Director of Marketing & Communications

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About KidsGardening

KidsGardening is a national nonprofit organization creating opportunities for kids to play, learn, and grow through gardening. Since 1982, we have helped educators, families, and community leaders connect young people with the benefits of gardening through original educational resources, grant funding, professional learning, partnerships, and the Kids Garden Community. Our work reaches millions of children across all U.S. states and territories.

The Opportunity

Salary: Starting at $72,000 annually
Location: Remote within the United States; regular availability during Eastern Time business hours and occasional travel required
Status: Full-time, exempt; 40 hours per week
Reports To: Executive Director

We are looking for a builder: a proactive strategic leader who sees possibilities, brings forward recommendations, and turns organizational priorities into coordinated action.

The Director of Marketing & Communications will lead how KidsGardening communicates with and engages educators, caregivers, donors, funders, corporate partners, media, Kids Garden Community members, and other national audiences. This person will develop organization-wide strategy, create integrated campaigns, strengthen impact storytelling and media visibility, guide digital and website priorities, and use data to continually improve results.

The Director will supervise our Educational Content and Outreach Manager and manage website contractors.

What You Will Lead

Organization-wide communications strategy. Develop and maintain an integrated marketing and communications strategy aligned with KidsGardening’s mission, strategic plan, fundraising goals, programs, partnerships, and growth priorities.

Proactive recommendations. Anticipate needs, identify opportunities, bring forward campaign concepts and investment recommendations, and help shape decisions.

Audience engagement. Help define priority audiences and journeys, clarify desired actions, and build communications that move educators, members, partners, and supporters into deeper relationships with KidsGardening.

Integrated campaigns. Create and lead campaigns with clear objectives, audiences, messages, tactics, timelines, responsibilities, budgets, and measures of success.

Fundraising and partnerships. Partner with the Executive Director and colleagues to translate fundraising, stewardship, corporate partnership, grant, and program priorities into compelling communications.

Impact storytelling. Build an ethical, sustainable pipeline of stories and data that demonstrates the value of garden-based learning and supports fundraising, partnerships, programs, and national visibility.

Brand, PR, and thought leadership. Strengthen KidsGardening’s voice and national profile through clear messaging, media relationships, editorial pitching, press materials, speaking and visibility opportunities, and timely public communications.

Digital and website strategy. Own the strategic roadmap for KidsGardening.org, including user experience, accessibility, SEO, analytics, conversion, and e-commerce, while managing a contractor responsible for routine operations.

Content, email, and social media. Work with the Content team to set editorial priorities and channel strategy and strengthen segmentation, automation, engagement, and conversion.

Measurement and improvement. Build practical dashboards, interpret performance and audience insights, recommend specific changes, and ensure learning leads to better decisions and measurable results.

Team and project leadership. Supervise and coach our Educational Content and Outreach Manager, manage contractors and budgets, maintain an organization-wide communications calendar, and keep work moving across a small remote team.

What Success Looks Like

  • Communications are proactive and organization-wide, with clear strategy, priorities, ownership, and coordination across programs, fundraising, partnerships, community, and impact storytelling.
  • KidsGardening’s major audiences have clear journeys and receive useful, relevant communications that encourage deeper engagement and action.
  • Campaigns are thoughtfully planned, timely, evaluated against meaningful goals, and improved based on what the data shows.
  • Impact stories and audience insights are gathered consistently and used to strengthen fundraising, stewardship, partnerships, media outreach, and program visibility.
  • he website has a strategic improvement roadmap, while routine maintenance and technical work are well documented, delegated, and managed.

What You Bring

  • Five or more years of experience with increasing levels of responsibility in marketing, communications, digital strategy, public relations, fundraising communications, or a related field
  • A record of developing and leading integrated, multi-audience campaigns that produced measurable results.
  • Strong strategic judgment paired with the ability to organize, execute, and follow through on detailed work.
  • Excellent writing, editing, messaging, storytelling, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
  • Experience with fundraising communications, corporate partnerships, mission-driven marketing, or nonprofit communications; nonprofit experience is strongly preferred.
  • Experience earning media coverage and building relationships with journalists, partners, or other external influencers.
  • Working knowledge of WordPress, SEO, web analytics, accessibility, email marketing and automation, social media, and digital conversion.
  • Experience managing staff, contractors, budgets, and projects with multiple stakeholders and deadlines.
  • An independent, proactive work style and the ability to collaborate effectively in a small, remote organization.
  • A commitment to equity, accessibility, ethical storytelling, and communications that respect the experiences of young people and communities.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary for this full-time, exempt position starts at $72,000. KidsGardening’s benefits also include:

  • 17-27 days of paid time off based on tenure
  • 10 paid sick days
  • 14 paid holidays
  • Employer-paid life insurance
  • Employer-paid short- and long-term disability insurance
  • A work-from-home stipend

How to Apply

Use the application link provided with this posting to submit a resume and a thoughtful cover letter. In your cover letter, tell us about a communications strategy or campaign you led, the role you played, and what changed because of your work. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Apply Here

We know strong candidates may not meet every qualification listed. If this role excites you and your experience prepares you to lead the work, we encourage you to apply.

Equal Opportunity

KidsGardening is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the application and employment process.

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