External Communications Manager

This is a Full-Time Role (40 hours per week) with no option for part-time work. While this is a remote-first opportunity, the candidate filling this role must be a resident of California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, or New York at the start of employment. Additionally, they must be within commuting distance of our office in Oakland, Denver, Philadelphia, or New York City.

About B Lab

 B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and we certify companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way. 

B Lab U.S. & Canada is one of seven global partners of the global network. We foster and mobilize a growing community of people and businesses working towards a more fair and inclusive economy in the United States and Canada. More than 2,500 B Corps make up the U.S. & Canada community, supported by the nonprofit, B Lab U.S. & Canada. Learn more about the U.S. & Canada network at wearebcorps.com

About the Opportunity

The Marketing & Communications team plays an integral role in amplifying the impact of the B Corp community and realizing B Lab’s global vision of inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. We collaborate with cross-functional teams to advance operational, programmatic, and growth objectives, while working to advance B Lab U.S. & Canada’s Theory of Change: building on a foundation of stakeholder governance, businesses can and must play a leading changemaker role to address climate justice and racial inequity. 

Our marketing and communications efforts engage B Corps in the work necessary to shift narratives, reform business practices, and affect the policies under which business operates. The Marketing & Communications team is responsible for the health of the B Corp brand, while ensuring consistent measurement around awareness, engagement and impact. We also work closely with B Lab Global and Global Partners to ensure a consistent global brand, build credibility of the certification, and engage in collective action campaigns relevant to both our region and the global community. 

The Senior Manager, External Communications will develop and execute our media and thought leadership strategy to directly advance B Lab U.S. & Canada’s organizational objectives and Theory of Change. The role will specialize in creating, managing, and implementing communications initiatives, campaigns, and partnerships to secure positive media coverage that furthers the work of B Lab and Certified B Corporations in the U.S. and Canada. 

The role will identify and amplify stories and storytellers in the B Corp community to build credibility with key audiences. Working with thought leaders at B Lab U.S. & Canada, they will vet, seek out and secure speaking engagements, briefings, and media opportunities. The Senior Manager of External Communications will also partner with the Global Communications team to advance global communications priorities and respond to controversial issues with external stakeholders. 

The ideal candidate demonstrates excellent communication, writing and organizational skills; possesses tactical, creative and strategic acumen; and can show a track record of success across a broad spectrum of today’s media and marketing channels.

Core Responsibilities: 

Public Relations (40%) 

• Onboard and manage PR agency; identity scope, workflow, and outcomes. 
• Develop External Communications strategy to influence key audiences, including B Corp employees, policymakers (local, state & federal), and large enterprise executives. 
• Oversee the development of external content, including press releases, op-eds, official statements, web and social media content, brand messaging, speaking engagement proposals, and award submissions. 
• Oversee inbound and outbound media relations efforts, including pitching, managing incoming media inquiries and issues, and media lists. Establish and deepen strategic relationships with key members of the media and relevant organizations that will help elevate and amplify our message. 
• Develop materials including messaging, talking points, backgrounders and FAQs in response to external inquiries from media.
• Monitor and lead external response for controversial issues and crisis communications. 
• Measure and report on KPIs for media relations programs. 

Speaking and Events (40%) 

• Identify key conferences and industry events, and work to secure speeches, panels, and interactive presentations at events.
• Oversee the creation of a speakers bureau to leverage spokespersons within B Lab and the B Corp community. 
• Manage and identify speakers for inbound requests. 
• Identify themes, manage, and execute quarterly conversation series for B Lab U.S. & Canada CEO. 
• Collaborate with B Lab global network to build and share our public narrative. 

Thought Leadership (20%) 

• Lead thought leadership development on B Lab U.S. & Canada’s brand narrative and Theory of Change pillars (stakeholder economy, racial equity, and climate justice). 
• Develop issues framework to align programs and impact communications on real-time issues.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with organizations that will help elevate and amplify our message.

About You

• At least 5 years experience in a communications role
• Demonstrated experience working in corporate social responsibility settings with cross-sector partnership development, and/or experience working in social impact, non-profit, or philanthropic sectors
• Ability to collaborate well within a cross-functional team and across a diverse range of stakeholders
• Demonstrated success with planning, developing, executing and monitoring PR/communications projects 
• Ability to use our marketing and communications data to inform strategy and decision-making
• Expertise in reputation management, thought leadership, communications strategy 
• Strong written communication
• Skilled at creating concise presentations and comfortable with public speaking
• Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders
• Engaging and inclusive storyteller and relationship-builder
• Experience working in rapidly evolving business landscape with the ability to pivot and adapt
• Fluent in media database and reporting platform (e.g. Cision) 
• Experience with virtual event software and applications (e.g. Zoom, Eventbrite, LinkedIn Live)
• Experience with project management platforms (e.g. Asana)

The ideal candidate also:

• PR agency experience is a plus but not required
• Understand the value of certifications, while direct experience with B Corps is not required
• Be an active listener with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Be a conceptual thinker with the ability to problem-solve and make balanced decisions
• Have experience working with nonprofits, for profit businesses, and with multi-national organizations
• Be someone who is able to approach their work through a lens of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Proficiency in other languages is not required but could be include in your application – Canadian French and Spanish are a plus
• Is in an active listener
• Exudes empathy, self awareness, and curiosity

Compensation Details

B Lab has a compensation plan that includes:

• An annual salary of $98,000
• Excellent health benefits package including access to medical, vision and dental coverage
• Paid time off for vacation – in your first year, you’ll start with 3 weeks (prorated in to your start date)
• 403(b) with a match of up to 3%
• Unlimited sick and personal time – if you need it, use it
• After your first year of employment, 40 hours paid time off for community service; paid parental leave; and time and budget for your professional development (we assess this PD budget annually)
• A remote first workplace

While this is a remote-first opportunity, the candidate filling this role must be a resident of California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, or New York at the start of employment. Additionally, they must be within commuting distance of our office in Oakland, Denver, Philadelphia, or New York City.

Please visit our Careers page to review all opportunities and submit your application for the role(s) that best fit your location and work authorization.

Hiring Process

We require the following in order to consider your application:

• Resume
• In lieu of a cover letter we ask that all candidates respond to a standard set of application questions

If you progress through additional stages in the hiring process you can expect to:

• Step 1: Submit your resume and responses to our application questions with the option to share a work sample
• Step 2: Participate in an interview with a panel via Google Meet
• Step 3: Complete a brief hiring exercise & participate in a final interview with a panel via Google Meet

We will begin reviewing applications on March 27, 2023 and will continue until we identify a diverse and qualified candidate pool.

Please note: All applications will be reviewed by our team, and all candidates will receive a status update via email after their application has been reviewed, which we expect to complete by April 19. Due to capacity constraints on our hiring team, we are unable to provide you with a specific status update beyond these parameters. Our ideal start date for this role is June 5, 2023.

B Lab U.S. & Canada