Director of External Relations

About the Platte Institute

The Platte Institute’s mission is to advance policies that remove barriers to growth and opportunity in Nebraska. We unite Nebraskans from all points of view around ideas that enhance economic freedom and enable more people to build a future in our state. Our team operates in an entrepreneurial startup culture that prioritizes listening, learning, and working to find better ways to serve communities across Nebraska. Our efforts help save taxpayers billions of dollars, encourage the creation and growth of exciting new businesses and innovations, and represent individual workers and entrepreneurs who are often left out of the traditional policy process. If you enjoy disrupting the status quo while building consensus across party lines, meeting amazing people and helping them achieve their dreams and goals, and being part of a tight-knit team where your contributions and expertise are valued and rewarded, you may be a great fit for a role with the Platte Institute.

About the Role

The Platte Institute is seeking a Director of External Relations to identify and work with target audiences in Nebraska to enhance the organization’s visibility, influence, and outreach. Their primary responsibility will be to bring Nebraskans, policy and community leaders, and our team together for programs focused on accelerating policy change and creating new opportunities for diverse Nebraska communities. The Director of External Relations will also introduce Nebraskans to the Platte Institute, our programs and resources, and create programs to cultivate and activate the organization’s statewide membership in cooperation with our development and communications teams. The ideal candidate will feel strongly aligned with the Platte Institute’s mission and have 3-5 years of experience in relationship management with a proven track record of executing external relations strategy.

This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer. This role is located in Omaha, Nebraska, but will require some statewide travel. We will consider a virtual/hybrid option for a candidate within a reasonable distance of Omaha.

Responsibilities

Find and steward relationships with Nebraskans who are impacted by policy hurdles and ensure that they will be positive representatives of the issue, and vet potential heroes who submit stories or case inquiries to Platte.
Serve as point person for each hero with internal team members and external audiences.
Create and promote all content and hero testimonial stories, as it pertains to issue campaigns and overall digital goals.
Manage growth and stewardship of owned audience and how to funnel those people into partners, advocates, and community members.
Taking lead on identifying community leaders and potential partners/supporters, adding them to trackable groups within our owned audience, and collecting data on their engagement with us.
Manage stakeholder listening sessions, focus groups, working groups, and Platte community events.
Coordinate with the government relations team to effectively deploy digital targeting and calls to action to compliment Platte’s legislative strategy.
Coordinate with the development team to effectively transition contacts with mission buy-in into donor prospects.
Manage the organization’s outreach programs, including new Board Ambassadors Group.
Work closely with Platte’s policy, CSO, and government relations teams to develop a coalition partnership strategy and build coalitions for each core priority.
Supervise the team members responsible for all Platte Institute sponsored events.

Position Qualifications

3-5 years of relationship management experience in a public policy, nonprofit, or corporate setting (a candidate with experience in Nebraska is preferred but not required)
Strong commitment to the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and the Platte Institute’s mission of removing barriers for Nebraskans
A proven track record of external relations through public events and growing a membership-based organization
Strong commitment to building collaborative partnerships across geographic, political, or industry lines
A voracious listener and strategic thinker who can identify opportunities for the organization and fulfill unmet needs of potential community partners
Ability to travel within the state of NE (approximately 15%)

Preferred Skills

Strong leadership and team-building skills
Effective public speaking and writing
Proficiency with digital communication tools and social media
Confidence speaking in front of groups, to reporters, or via recording that may be presented to a large audience
Base-level knowledge of media landscape in the state
Experience working independently to follow through on time-sensitive tasks

How to Apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials in one PDF document:

A cover letter explaining why you are qualified for this position, why you believe in free enterprise, your interest in Platte Institute, and your salary requirements
Resume

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Lydia Ocampo, Outreach Manager of Talent Market, who is assisting with the search: lydia@talentmarket.org

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit entity dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.