Chief Communications Officer

Chief Communications Officer (CCO)

Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and science translators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people's lives. We use science and tech to generate thousands of local storylines and compelling visuals that make climate change relevant and show what can be done about it. We address climate science, sea level rise, extreme weather, energy, and related topics. We collaborate with journalists, TV meteorologists, digital creators, community organizations, and other trusted messengers, reaching people through local voices, digital platforms, and emerging communications channels in the US and more than 150 countries. Our research and visuals appear in thousands of TV spots and tens of thousands of other news stories each year, and our impact is growing.

Climate Central seeks an inaugural Chief Communications Officer (CCO) to help the organization maximize its impact by ensuring its science reaches the people and communities who can drive understanding and action. Building on Climate Central's longstanding success working with journalists and meteorologists, the CCO will help the organization broaden its communications strategy by leveraging compelling storytelling, digital creators, social and digital platforms, emerging communications channels, and new forms of trusted influence.

Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CCO will provide strategic leadership for Climate Central's Content Creations and Communications departments, including editorial, media relations, digital communications, and marketing. The CCO will oversee a team of approximately 10-12 staff while helping shape organizational strategy and bringing an audience-centered perspective to executive decision-making.

As Climate Central continues to grow its impact, the CCO will serve as the organization's executive champion for audience insight and communications strategy, helping Climate Central better understand:

• who it needs to reach
• how people discover, consume, and share information across traditional and emerging communications channels
• which messengers they trust, and
• how communications can most effectively advance the organization's mission.

Working in close partnership with the Chief Program Officer, scientific leadership, and colleagues across the organization, the CCO will help translate Climate Central's research into compelling, accurate, and impactful content. The CCO will ensure that the communications strategy and audience insights advance organizational priorities, while partnering closely with programmatic leaders to strengthen Climate Central's engagement with trusted messengers.

The CCO will lead the development and execution of Climate Central's communications strategy, ensuring it advances the organization's strategic priorities and amplifies its mission and impact. As the communications landscape continues to evolve, the CCO will build on Climate Central's longstanding leadership with journalists and meteorologists while expanding the organization's reach through digital creators, social and digital platforms, emerging communications channels, and new forms of trusted influence. Success in this role will be measured by Climate Central's ability to reach and influence more people through trusted, evidence-based communications, deeper audience insight, and continued evolution in how the organization translates science into public impact.

The ideal candidate is an exceptional strategic communicator who combines deep expertise in audience insight, journalism, digital media, storytelling, and organizational leadership. They are a trusted advisor who brings an audience-centered perspective to executive decision-making while leading high-performing creative and communications teams through a rapidly evolving media landscape. They bring a track record of building high-performing teams, fostering innovation, and translating complex scientific or technical information into communications that are trusted, accessible, and impactful.

Executive Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, contributing to organizational strategy, planning, and decision-making.
• Develop and execute the communications, audience engagement, and brand components of Climate Central's organizational strategy.
• Advise the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Trustees on communications opportunities, risks, emerging trends, and reputational considerations.
• Partner with the Chief Program Officer, Chief Development Officer, Chief of Staff, and other senior leaders to ensure communications considerations are integrated into organizational strategy, product development, fundraising, and program execution.
• Bring an audience-centered perspective to organizational decision-making, helping ensure Climate Central's work remains relevant, accessible, and impactful.
• Advise the CEO and Executive Leadership Team on crisis communications and reputational issues, helping ensure Climate Central is prepared to respond effectively when needed.

Audience & Communications Strategy

• Lead efforts to strengthen Climate Central's understanding of how key audiences discover, consume, trust, and act on climate information across traditional and emerging communications channels.
• Develop audience research, analytics, message testing, and other approaches that strengthen Climate Central's understanding of how people consume and act on information.
• Identify opportunities to expand Climate Central's reach and effectiveness by applying audience insights across communications, content, products, and partnerships.
• Establish meaningful measures of communications effectiveness and audience impact.

Content, Communications, and Storytelling

• Lead Climate Central's Content Creation and Communications functions, ensuring strong alignment among content creation, editorial strategy, media relations, social media, digital engagement, marketing, and organizational priorities.
• Oversee integrated communications plans that advance organizational goals and maximize audience impact.
• Build high-trust collaborations with science, technology, development, and program leaders and teams.
• Define and steward Climate Central's organizational narrative, messaging, and brand positioning.
• Ensure consistency, quality, and effectiveness across external communications channels and products.
• Advance executive thought leadership strategies for the CEO and other organizational leaders.

External Influence and Trusted Messengers

• Strengthen and expand relationships with journalists, meteorologists, digital creators, media organizations, technology platforms, and other trusted messengers.
• Identify opportunities to increase the reach and impact of Climate Central's science and communications through strategic partnerships and collaborations.
• Monitor developments across media, journalism, technology, and communications fields and translate insights into organizational opportunities.
• Strengthen Climate Central's visibility, credibility, and influence among journalists, meteorologists, funders, decision-makers, and other key audiences.

Innovation for Effectiveness

• Continuously evaluate emerging trends in media, journalism, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, audience behavior, and information ecosystems, translating insights into opportunities that increase Climate Central's effectiveness and impact.
• Lead strategic experimentation with new storytelling formats, communications channels, technologies, partnerships, and approaches to audience engagement that increase Climate Central's reach and impact.
• Evaluate new communications approaches using audience insights and data to inform future investments and organizational strategy.
• Foster a culture of creativity, curiosity, continuous learning, and responsible risk-taking across the Content Creation and Communications teams.
• Build organizational capacity to adapt to a rapidly evolving communications landscape while maintaining Climate Central's reputation for scientific rigor, credibility, and innovation.

Organizational Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing communications organization, including the Content Creation and Communications teams.
• Establish clear goals, priorities, decision-making processes, and performance expectations across the department.
• Manage communications budgets, consultants, agencies, and external vendors as appropriate.
• Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven team culture.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an exceptional strategic communicator who is equally comfortable discussing communications strategy, audience research, digital media, creator ecosystems, newsroom dynamics, and organizational priorities. They are curious about how people consume information, energized by rapidly changing media environments, and excited by the opportunity to help Climate Central continue leading the field of climate communication.

The strongest candidates will bring many of the following experiences and capabilities:

• Minimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience in communications, journalism, media, audience development, public affairs, or related fields.
• Experience leading communications within organizations grounded in science, research, public policy, journalism, or other evidence-based fields.
• Deep understanding of audience research, analytics, trusted messengers, media ecosystems, and the factors that influence how people discover, trust, and act on information.
• Demonstrated success leading communications strategy in a rapidly changing media and information environment.
• Strong experience in journalism, editorial leadership, digital media, content strategy, storytelling, or audience development.
• Experience leading and developing creative, editorial, communications, or audience-focused teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, build alignment across teams, and drive strategic initiatives in complex,