Director Of Communications

Position Summary:

The Director of Communications leads the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona's (CFB's) external communications, media relations, public messaging, and organizational storytelling across its five-county service area. This position is responsible for strengthening how CFB communicates its mission, impact, strategic direction, advocacy priorities, fundraising case, and role in building a stronger and more resilient regional food system. The Director works cross-functionally with executive leadership, Fund Development, Community Impact, Policy, Programs, Operations, and other teams to ensure CFB's public communications are clear, consistent, accessible, accurate, and grounded in the lived experiences of neighbors and communities. The role translates complex strategies, data, evaluation findings, food systems work, and policy issues into compelling public narratives that build trust, deepen donor and community engagement, and inspire action.

Available for after-hours or weekend work as needed to support media response, events, emergency communications, and organizational priorities.

Key Responsibilities:

External Communications Strategy and Organizational Alignment

• In alignment with CFB's strategic plan, develop and implement an integrated external communications strategy that strengthens public understanding of CFB's mission, impact, programs, advocacy work, fundraising priorities, and food systems role.
• Help evolve CFB's public narrative beyond food distribution alone to communicate the broader story of food access, community resilience, health, equity, and the root causes of hunger.
• Partner with executive leadership and department leaders to establish organizational messaging priorities, annual communications plans, editorial calendars, and clear approval processes.
• Translate strategic initiatives, program outcomes, evaluation findings, and operational changes into plain-language communications for donors, partners, neighbors, policymakers, volunteers, media, and the general public.
• Develop and maintain organizational message, talking points, and other tools that support consistent communications across departments and counties.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators related to media coverage, message reach, audience engagement, storytelling, public awareness, and communications effectiveness.

Media Relations

• Lead proactive and responsive media relations across nationally, regionally and in CFB's service area (Pima, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz counties), cultivating relationships with reporters, editors, producers, and community media partners.
• Identify media opportunities that elevate CFB's programs, community needs, advocacy priorities, donor investments, partnerships, and measurable impact.
• Coordinate media inquiries, interviews, press releases, media advisories, background materials, crisis statements, and follow-up; maintain a timely and accurate response process.
• Serve as an organizational spokesperson when appropriate and prepare, coach, and support leaders and subject matter experts for interviews and public appearances.
• Monitor media coverage, public discourse, emerging issues, and misinformation related to hunger, food insecurity, public benefits, nonprofit services, and food systems; recommend timely responses.

Storytelling and Community Voice

• Lead CFB's storytelling strategy and build a sustainable story-gathering process that reflects the experiences of neighbors, partners, volunteers, donors, staff, and communities throughout the service area.
• Develop, facilitate, and train a cross-functional staff storytelling committee to identify story opportunities, strengthen interviewing and writing practices, and maintain an accessible story bank.
• Establish ethical standards and procedures for informed consent, privacy, dignity, compensation or recognition when appropriate with people sharing lived experiences.
• Produce or oversee high-quality written, digital, visual, and multimedia content for media, web, social channels, reports, presentations, donor communications, campaigns, and community education.

Avocacy, Food Systems, and Public Education

• Partner with Policy, Community Impact, and Program teams to communicate how public policy, public benefits, local food systems, health, and community investment affect food insecurity in Southern Arizona.
• Translate advocacy priorities into accessible, accurate, and nonpartisan language that supports public understanding and appropriate action.
• Develop communications for advocacy campaigns, community education, partner briefings, calls to action, and policy-related events.
• Prepare talking points, fact sheets, public statements, op-eds, presentations, social media content, and other materials that explain the local impact of policy decisions and systems-level solutions.

Leadership, Training, and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Train staff and leadership on media protocols, storytelling practices, message discipline, public speaking, crisis communications, and appropriate external communications.
• Build strong working relationships across CFB departments and locations to ensure communications reflect program expertise, operational realities, community needs, and organizational priorities.
• Lead or support crisis and emergency communications, including rapid coordination, message development, approval, and dissemination across appropriate channels.

Other Duties

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the staff member for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Eight (8) or more years of progressively responsible experience in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, community relations, nonprofit communications, or a related field.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, public affairs, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing media relations and producing high-quality communications for varied public audiences.
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, etc.) and Adobe Suite.
• Familiarity with digital communications and content-management tools.
• Valid Arizona Driver's License with a clean driving record; ability to travel to CFB locations in the five-county service area, regionally and nationally