Chief Communications Officer

About the Role

Climat 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.

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.
• Advises 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, cross-functional environments.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex scientific, technical, policy, or research-based information into compelling narratives.
• Experience serving as a trusted advisor to CEOs and executive leadership teams, influencing organizational strategy and decision-making.
• Commitment to science-based communications and Climate Central's mission.