Senior Media Manager

Job Description

About us:  Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national organization working to transform the justice system by promoting responses to violence that break cycles of trauma. We work at the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and racial justice to elevate healing and safety over punishment, advance racial equity, and meet the needs of survivors. 
We build community safety by: 

• strengthening and expanding community-led solutions to violence; 
• building capacity for those community-led organizations and getting them the funding that they need—by advocating for policy that promotes alternatives to policing and punitive systems; and 
• changing the narrative around justice, reducing the harm of our current system, and building a justice system that actually delivers safety and well-being. 

EJUSA has a bold vision for healing and equity that directly aligns with this urgent national moment – making this an exciting time to join our team and design the next phase of EJUSA’s strategy!

Our team members: EJUSA is a team of fierce organizers and advocates, many of whom have been touched by violence and the justice system. We bring a broad span of perspectives to our work, united by one common belief that everyone deserves safety, healing, equity, and well-being.

What it’s like to work here: EJUSA is a special place to work. Our team is made up of passionate and collaborative leaders who treat each other as whole people. Our organizational culture is rooted in the values that drive our mission, so we work to ensure that equity, partnership, transcending divides, and healing are embedded into every aspect of our daily operations, from staff policies to salaries. We are an entirely remote organization and have been honing ways of building and maintaining trust across our team virtually since long before the rest of the world had to.

About this role: We seek an enterprising, ideas-driven storyteller and effective communicator with skills in relationship building, writing, and data management. This position will work closely with members of the Communications team and Programs staff to sell the story of our work, place the organization and its staff externally in media stories, and author opinion pieces that uplift the work, mission, and vision of EJUSA. The successful candidate will develop relationships and trust with our Programs staff, external partners, and community members to share their work and stories with media outlets. The ideal candidate will be an excellent writer with a deep understanding of the news media, someone who will know how to pitch—or “sell”—the many stories of our work.

EJUSA has 47 staff members throughout the country, and a small national office in Brooklyn, NY. This position will report to the Chief of Strategic Communications.

Application Deadline: September 9, 2024, or when we receive 200 applications.

Target Start Date: January 2025

Job Requirements

Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain media lists organized by geography, issue (racial justice, violence prevention, death penalty, etc.), and medium. 
• Strong ability to break down complicated information or jargon into simplified terms.
• Regularly pitch stories using current and/or breaking news moments as “hooks”, while building relationships with the journalists on those lists.
• Prepare EJUSA staff for media interviews by researching outlets, the interviewing journalist, and developing key messages for the relevant topics. 
• Conceptualize, draft, and pitch op-eds from the Chief Executive Officer and other externally positioned staff members as well as key community partners
• Write press releases and statements in reaction to news events as well as media advisories to attract journalists to important events/moments.
• Deliver media training to staff members as needed. 
• Collaborate and strategize with EJUSA’s long standing media consultant.
• Immerse in programmatic work by attending regular program meetings and identifying significant, newsworthy programmatic campaign moments.
• Convey EJUSA’s work with a deep understanding (some of what you bring, and much of what you learn) of racial injustice in the U.S. with a focus on using language that recognizes humanity and the value of Black, Brown, and other marginalized communities.  
• Take on other special projects and duties as needed.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to produce compelling written content for diverse audiences
• Proven track record of effectively pitching stories to media outlets
• Strong understanding of the news media landscape and how to engage with it
• Ability to protect sensitive and confidential information
• Comfort working in a Mac environment
• Resourceful, diligent, creative, flexible, friendly personality, sense of humor, and the ability to work with many types of people
• Commitment to the mission and core values of Equal Justice USA
• Commitment to racial equity

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