Background

Allied Media Projects (AMP) has been cultivating media for liberation for over twenty years. Rooted in Detroit and connected globally, AMP supports a network of media makers, artists, educators, and technologists working for social justice. Through fiscal sponsorship, AMP envisions and attempts to model a world where we cultivate care and joy, dismantle harmful systems, and assume responsibility for creating new and liberatory ways of being. AMP’s Sponsored Projects Program provides fiscal sponsorship, training and capacity building to people and projects aligned with AMP’s mission.

To learn about AMP, check out the following links:

Role Overview

The Communications Director leads AMP’s narrative strategy, organizational storytelling, and public communications vision. Co-leading the Communications Department with the Creative Director, this role shapes AMP’s voice across platforms and stewards the stories, histories, lessons, and futures of AMP’s work and movement ecosystem.

This role emphasizes strategy, editorial leadership, and ecosystem narrative power—not solely content production. The Communications Director collaborates across departments to ensure alignment with AMP’s mission, values, programming, fiscal sponsorship, and fund development goals.

The Communications Director oversees media strategy, editorial processes, digital presence, and communications operations while maintaining a high level of narrative clarity, movement accountability, and creative integrity.

Responsibilities

Strategic Communications & Narrative Leadership

Develop, refine, and lead AMP’s long-term storytelling and narrative strategy, grounded in movement values.
Cultivates AMP's brand and public profile across different audiences and stakeholders including funders, peer organizations, and the wider media justice ecosystem.
Guide organizational messaging to reflect community priorities, cultural strategy, and narrative power-building.
Facilitate cross-departmental planning to align storytelling, messaging, and communications priorities.
Build and maintain relationships with movement partners to strengthen narrative alignment and ecosystem strategy.
Lead organization-wide narrative evaluations and communication benchmarks.
Develop and steward narrative and brand strategy for AMP’s public events, convenings, and gatherings, ensuring alignment with organizational values and movement goals.
Partner cross-departmentally to ensure events function as strategic storytelling moments within AMP’s broader narrative ecosystem.
Guide the framing of event themes, messages, and public-facing language to strengthen brand coherence and narrative impact.

Editorial Leadership & Story Development

Oversee editorial strategy for newsletters, statements, blogs, websites, and major publications.
Ensure all communications reflect AMP’s voice, values, accessibility standards, and political alignment.
Provide senior-level editing and develop/cohere organizational storytelling.
Support staff and contractors in delivering high-quality editorial work.
Guide production of reports, zines, videos, and publications (editorial direction, not production).

Media Relations & Public Presence

Lead AMP’s media strategy, narrative positioning, and approach to public visibility.
Serve as a spokesperson as needed and support others with preparation and messaging.
Oversee PR and ensure alignment with AMP’s narrative goals.
Identify and support opportunities for staff, partners, and projects to represent AMP in media, conferences, and public forums.
Collaborate with Development to ensure media-facing opportunities strengthen donor engagement and organizational visibility.
Lead communications strategy for AMP events, including media positioning, spokesperson preparation, and public storytelling before, during, and after events.
Identify opportunities for events to strengthen AMP’s public presence, press visibility, and movement leadership.
Support staff, partners, and speakers in aligning event messaging with AMP’s narrative strategy and brand voice.

Digital Strategy Oversight

Provide strategic oversight of AMP’s digital presence, including websites, email newsletters, and social media.
Guide digital communications priorities and support digital staff/contractors executing content.
Ensure digital communications use accessibility, disability justice, and language justice practices (image descriptions, captions, etc.).
Oversee vendor relationships, including website support and creative partners.

Communications & Development Collaboration

Partner closely with the Development team to create aligned, movement-grounded fundraising and donor communications.
Provide narrative framing, messaging, and storytelling assets for donor communications, funder briefings, and fundraising campaigns.
Ensure donor-facing narratives avoid deficit framing and reflect AMP’s values, mission, and power-building approach.
Collaborate on coordinated communications for annual reports, milestones, grant reporting, or major organizational announcements.
Align media relations and public presence efforts with AMP’s fundraising and donor education goals.
Collaborate with Development to align event storytelling with fundraising, donor engagement, and relationship-building goals.
Support narrative framing and messaging for donor-facing events, briefings, and convenings to reinforce AMP’s values and impact.

Communications Operations & Department Leadership

Co-lead the Communications Department with the Creative Director.
Manage departmental workflows, communications calendar, and budget.
Develop communications guides, systems, and resources for cross-team use, including support for fiscal sponsorship projects.
Foster a collaborative, transparent, movement-aligned communications culture across the organization.
Supervise communications contractors and/or staff as the department grows.

Organizational Culture

Adhere to AMP’s Working Agreements and Network Principles.
Actively participate in team meetings, cross-functional collaborations, and staff retreats.

·Receive ongoing training and engage in professional development as needed.

Qualifications

Deep commitment to AMP’s mission, media-based organizing, and social justice.
Demonstrated leadership in communications, narrative strategy, or editorial work in a social justice, arts/culture, or movement context.
Exceptional writing and editing skills; ability to synthesize complex ideas into accessible, compelling narratives.
Strong facilitative leadership style with emotional intelligence, accountability, and comfort managing conflict.
Experience managing communications contractors or creative teams.
Proficiency with digital communications tools and platforms, including instagram, x, facebook, wordpress website managing and updating, etc .
Ability to work across lines of race, gender, class, disability, and culture with cultural competence and care.

Nice to have . . .

Experience with narrative strategy, cultural strategy, or cross-movement communications.
Experience with development communications and crafting audience targeted strategies and messaging.
Direct experience with fundraising and donor communications.
Proficiency crafting and framing work for different audiences.
Familiarity with Detroit’s movement and creative ecosystems, or willingness to deeply learn and build relationships.
Experience with PR, spokesperson roles, or media training.
Skills in visual or multimedia storytelling (photography, design, editing).
Experience with project management tools (Asana, Airtable, etc.).
Language skills beyond English, particularly Spanish or other widely spoken languages.

Job Details and How to Apply

This role’s salary range is $88,000K-$93,000K and includes a competitive benefits package including: employer sponsored Medical, Vision, Dental, FSA, and retirement.

This is a Full-Time position, based in Detroit, MI. This role will operate in a Hybrid working capacity, requiring 1-2 in-office work days per week, at our office located at 4731 Grand River Avenue, Suite 400, Detroit, MI, 48208. The working hours for this position are Monday - Thursday, 10 am - 6 pm EST.

The ideal start date for this role is March 9, 2026.

To apply:

Please send the following to work@alliedmedia.org with the subject line “Last Name, First Initial - Communication Director”

Cover Letter

What strategies would you utilize to create an effective communications plan?

A Resume/CV

All completed applications received by February 13th will be considered.

AMP currently operates in Michigan and has established partners in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, and will only consider candidates in these states.

Allied Media Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, age, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, height, weight, veteran status or marital status.