Position Description:  The Media Relations Manager, reporting to the Head of Brand Impact and Communications, will work with Advocates for Youth’s Communications and Strategic Projects team to ensure young people’s voices are represented in media, particularly media on reproductive and sexual health issues. The primary work of the Media Relations Manager will be pitching stories to media, drafting quotes and opinion pieces, and identifying and preparing youth and staff spokespersons. 

ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION: Advocates for Youth (Advocates) partners with youth activists and their adult allies to champion youth rights to bodily autonomy and build power to transform policies, programs and systems to secure sexual health and equity for all young people. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Advocates for Youth works towards a society in which all young people are valued, respected, and treated with dignity; sexuality is accepted as a healthy part of being human; and youth sexual development is normalized and embraced.  Advocates applies a racial and social justice lens to all of its work, partnering with youth activists most impacted by sexual health disparities and their adult allies across the U.S. and internationally to champion young people’s rights to honest sex education, confidential sexual health services and the opportunities and resources necessary to drive sexual health equity.  The organization has a youth activist network 100,000+ strong and is active on 1,200 college campuses and in hundreds of communities across the U.S and abroad. 

Responsibilities: 

• Secure frequent media placements for Advocates for Youth staff and youth activists around reproductive and sexual health and rights issues
• Draft op-eds, quotes, and other pieces for media
• Prepare young people for working with the media
• Cultivate a network of young people interested in press and create opportunities for them
• Support Head of Brand Impact and Communications in developing and disseminating messaging 
• Regularly update staff on media hits and media trends
• Create and maintain media contacts list and frequently update it as reporters move across outlets
• Monitor news; flag articles for rapid response (seek media corrections for news stories as assigned); identify engagement opportunities; prepare weekly clips
• Assist in updating communications-managed web content
• While the successful candidate will work closely with the digital/social media team, this position’s focus is not on content creation but is on working with journalists and media outlets to secure coverage.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years of demonstrated experience in communication and media outreach.
• Demonstrated deep interest in and passion for young people’s reproductive and sexual health and rights
• Excellent writer and editor, experienced in writing for a variety of audiences
• Fluency with Google suite,Slack, and other modern office tools
• Familiarity with the modern media landscape, especially youth-focused outlets and reproductive and sexual health and rights journalism
• Experience with Cision a plus
• The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about working closely with a Communications team and will also excel at working independently.

HOURS: This is a full-time position (32 hours per week/4 day work week). 

SALARY & BENEFITS: The salary range for this position is $70,000-80,000 commensurate with experience.  Benefits include flexible compensatory time, health and dental insurance plans, life and short- and long-term disability insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, professional development funds, and student loan pay-down.

START DATE: Negotiable 

LOCATION: Advocates’ offices are located in the District of Columbia. Successful candidate needs to be available during east coast working hours. Some travel will be required if the candidate lives outside the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Attendance at in-person quarterly staff gatherings is required; little other travel expected though opportunities (like conferences and professional development) may arise. 

TO APPLY:  Please fill out this form.  For best consideration, please apply by June 11. No telephone calls or email inquiries, please.  Final candidates will need to provide three references.

Advocates for Youth is an Equal Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act employer and

strongly encourages people of color and LGBTQ people to apply.