Winning Jobs Narrative: Head of Narrative Strategy

Head Of Narrative Strategy WJN seeks a strategic, research-driven, and product-minded Head of Narrative Strategy to lead the organization's research, curriculum, framework development, and strategic content workstreams. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Head of Narrative Strategy will help steward WJN's organizational point of view and ensure its research, insights, trainings, tools, and educational offerings are rigorous, useful, and accessible to the practitioners and partners who need them. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, research, education, and product development. It is responsible for turning ideas into usable experiences, tools, trainings, and programs — helping audiences understand WJN's narrative framework and apply it in their own communications, campaigns, advocacy, organizing, and public engagement. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in audience research, strong teaching instincts, a talent for simplifying complex ideas without flattening them, and a demonstrated ability to translate research into practical tools for real-world use. Key responsibilities include: Leading WJN's research and product workstreams, including the strategy and execution of qualitative and quantitative audience research efforts. Helping develop and manage a clear roadmap for WJN's audience research agenda. Working with external research vendors, consultants, partners, and collaborators to design, execute, interpret, and apply research projects. Synthesizing findings from audience research, message testing, field learning, partner feedback, and broader political and cultural analysis. Ensuring WJN's research agenda remains focused on practical insights that help communicators, advocates, organizers, campaigns, and civic leaders reconnect with working-class audiences. Serving as a steward of WJN's strategic frameworks, core narrative architecture, and organizational point of view. Translating complex research insights into clear frameworks that help audiences understand what is working, what is not, and why. Developing and refining WJN's methodology for helping leaders and organizations communicate more effectively about jobs, work, the economy, dignity, fairness, opportunity, and trust. Ensuring WJN maintains a recognizable and rigorous intellectual foundation across its trainings, tools, products, communications, and programs. Tracking developments in politics, public opinion, narrative change, strategic communications, working-class engagement, and economic discourse to inform WJN's evolving strategy. Leading development of trainings, curriculum, educational resources, narrative tools, and strategic content products. Creating scalable systems for knowledge-sharing and political/strategic education. Translating research findings into high-quality trainings and easy-to-use tools for communications practitioners, including potential AI-enabled tools that help partners apply WJN's frameworks in real-world settings. Designing resources that help audiences leave with greater clarity, stronger skills, and actionable understanding. Working with partners, users, and practitioners to test, refine, and improve WJN's tools, trainings, and products over time. Collaborating closely with the Head of Programs & Partnerships to ensure WJN's research, curriculum, and tools are responsive to partner needs and effectively adopted by WJN's community. Working with the Head of Communications to translate research findings, frameworks, and strategic insights into compelling public-facing content. Supporting the Executive Director in shaping WJN's broader strategy, priorities, and impact goals. Managing external vendors, consultants, writers, researchers, designers, curriculum developers, and other partners as needed. Serving as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the Executive Director. Participating actively as a member of WJN's senior leadership team. Helping build a collaborative, rigorous, learning-oriented organizational culture rooted in curiosity, clarity, experimentation, and impact. Representing WJN externally when appropriate, including with partners, researchers, funders, practitioners, and at convenings or trainings. Qualifications include: Deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative audience research, preferably in a political, advocacy, nonprofit, civic engagement, or communications environment. Strong track record of translating research insights into actionable tools, trainings, frameworks, or strategic guidance for real-world use. Excellent strategic thinking, writing, synthesis, and analytical skills. Strong teaching, facilitation, and curriculum-development instincts. Ability to simplify complex ideas without flattening nuance or rigor. Experience developing frameworks, trainings, educational resources, strategic content, or practitioner-facing tools. Product-minded and systems-oriented approach to building scalable resources and programs. Comfort managing external vendors, consultants, researchers, and collaborators. Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment with shifting priorities and high standards. Strong commitment to WJN's mission of reconnecting with working-class audiences and rebuilding trust through more effective economic narratives. Preferred qualifications include: Experience with public opinion research, message testing, cognitive linguistics, narrative change, strategic communications research, or working-class audience research. Experience across both the political/advocacy and nonprofit/philanthropic spaces. Experience designing trainings, curricula, communities of practice, learning programs, or practitioner-facing resources. Experience working with campaigns, advocacy organizations, unions, philanthropic institutions, think tanks, research firms, or movement organizations. Interest in leveraging AI to develop tools that equip communications practitioners to communicate more effectively. Experience helping build the intellectual infrastructure, research agenda, or product line of a growing organization, campaign, or initiative. What else you should know: Location: This position is full-time and remote. Salary: The salary range for this position is $150,000-$175,000. Benefits: We offer a robust benefits package for full-time employees including paid time off; shared-cost health, dental and vision insurance; professional development funding; and remote work technology allowance. Applicants must be currently authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor, or take over sponsorship of, employment visas at this time. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. How to apply: Complete this form in its entirety. We are actively reviewing applications and scheduling interviews on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply promptly, as the position may be filled before the posted closing date. Arena