cultural competence, discretion, and professionalism.
• Supportive of an internal culture around communications.
• Highly proficient with Microsoft 365 including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.; Adobe; Canva; Constant Contact; LinkedIn; and Facebook—and able to identify and evaluate emerging tools and processes to increase the quality of materials and the efficiency of collaboration.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant area of study as well as
• Five or more years of experience in the nonprofit or philanthropic sector or a related field (e.g., communications, journalism, or liberal arts).
• Candidates with an alternative but comparable level of experience are encouraged to apply.

Work Arrangements, Compensation, and Benefits:

The Foundation’s offices are in Birmingham, Michigan. Full-time staff work a hybrid schedule (three (3) days in-person and two (2) days remote).

The salary for this position begins at $90,000 and may be adjusted according to qualifications and experience. The Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance and a generous 401 (k) plan.

Erb Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, citizenship status, and genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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