Senior Manager, Narrative & Storytelling

Who we are

Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. As the largest national higher education association dedicated solely to higher education civic and community engagement, Campus Compact enables higher education institutions to develop students’ citizenship skills and forge effective community partnerships. Our resources support senior administrators, faculty, staff, and students as they pursue community-based teaching, scholarship, and action in the service of positive change.

Today, we stand at a defining moment: we are ready to scale our impact when the stakes for our work have never been higher. We know that higher education has a critical role to play in fostering democratic principles and culture by addressing polarization, strengthening civic participation, and ensuring students are prepared to navigate and shape our democracy. Thanks to the investment of philanthropic partners, Campus Compact is preparing for a period of significant growth and expansion, particularly in the areas of innovation, scaling, and coalition building.

About the role

The Senior Manager, Narrative & Storytelling will contribute to Campus Compact communications strategy and serve as our chief storyteller with the goal of inspiring action, lifting up member voices, and sharing stories of success.

The Senior manager will be a vital part of Campus Compact’s communications and events team, and will oversee a growing body of storytelling and narrative change work focused on building increased public awareness of and support for Campus Compact’s mission and the public purposes of higher education. Reporting directly to the senior director of communications & events, this new role will contribute to developing our narrative change strategy, create key deliverables to support this strategy, help build our public relations and media capacity, and supervise the digital communications coordinator.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic content creation

• Develop & execute strategies that support key narrative change goals, shaping messaging and driving tactics. Write blog posts, develop email campaigns, oversee video development, and contribute to social media.
• Produce our monthly Common Cause newsletter; solicit content from staff and partners to create an informative and engaging experience for readers and meet our communications goals
• Oversee our social media strategy. Help to mature our social media strategy to create a comprehensive approach that engages our members and partners, and balances storytelling, marketing, and organizational goals

PR & media relations

• Lead our PR/media relations efforts; help to solicit earned and unearned media placements featuring Campus Compact or supporting our mission. Write op-eds, build relationships with journalists and media outlets
• Keep up-to-date with happenings at Campus Compact and in the field to find opportunities for media placements.
• Support leadership team members in speaking to the media.

Team management & internal coordination

• Supervise the digital communications coordinator; serve as a thought partner for them in their work. Provide coaching and professional development opportunities.
• Be a key voice in Campus Compact’s overarching communications strategy, serving as a steward for our brand both internally and externally
• Collaborate with other members of the communications team to manage our communications calendar; ensure our audiences receive varied and appropriate messages through our communications channels
• Foster a team culture grounded in collaboration, shared responsibility, learning, and care, with attention to sustainable workload management and clear communication.
• Provide support, training, and backup coverage as needed to ensure our work products are high-quality, consistent, and aligned with overarching organizational strategy.

Take on other responsibilities as needed and appropriate

Qualifications:

• Education level: has a relevant undergraduate degree
• 3+ years of experience in a communications role focused on storytelling
• 3+ years of experience in a Manager-level or similar capacity role, that has managed someone
• Experience working with journalists and media outlets to solicit earned and unearned media placements
• Demonstrated excellence in crafting compelling written content for a wide variety of communications channels. Has excellent proofreading skills.
• Experience conducting interviews and research to source content for storytelling products

Expectations:

• Visionary & goal-oriented - sees the big picture and is able to develop strategies and create deliverables that support larger organizational goals. Uses storytelling to simultaneously entertain and inform.
• Strong time & priority management is a strong project manager who is consistent, highly organized, and can easily manage competing priorities. We’ll rely on the Senior Manager to set and meet deadlines, plan and assign tasks, and deliver consistently high-quality work.
• Collaborative is a team player who lives out our core values of accountability and transparency in their collaboration with colleagues and partners. Applies customer service principles internally, ensuring our communications work proactively supports our colleagues’ goals.
• Flexible and adaptable is iterative and flexible in their approach. Is comfortable exploring new approaches, navigating change, and reacting to the unexpected. Can successfully and graciously incorporate feedback into their work to arrive at the best possible final product.
• A deep personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience writing for higher education-focused audiences, ideally with a basic knowledge of civic and community engagement work
• Experience with video content creation (either working with videographers or self-produced)
• Experience with email design (MailChimp or similar)
• Knowledge of basic website editing (Drupal or similar)

