Director of Communications

Luminos Fund is looking for an experienced, results-focused, and creative Director of Communications to contribute to its rapid growth and expansion. In collaboration with Luminos leadership and communications colleagues, the Director of Communications will steer and execute the communication strategy at Luminos across traditional media, social media, email, web, events, and more. The ideal candidate will bring a depth of proven experience in team building, team management and development, and media relations management. The Director of Communications will join an energetic and collaborative team at the Luminos Fund, report to the Vice President of Development & Communications, and play an integral role ensuring Luminos has an elegant, moving, and impactful communications presence across platforms and key issues.

This full-time position can be based anywhere in GMT -5 to +3 time zones (e.g., Boston, London, Addis Ababa, etc.) with a slight preference for candidates based in Boston. It will involve a certain amount of international travel to challenging contexts in the developing world.

About the Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) believes that no child should be denied the chance to learn. Launched in 2016, Luminos is scaling up Second Chance: an accelerated learning program that enables children who have been kept out of school by crisis or poverty to catch up to grade level and return to learning – all in 10 months. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, we operate programs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia. To date, we have helped over 152,051 children secure a second chance to learn. As school reopens across the globe following the COVID-19 pandemic, Luminos is rising to meet the moment – launching new country programs and developing new ways of delivering at scale.

Luminos is supported by premier philanthropic organizations, including Cartier Philanthropy, Dubai Cares, Legatum, and UBS Optimus Foundation. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, the WISE Award, and the HundrED Global Innovation Award for the last five years.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communications Strategy

• Set and manage Luminos’ overall communication strategy, working with Luminos leadership and communications colleagues to refine core messages. Serve as a close thought partner to the Vice President of Development & Communications.
• Select mix of investments across different communications channels and manage a modest budget for outsized impact.

Team Management and Development

• Manage the recruitment, onboarding, management, and professional development of a high-performing, agile, results-focused Communications team and consultants.

Media Relations and Public Affairs

• Craft annual plan and objectives for publications, press outreach, and pitch themes, and execute successfully towards that strategy – working in concert with Luminos leadership, the Communications and Programs teams, and external partners.
• As required, partner with senior leadership to prepare on-brand, on-message remarks and presentations.
• Nurture Luminos network of external partners’ communications staffs to ensure dissemination of Luminos stories across key constituencies.

Digital Marketing: Website, Social Media, and Email

• Oversee members of the team delivering on Luminos’ presence and participation on social media, with an emphasis on strategic audience engagement and growth, as well as brand building. Oversee reporting on metrics and targets and regular progress reports.
• Guide team members shaping the Luminos’ website—including contributing to writing and copy editing, and sourcing, editing, and publishing blogs—and other online content.
• Help take the Luminos Fund’s e-newsletter and email marketing to new heights, tracking engagement and metrics.
• Support the conceptualization and execution of multiple giving campaigns annually, especially around the back-to-school narrative.
• Coordinate and manage external vendors as needed.

Branded Materials

• In collaboration with team, steward production of electronic and print outreach materials including annual reports, collateral, merchandise, stationery, and event materials.
• Ensure photography and video assets are on-brand and on-message.
• Contribute to graphic design and presentation design (advanced skills a plus).
• Coordinate and manage external vendors as needed.

Proposal and Presentation Development

• When required, support the Development team on key funding proposals, messaging, graphics, copy editing, etc.
• Support executive team in development of presentations to the Board of Directors and Advisory Board.

Event Planning and Funder Field Visits Support

• Collaborate with Luminos leadership and fundraising team to concept events adjacent to major global conferences and at program sites.
• When required, support visits to Luminos programs with current and prospective supporters, both institutional funders and high net worth individuals.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• BA in communications or a related field, plus a minimum of 8 years’ relevant experience including building, managing, and developing high-impact communications teams in an agency or organizational setting.
• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading skills for different audiences.
• Proven achievement managing ambitious media relations strategies.
• Proven fluency in social media norms, standards, and metrics.
• Familiarity with WordPress (Divi theme) and HTML.
• Basic design and presentation skills, including Photoshop, InDesign, and PowerPoint.
• Experience cultivating and managing a network of design, video, and photography vendors.
• Experience working in a nonprofit organization is not required, but commitment to master the technical details of international education is.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential for success.

Preferred Experience

• International work experience.
• Experience managing successful digital and email marketing campaigns.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM platforms.

Core Attributes

• Impeccable integrity and can-do attitude.
• Meticulous attention to details large and small.
• Natural curiosity and hunger for continuous learning.
• Innate sense of responsibility for delivery of quality work, even in adverse circumstance.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently in challenging international contexts, as required.
• Natural affinity for technology.
• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts, often outside regular business hours.
• Passion for amplifying global voices and advancing narratives with leaders from the Global South as the protagonists of social change.