Title: Communications Director
Reports To: Executive Director
Hours: An average of 20 hours per week, with variability week-to-week
Availability: Flexible hybrid work, including significant and flexible availability to attend in-person events and meetings on weekdays, as well as sporadic in-person events on evenings and weekends.
Compensation Range: $25,000 – $32,500 annually
THE QUICK DESCRIPTION
The Communications Director gets the word out to the right people in the right voice. As a critical part of a part-time crew, this person handles strategy, planning, writing, design, and relationship-building to promote Chatham Arts Council efforts, programs, and events. The Communications Director is an excellent writer, an able juggler-of-details, a planner-ahead, and a creative problem-solver. And, of course, this person loves creativity, art, and artists–visual, performance, literary…
A LITTLE MORE DETAIL FOR YOU
- Develop an annual strategic communications plan to support our overall goals and mission. For this, you’ll need solid planning skills–and an ability to simplify so that what we plan is actually doable.
- Write beautifully about us and what we’re doing. This means you write well (and quickly) in a consistent voice about our work.
- Produce compelling visuals to support our fundraising and programmatic work. You’ll handle these from conception to completion.
- Use many platforms. You’ll make strong use of social media, digital newsletters, press releases, grassroots outreach, and pitching to local media–plus a few print pieces every year. You like to mix it up, and you’ll use response data to analyze which vehicle serves best.
- Implement completely. You’ll use Trello, our project management software, and you’ll feel great about checking things off a list toward a bigger goal. You’ll be comfortable collaborating remotely with staff and Board members and nudging projects along to get things done.
IF YOU DON’T GET A LITTLE THRILL OF SATISFACTION FROM THESE THINGS, THIS MIGHT NOT BE RIGHT FOR YOU
- Excellence in your work
- Well-managed spreadsheets
- Lots of checklists
- Well-crafted writing that gets a response
- Problem-solving graphic design challenges into cool solutions
- Talking with all kinds of folks about the arts
- Pairing grassroots efforts with professional media pitches
THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to work at a computer
- Ability to participate as an audience member at diverse arts events—inside and outdoors—for up to two hours at a stretch
- Reliable transportation to locations across Chatham County
NOT REQUIRED TO APPLY, BUT CERTAINLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- Nonprofit experience
- Arts experience
- Chatham County resident
- Familiarity with diverse Chatham communities
- Spanish-language competency
- Skills in photography and/or videography
- Familiarity with InDesign (or other graphic design software) and project management software
OUR PERSPECTIVE ON BUILDING A STAFF TEAM
We’re committed to creating a place of belonging. We welcome applications from folks of all races, religions, gender identities, ages, sexual orientations, and disability status (visible and invisible).
ENTICEMENTS
- You can get the flexibility of a part-time gig with the stability of a regular paycheck.
- You’ll make a huge impact in a small-but-mighty organization.
- We do our best to be kind to one another.
ABOUT THE CHATHAM ARTS COUNCIL
The Chatham Arts Council nurtures creative thinkers in Chatham County. We do this in two ways: we invest in artists, and we educate kids through the arts. With more than 40 years as a nonprofit arts agency, Chatham Arts Council’s flagship programs include Meet This Artist, artist grants, ClydeFEST, and the Chatham Artists-in-Schools Initative– serving more than 3,000 children in this season. Chatham Arts Council is proud to partner with the North Carolina Arts Council, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, Chatham County Schools, and numerous Chatham arts organizations, human resource nonprofits, and local businesses. For more information, visit www.ChathamArtsCouncil.org.
TIMELINE
Applications will be received online until the position is filled. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning 08 October 2025, with priority given to submissions received by that date. We seek to have our next Communications Director begin work as soon as possible.
TO APPLY
We’re asking for a one-page cover letter and a resume. For each opening, we think carefully about whether to even ask for a cover letter, so that we don’t waste your time (or ours). It will help us to have one, and here’s what we’re hoping to learn in your cover letter:
- Something we wouldn’t know just by looking at your resumé
- How you balance friendliness, connection, and humanity with professionalism in your writing
- Whether you’re detail-oriented when it comes to proofreading your communications
Please submit your cover letter and resume to Executive Director Cheryl Chamblee at this application materials link. Submissions must be received online, and we cannot accept phone calls. Quick reminder: Priority will be given to submissions received by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, 08 October 2025, and submissions will be accepted until the position is filled.