Director of Marketing & Communication

You can make a difference for climate and equity.

The Director of Marketing provides strategic leadership, oversight, and vision for Slipstream's brand, communications, and program marketing efforts. As a senior leader in a mission driven nonprofitdriven nonprofit, this role ensures that all marketing initiatives reflect organizational values, amplify program impact, and support stakeholder engagement, this role ensures that all marketing initiatives reflect organizational values, amplify program impact, and support stakeholder engagement and fundraising activities. The Director guides staff, shapes organizational storytelling, and strengthens the organization's visibility with funders, partners, policymakers, and the clients and communities served. The Director oversees a team of marketing and communications staff located in Madison, WI, and Chicago, IL. The Director of Marketing reports directly to the Principal Director of Advancement.

Slipstream is a nonprofit organization with staff working together to accelerate climate solutions for everyone. The organization is headquartered in Madison, WI with an office in Chicago, IL and staff working remotely in 22 states. The Director of Marketing collaborates closely with teams across the organization, including Research & Innovation (which pilots and evaluates emerging climate and energy strategies), Workforce Development (which delivers training in clean energy occupations), Financing (which designs and deploys financial tools that enable clean energy adoption), Utility Program Administration (which delivers large scale energy efficiency and electrification programs, while also managing utility marketing programs), Policy (which advances equitable climate and energy policy solutions), Proposals (which leads competitive proposal development to secure funding), and Partnership Development (which cultivates and maintains strategic partnerships in pursuit of funding). By working in partnership with these teams, the Director ensures that marketing and communications elevate Slipstream's mission, reinforce program success, and translate complex technical work into compelling, accessible narratives for diverse audiences.

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership & Mission Alignment

• Provide strategic oversight for all marketing and communications activities that advance the organization's mission, programs, and fundraising efforts.
• Develop and guide the execution of annual and multiyear marketing plans aligned with organizational priorities.
• Partner with executives and program leads to anticipate needs and guide communications strategy during key initiatives.
• Operate effectively at strategic and tactical levels, balancing long-term planning with day-to-day execution.
• Build strong relationships across the organization and externally with key stakeholders, including the media.

Brand, Storytelling & Communications

• Steward the organization's brand identity, messaging framework, visual guidelines, and tone of voice.
• Ensure all communications (digital, media, external and internal) are cohesive and accessible, and aligned with the organization's strategic plan.
• Direct staff producing high quality mission driven content, including reports, stories, digital content, media materials, and program marketing assets.

Program Marketing & Campaign Oversight

• Guide staff and program teams in planning and implementing specific marketing strategies that drive engagement and measurable outcomes for clients.
• Oversee multichannel campaigns supporting fundraising, program participation, events, and visibility.

External & Internal Communications

• Develop and execute an integrated external communications strategy that elevates the organization's brand, visibility, and reputation across priority audiences.
• Oversee the creation of highquality external content, including press releases, opeds, blogs, newsletters, impact stories, case studies, and campaign materials.
• Manage media relations, including cultivating journalist relationships, pitching stories, and preparing spokespeople for interviews.
• Ensure brand consistency across all external communications, digital channels, and public-facing materials.
• Guide crisis and issues communications to protect organizational trust and credibility.
• Support executive visibility by securing speaking engagements, thoughtleadership placements, and strategic partnerships.
• Represent Slipstream by presenting program outcomes and insights at state, regional, and national forums, strengthening the organization's reputation as a leader in energy efficiency and community impact.
• Partner with executive leadership to design internal communication structures that support alignment, transparency, and culture building.
• Lead the development and publication of the organization's annual impact report and impact reports for funders.
• Provide guidance on the CEO Communications plan.

Digital Strategy & Data Informed Decision Making

• Oversee digital platforms, tools, and analytics practices to ensure accessibility, ethical use of data, and community-centered engagement.
• Support staff using analytics to refine strategies and measure impact.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop the marketing and communications team, supporting professional development, instituting process improvements, and revising workflows when needed.
• Advance the current annual communications plan and lead the development of future annual communications plans.
• Lead the annual review process, set clear performance expectations and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and mission-aligned, high performance.
• Provide coaching and mentorship to build leadership capability within the team.