As an employee of Campus Compact, you strive to represent & live Campus Compact’s shared values & commitments in both how you show up for and work with your colleagues as well as Campus Compact’s partners and communities:

• Equity: We prioritize full participation and diversity of thought, experience, and background. We center equity in our actions, processes, and practices to uplift diverse voices and perspectives.
• Growth mindset: We consistently push ourselves and each other to do and be better. We are motivated by growth—embracing new ideas, prioritizing continuous learning, and meeting challenges head-on.
• Accountability: We recognize that long-term change requires individual and shared ownership of personal and organizational actions. We own our mistakes, give each other grace, collaborate openly, and hold ourselves to high standards of integrity.
• Responsiveness: We ensure our offerings, resources, and approaches are flexible, grounded in feedback, and responsive to the challenges of our time.
• Transparency: We are direct and authentic within our team, with our members, and with our partners. We know that building trust starts with consistent, honest, and transparent communication.

Qualification requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function in a satisfactory manner. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical requirements:

• This is primarily a sedentary position requiring the ability to sit at a desk and use a computer and phone most of the day.
• Minor bending and lifting periodically, as well as periodic long hours standing and walking/moving around (mostly related to help with event management needs)
• The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional information:

• Position type: This is a remote, full-time, exempt position.
• Location: This is a remote position with occasional travel required for staff gatherings and Compact Events, most specifically our Annual Conference and All Staff, in-person Retreat.
• Reporting structure : Senior Director, Communications & Events
• Direct report: Digital Communications Coordinator
• Compensation band: $75,000 - $85,000
• Benefits: Campus Compact provides a competitive benefits package, including national healthcare coverage, generous paid time off, and an employer retirement contribution. The organization prioritizes employee well-being and professional development and lives out those values through a flexible work environment, an inclusive and caring culture, and dedication to professional development.
  • Organizational Breaks:
    • Winter Break: Dec. 24th - Jan. 1st
    • Summer Reset: Week of July 4th

To Apply:

We would like this position to start as soon as is reasonably possible*, but ideally no later than Tuesday, July 14th, 2026.

To apply, please click THIS LINK. You will be expected to upload a resume and answer the acknowledgement and application questions.

Acknowledgement: Please acknowledge that you understand:

• This is a remote position with occasional travel required for planning retreats, events/meetings, staff gatherings, and other Campus Compact events, specifically our annual in-person all-staff retreat.

Experience & qualifications (short answer)

1. Storytelling (500 words max)

What is the best story you've ever told? Where did you source content? How did you amplify its reach?

1. Strategic content creation (300 words max)
2. Tell us about a communications campaign you led that aimed to shift opinion. What was your approach? How did you measure your success? How did it contribute to larger marketing & communications goals?
3. Collaboration and project management (300 words max)
4. Describe your approach for collaborating with others on large-scale projects. What do you value most in collaborators, and what do you find most challenging?
5. Supervision and team leadership (300 words max)
6. Describe your experience supervising or leading staff, contractors, or volunteers. How do you foster accountability, growth, and care while ensuring high-quality outcomes?
7. “Yes and…”: Is there anything else you would like to share about your unique perspective, approach, or commitment you would bring to this role? (Optional, 300 words max)

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled, with priority given to applicants who apply by

June 8th, 2026 .

Campus Compact strives to attract and retain a diverse and talented staff who will contribute to the organization’s goals, mission, and vision. We encourage individuals of all ethnic, racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply. Campus Compact is committed to increasing our team’s diversity, consistent with the values of our network. Campus Compact is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals. It does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, height, weight, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member), or any other basis prohibited by law.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Campus Compact participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. Campus Compact will only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.