Director, Brand and Communications

Company Description

ABOUT TED 

TED is a non-profit that believes Ideas change everything. Powerful ideas, powerfully presented, move us: to feel something, to think differently, to take action.

At TED, we seek to bridge, include, and diversify because we truly believe ideas are for everyone. It is important to us to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds who are curious about the world.

ABOUT THE AUDACIOUS PROJECT

The Audacious Project is a philanthropic platform dedicated to supporting big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges. We curate world-changing ideas across a wide range of issue areas by helping non-profit organizations to develop compelling 5+ year plans, then partner with our community of leading philanthropists and institutions to unlock large-scale collaborative funding. These catalytic philanthropic grants are coupled with ongoing support from the Audacious Project team, in order to ensure these ideas can continue to be both audacious and achievable. 

Housed at TED, The Audacious Project launched publicly  in 2018 and has since catalyzed over $5B for over 60 projects, in issue areas ranging from climate to breakthrough science to global health. We are honored to have a vibrant donor community of nearly 50 philanthropists and institutions that come together annually to invest in cohorts of 8-10 visionary projects.

Job Description

The Audacious Project is hiring its first Director of Brand and Communications. This role is responsible for maintaining the Audacious brand across channels and executing brand and communications initiatives that support organizational goals. This includes shaping how Audacious tells its story and where, as well as owning brand and messaging guidelines and working with cross-functional teams and external collaborators to translate them to their own work. 

As a core part of your role, you will create and manage the launch campaign around each new cohort of projects as well the public launch of their individual TED Talks. As Audacious evolves its work, you will support the Executive Director and cross-functional leaders to ensure that any new initiatives reflect the brand and value proposition. You will also partner with counterparts at TED to bring Audacious and its work to life within the TED universe, and identify areas of potential collaboration and support. 

While this position has an option to be remote, TED’s headquarters are in New York City, and there is a strong preference for this position to be based in NYC

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• In partnership with the Executive Director, set Audacious’ communications vision, strategy, and priorities to advance the organization’s strategies and goals

• Develop and execute Audacious content strategy, including identifying key channels (ex: LinkedIn) and working with internal and external partners on content ideation and development 

• Provide oversight and management of each Audacious cohort launch, managing goals and timelines, and working with internal and external partners to execute 

• Work with leaders across the team to develop compelling communication materials (ex: talking points for external engagements, collateral for events, briefing documents for potential grantees)

• Create and maintain Audacious brand guidelines (ex: voice and tone style guide)

• Manage external agencies, copywriters, and content creators as needed

• Help the Executive Director and team leaders stay in front of trends and be responsible for updating the Audacious brand over time, including changes to key touchpoints 

• Serve as a liaison to TED brand counterparts and find opportunities for collaboration and mutual support 

Qualifications

YOU ARE... A thoughtful brand leader with experience building consensus and excitement across a wide variety of stakeholders and cross-functional partners. You are curious, creative, and know the power of content and storytelling to engage people and drive them toward action. You are nimble and collaborative, and thrive in a build-while-flying environment.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS + COMPETENCIES 

• 15+ years experience leading brand and communications, or similar at a mission-driven organization or company 

• Superior communication skills, including visual/verbal presentation skills and public speaking

• Exceptional with words and messaging and able to distill big ideas into compelling copy 

• Experience managing content and communications strategies and/or external agencies 

• Track record of successfully leading complex projects with multiple