Resource Management & Ethical AI Use

• Lead a collaborative budgeting process with the team, while coordinating with the Principal Director of Advancement and the Accounting Department to ensure alignment and accuracy.
• Manage vendor relationships and ensure responsible stewardship of nonprofit resources.
• Establish and maintain guidelines for ethical AI-assisted content and communications workflows.
• These responsibilities are not all inclusive and other duties may be assigned from time-to-time.

What You'll Need

Required

• 10+ years of experience in marketing/communications, with at least 5 years in leadership roles within a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, or similarly complex environment.
• Demonstrated success leading strategic marketing initiatives that support program outcomes, fundraising, and organizational visibility.
• Strong background in storytelling, brand stewardship, external communications, and equity-centered communications.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience with a background in sustainability/energy/ decarbonization.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience supervising a team, vendors, budgets, and multichannel marketing strategies.
• Familiarity with digital marketing tactics and tools, including CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), CMS platforms (e.g., Drupal, Wagtail), email marketing tools (e.g., Pardot, Active Campaign), and web analytics and SEO/SEM/GEO tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Moz).
• Skilled at communicating with leadership, board members, and external stakeholders.
• Experience guiding teams on responsible use of AI-generated content.

Preferred

• Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive content practices.
• Experience supporting communications during periods of organizational change.
• Experience creating reports and communications as part of building relationships with foundations.
• Experience creating reports and communications as part of individual giving and major gifts campaigns.

What Makes A Great Candidate

• Strategic Marketing & Mission Alignment: Provides strategic oversight of marketing efforts that advance the organization's mission, programs, and impact. Aligns marketing priorities with organizational strategy, philanthropy and fundraising goals, and program goals. Guides staff in translating mission-driven objectives into clear marketing plans with achievable KPIs.
• Brand Stewardship & Reputation Management: Serves as the organization's guardian of brand integrity. Ensures the brand reflects mission, and values. Oversees messaging frameworks, visual identity, and tone to ensure trust, credibility, and consistency across all communications channels.
• Program Marketing Leadership: Provides guidance to staff developing audience specific program marketing strategies. Ensures all program marketing elevates impact stories, is culturally responsive, and supports enrollment, participation, or partner engagement goals. Helps program teams articulate clear value propositions and measurable outcomes.
• Integrated Campaign Oversight: Directs staff executing multichannel campaigns that support program visibility, thought leadership, and fundraising. Guides strategy, audience segmentation, content themes, and channel selection while ensuring return on investment and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Content Strategy & Mission Driven Storytelling: Shapes the organizational narrative by providing oversight and coaching to staff developing stories, reports, case studies, and digital content. Ensures content uplifts impact and calls to action.
• External Communications & Public Relations: Oversees the development of communications strategies that build trust with partners, funders, policymakers, and media. Ensures messaging reinforces mission and values, prepares leadership for speaking engagements, and stewards relationships with press and external stakeholders. Supports the development of impact reports and other communications for foundations and prospective donors.
• Internal Communications & Change Leadership: Designs internal communications frameworks that help staff feel informed, connected, and aligned. Partners with leadership to communicate strategic priorities, organizational changes, and culture initiatives with transparency and clarity.
• Digital Strategy, Marketing Technology & Analytics: Provides oversight for the organization's digital presence and technology stack (CRM, CMS, email tools, analytics). Ensures staff use data ethically and effectively to inform decisions, improve digital accessibility, and support equitable engagement across diverse audiences.
• Community, Partner & Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborates with program, advancement, and other teams to ensure marketing efforts authentically represent and elevate partner voices. Facilitates transparent communication and alignment across teams to meet shared goals.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Provides guidance and direction for a team composed of program marketing and communications staff. Establishes clear roles, implements process improvements, fosters creativity and professional growth, and models inclusive leadership practices that support belonging and psychological safety.
• Resource Stewardship & Vendor Management: Makes responsible, mission aligned decisions regarding budgets, vendor partnerships, and resource allocations. Ensures marketing investments advance strategic priorities and maximize impact while maintaining nonprofit financial stewardship.
• Crisis, Risk & Issues Communications: Provides leadership during high-risk or sensitive situations by guiding development of clear and timely communications. Ensures staff follow protocols that protect organizational trust and uphold commitments to transparency and community accountability.
• Communication with the Executive Team & Board: Prepares strategic communications materials, talking points, and briefing documents for the Executive Team and Board. Communicates complex information simply and persuasively to executive team and board members to support strategic decision making.
• Ethical & Strategic Use of AI Generated Content: Provides guidance on responsible use of AI assisted content creation. Ensures staff follow ethical standards around data privacy, accuracy, cultural responsiveness, intellectual property, and inclusive representation. Establishes oversight, training, and quality control protocols to ensure AI supports human judgment and mission aligned storytelling.

