Communications Coordinator

At the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, we envision a state where every person can reach their full potential and achieve well-being through the support of trustworthy, anti-racist institutions and systems that we all participate in building. 

The NC Budget & Tax Center is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to document fiscal and economic conditions in communities to support the work of people, organizations, and government to advance solutions to poverty and pursue racial equity.   

The Communications Coordinator Role 

This position is grant funded through December 2027.  While the organization will pursue funding to sustain the role, it is posted as a time-limited position.

The Communications Coordinator supports NC Budget & Tax Center (BTC) staff with day-to-day [AS1] strategic communications such as media work, writing and editing, newsletters, and other written collateral; developing and articulating a strong message for progressive social change across a wide range of issue areas; and utilizing a comprehensive strategy via external communications to advance the reach of the Budget & Tax Center’s research and policy priorities.  

The Communications Coordinator is responsible for coordinating ongoing media work and relationship building with traditional and nontraditional media, and contributes to the external communications with additional stakeholders like partners and donors to support mission awareness for BTC. 

The Communications Coordinator, with supervision from the Director of Communications, will provide direct support to project staff in implementation of specific campaign, donor, and engagement communication activities that advance our shared work for a more equitable investment in people and communities. [AS2]  

The Communications Coordinator will work on a variety of projects, depending on their interests and the emerging needs of the organization. Likely areas of work include:  

• building understanding of the importance of budget and tax decisions to everyday life in NC  
• connecting policy choices to the well-being and priorities of people across North Carolina, 
• contributing to the work to build awareness of our organization’s work with new audiences. 

The Communications Coordinator is supervised by the Director of Communications, who sets the strategic direction and prioritization for the work. 

Core Responsibilities: 

• Implement external communication activities, including drafting and distributing press releases, newsletters, emails, columns and more, to reach target audiences and support engagement on the organization’s policy priorities; 
• Contribute to and implement narrative frameworks and deploy core messages across various platforms, channels, products, and venues; 
• Build and maintain relationships with journalists and media outlets, and monitor and track media coverage and communications metrics to increase the reach and depth of engagement with media outlets across North Carolina; 
• Work closely with the Organizational Advancement Coordinator on donor communications and implement plans to increase mission awareness of BTC's work across more communities in the state.
• Other duties may include writing and editing, supporting promotion of reports, publications, and campaigns through coordinated communications, and supporting presentations, events, or reporter interviews with colleagues; 
• Actively participate in team activities including those related to strategic planning, program evaluation, and skill building to advance inclusion, equity and accountability at the organization. 

What we’re looking for 

To be considered for this role, candidates will have a demonstrated foundation in effective written communication across various formats. This can include: 

• A master’s degree and at least one year of work or volunteer experience 
• A bachelor’s degree and at least two years of work or volunteer experience 
• At least three years of experience. 

To be successful in this role, you are: 

• Passionate about making North Carolina a place where public policy advances the well-being of all people and communities, as well as trustworthy, anti-racist institutions.  
• Interested in the policy areas that our organization works on, including state taxes and public policies that support people with low and moderate incomes.   
• Flexible and can adjust your plans to meet emerging needs.  
• Committed to authentic and equitable collaboration with co-workers and external partners. 

Key Skills: We recognize that candidates may not be equally strong in all skill areas and may have additional qualifications that aren’t listed here. If you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply and to tell us in your cover letter why you think you’re a great candidate.  

• You have demonstrated skills at timely completion of deliverables and ability to adjust plans to meet emerging needs with experience working in rapid response or crisis communication contexts and balancing competing deadlines.
• You have strong media competency, including experience working as a journalist or working with the media to amplify messages and findings. You either have experience working with media outlets in North Carolina, or are excited about building those networks. 
• You have a strong command of effective writing and experience editing and copy editing. You have experience making complex information accessible to a variety of audiences. 
• You have experience with contact relationship management systems, media tracking and understanding of key success measures in the field of communication, and a demonstrated willingness to utilize new communications tools and tactics. 

Please let us know if you have:  

• Experience working on policy or political campaigns in a communications capacity and demonstrated adaptability to changing contexts and moments of rapid response.