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Chamber Watch Communications Officer

Congress Watch and Communications    


Help us hold one of the biggest corporate mouthpieces and lobbyists in the country accountable. We seek a proactive, strategic communicator who can help us gain ground in the messaging war against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Working with the U.S. Chamber Watch coordinator, this communicator should be a fast writer who can engage in rapid-fire response; develop pithy and concise messages; find media opportunities across all platforms; contact reporters, bloggers and editorial writers regularly; write blog entries; and draft op-eds, letters to the editor and editorial board memos. The ideal candidate will be able to conduct research for fact sheets and other written materials. He or she will have a public interest background and experience working in the corporate accountability movement. The ideal candidate is a strong writer and is able to quickly generate a lot of materials and buzz using social media platforms and e-activism as well as traditional media outreach.   

Public Citizen is a national, non-partisan, public interest group with more than 300,000 members and activists.  The Congress Watch division conducts public education campaigns and advocates before the Congress and administrative agencies on money in politics, open government, corporate accountability, consumer protection, access to justice, transportation, and public health and safety. Chamber Watch is a project of Public Citizen. Its goal is to promote greater transparency and accountability in American political processes by shedding light on the funding and practices of the largest private interest lobbyist in America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.


Essential Functions/Job Duties:

The Chamber Watch communications officer is responsible for spreading the program’s message to media, other organizations, lawmakers and more. The Chamber Watch communications officer works closely with the Chamber Watch coordinator, Communications team and Congress Watch director to devise strategy, do a wide range of media work and conduct research as needed.

Additional Responsibilities:

  • In conjunction with the Chamber Watch coordinator and Public Citizen’s Communications Department, draw up strategic communications plans to meet short-term and long-term goals.
  • Function as part of the Public Citizen-led Corporate Reform Coalition, leveraging its work to better communicate key messages.
  • Identify opportunities daily to get our message out; e.g., search for and pursue op-ed, talk radio, local TV, LTE and other opportunities.
  • Engage daily in rapid response.
  • Do research for fact sheets and other written materials as needed.
  • Maintain and grow the U.S. Chamber Watch Twitter handle and Facebook pages.
  • Write blog posts and draft op-eds, letters to the editor, press releases, broadcast advisories and other press materials as needed.
  • Keep abreast of news relating corporate reform and corporate accountability efforts.
  • Pitch media.
  • Videotape events, and post the footage and photos quickly.
  • Draft and send e-alerts to activists.
  • Other duties as assigned.
    

Education/Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in communications or public affairs. Three to five years in public interest or campaign communications, with experience and proven results in rapid response and the development of communications strategies around consumer or advocacy issues, or for a political campaign. Track record of writing powerful pieces and maintaining and growing social media platforms.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

  • Demonstrated ability to write compelling, clear and accurate content quickly.
  • Demonstrated interest in the public interest mission; must understand and enthusiastically support Public Citizen’s work.
  • Demonstrated ability to work quickly and juggle many issues and tasks at once in a fast-paced and demanding environment.
  • Video and podcasting skills, Adobe Premier Pro a plus.
  • Knowledge of HTML and SEO a plus.

Working Conditions:

  • Regular travel between Public Citizen’s two Washington, D.C., locations.

Salary And Benefits:

Competitive nonprofit salary commensurate with experience; good medical and dental coverage; three weeks paid vacation for new employees.

To Apply:

Send cover letter, resume and writing sample to abradbery@citizen.org. Please include your last name and the position for which you are applying in the subject line of your email and in the filenames of attachments.

Note: The job duties and qualifications listed above are intended to describe the general contents of the job requirements for this position and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.

                                                                                                   

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Together, two separate corporate entities called Public Citizen, Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation, Inc., form Public Citizen. Both entities are part of the same overall organization, and this Web site refers to the two organizations collectively as Public Citizen.

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