Mental Requirements

• Strategic & Systems Thinking: Synthesizes organizational goals, program needs, and fundraising priorities into multiyear marketing plans; balances longterm strategy with nearterm execution.
• Judgment & DecisionMaking: Makes timely, missionaligned decisions on brand, messaging, and channel mix; weighs tradeoffs among impact, cost, and risk.
• Complex ProblemSolving: Translates technical energy/climate content into accessible narratives; resolves crossfunctional challenges across research, policy, programs, and advancement.
• Analytical & Data Literacy: Interprets CRM, web, and campaign analytics to refine audience segmentation, optimize performance, and forecast results.
• Prioritization & Planning: Organizes competing deadlines across multichannel campaigns, events, media moments, and executive communications; allocates resources to highestvalue efforts.
• Attention to Detail & Quality Control: Reviews content for accuracy, accessibility, brand consistency, and compliance with style and visual guidelines.
• Crisis & Issues Reasoning: Assesses reputational risk, selects appropriate response strategies, and drafts clear guidance during sensitive or timecritical situations.
• CrossFunctional Collaboration Mindset: Integrates inputs from program, policy, research, workforce, proposals, and partnerships to produce coherent, highimpact communications.
• Ethical & Responsible Tech Use: Applies judgment to the ethical use of AIassisted content and data, considering privacy, equity, bias, and intellectual property.
• Cultural & Audience Intelligence: Adapts messaging for inclusivity and accessibility; recognizes diverse community perspectives and stakeholder needs.
• Learning Agility: Rapidly absorbs new technical subject matter (e.g., decarbonization, financing tools) and policy developments to inform timely communications.
• Resilience & Stress Tolerance: Maintains clarity and productivity amid shifting priorities, deadlines, and fastmoving media cycles.

Physical

• Primarily a sedentary role, with tasks typically performed while sitting or occasionally standing.
• Ability to operate a computer and standard office equipment.
• Tasks demand visual focus for reading, design work, and working on screens.
• Ability to distinguish between colors is essential for visual and brand design.
• This position frequently communicates via phone and video conferencing, with in-person interactions as applicable.

Work Environment

• Mostly remote position with the ability to work from home or another suitable location with reliable internet access. Hybrid work available if located in Madison, WI or Chicago, IL. If in-office, expect a moderate noise level.
• Must have the ability to work independently while staying engaged with the team through virtual communication tools such as email, chat, and video conferencing.
• Requires a quiet and professional workspace for virtual meetings and collaboration.
• Typical schedule of 9-5 in Central Time zone [or any U.S. time zone]. Flex hours may be available depending on role and team requirements.
• Some travel required for in-person meetings, conferences, and events.

Slipstream is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all individuals feel valued, respected, and supported. We center community in everything we do and strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply and join us in our mission. We welcome applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected status or characteristic under federal, state, or local laws.

Slipstream will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to perform the essential functions of their position unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on Slipstream, or if it would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be mitigated. Questions or accommodation requests should be directed to Human Resources.

Please note that Slipstream will only contact candidates via the Paycom portal. We will never ask a candidate for payment of any kind as part of the hiring or onboarding process or send payment to any candidate prior to completing the hiring and onboarding process.

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws.

Family & Medical Leave Act Equal Employment Opportunity Employee Polygraph Protection