Vice President of Digital

About Metropolitan Group

Metropolitan Group is a full-service strategic and creative agency that builds the power of voice of the people, organizations, and communities that drive social change. We do this by building their capacity as change agents and by designing, implementing, and evaluating direct efforts to create change.

Since 1989, we’ve worked exclusively on behalf of mission-driven organizations, including many of the world’s leading nonprofits, foundations, public agencies, and socially responsible businesses.  

Most of our work is in (and often at the intersection of) three focus areas: social justice, environment and sustainability, and public health. Across all our focus areas, we offer a range of services in three integrated practices: strategic communication, organizational strategy and innovation, and intercultural engagement.

In this past year, we have partnered with our clients to: advance just solutions to climate change, strengthen democracy globally, counter structural racism, address gender-based violence, advocate for families of the disappeared in Mexico, center environmental justice, accelerate biodiversity conservation, increase health equity and build currency for equitable well-being, support organizational transformation based on equity and inclusion, and so much more. 

We are an antiracist agency and are committed to actively undertaking the work of dismantling white supremacy in our workplace, our sector, and our society at large.

We are also a Certified B Corp and have been recognized by the independent nonprofit B Lab as one of the top 10% of companies worldwide for social impact. 

Our headquarters is in Portland, Oregon, and we have a satellite office in Washington, D.C. We also have team members working remotely from all over the United States, as well as a sister company, Impacto Social Metropolitan Group, in Mexico City.

Position Summary

From advocacy and community building to stakeholder engagement, we harness the power of digital to listen, see trends and patterns, and drive both engagement and action.

Current/recent digital clients include: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, USDA Forest Service, NASA, The Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation, Up for Growth, Oregon Health Authority, The Rockefeller Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other social impact organizations. 

Our digital practice is growing, and we are seeking a new vice president of digital to lead our efforts and our account teams in this space.  

Reporting to the senior executive vice president/principal who heads our strategic communication practice, the vice president of digital will specialize in a growing portfolio of work to provide leadership, strategic direction, campaign oversight, and team and contractor management. 

As such, we are searching for a curious, innovative, and collaborative digital strategist with strong leadership skills and deep experience developing, setting the strategic direction of, and overseeing the execution of large-scale, sophisticated digital campaigns in a mission-driven environment.

This person will serve as a member of our senior team, responsible for contributing to the company’s thought leadership, professional development, strategy, and service/subject area expert teams. 

The vice president of digital will also engage in new business development to help bring in new accounts and grow existing relationships. 

Agency, foundation, or nonprofit experience are all highly desired. 

The vice president of digital is a full-time exempt position. The base starting salary for this position is between $130,000 and $150,000 per year, plus potential profit share and incentives, and is negotiable depending on experience and commensurate with MG’s compensation structure.

We have a preference for this role to be located in our Portland or D.C. office, but we will consider candidates who wish to work remotely within the U.S. and are willing to travel to our offices roughly four to six times per year. 

General Responsibilities

LEADERSHIP:

• Build a high-performing team and supervise, mentor, and grow employees and contractors in ways that increase our digital capacity and strengthen our digital work.
• Lead innovative digital strategy work to develop insights, engagement, and activation to advance social change, including initiatives focused on branding social purpose organizations and connecting with people’s core values to change narratives; build public will; advocate for behavior, practice, and policy change; and promote new social norms.
• In partnership with others, help create impactful teams that advance our digital work across the agency. 
• Meet with prospective clients to get them excited about our digital offerings and lead team-based business development efforts focused on taking early-stage work with a wide array of new digital clients to scale and strategically build out the digital client portfolio.
• Serve as an internal and external digital thought leader, helping to identify trends and evolving best practices.

COMMUNICATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING:

• Lead the development of compelling digital communications and digital advocacy campaigns to spark action across a wide variety of audiences and issue areas. Our existing digital work includes email and organic social media campaigns, paid social, mobile applications such as WhatsApp, micro-site and website strategy and implementation, content strategy and application for digital properties, and digital influencer campaigns. We welcome candidates who can both lead and build on these digital service areas. 
• Monitor digital campaign progress and execution on an ongoing basis, taking ultimate responsibility for making sure the day-to-day digital work is aligned with established goals, objectives, budgets, and timelines.
• Build the capacity of MG’s clients to communicate strategically in the digital environment, including training and coaching in how to employ digital in effectively engaging community leaders, elected officials, and the general public.
• Advance intercultural communication, including helping our clients share power and work more authentically with communities and change-makers in the digital space.

STRATEGIC, PROGRAM, AND WORK PLANNING:

• Design protocols for and provide direction to the team on social listening and the use of digital for testing, stakeholder engagement, and analysis of insights.
• Advance strategic digital campaign planning and program planning for clients, including setting goals and objectives, strategy, tactics, budget, measurement, and evaluation.
• Oversee teams and contractors charged with development and implementation of detailed digital work plans that result in quality work delivered on time, on spec, and on budget.

Success in Six Months Looks Like:

• You have assessed the needs of the digital team and recommended teaming solutions, including staffing and contractors.
• You understand MG’s offerings and clients, and have collaborated with the digital team to articulate a vision and plan for sustaining and advancing digital work across the agency.
• You have developed a suite of digital offerings for the agency and a plan to roll them out.
• You have been involved in some business cultivation efforts/pitches, and you have developed an understanding of how you can contribute to the process of scoping out and selling our digital offering. 
• You have helped elevate the digital work we’re doing for digital clients on our existing projects and are instrumental in driving a couple of new client projects that we’ve been able to get because you have raised the bar for what we’re delivering. 
• You are adding to our culture outside of the digital team. You are forging relationships at the firm needed to embed digital across all of our work, and not just in the strat comms process. 

Requirements

Note: If you’re interested in the role and think you could do this job successfully, we welcome your application even if you might not check all of our boxes. 

• At least 10 years of experience working in the digital space, either in an agency, NGO, philanthropy, political campaigns, or nonprofit sector, with strong understanding of advocacy and social justice work.
• A collaborative management style and more than five years of experience successfully managing a team. 
• A commitment to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion—including a commitment to advancing antiracism and dismantling white supremacy—in the workplace, in our sector, and in our society. 
• Proven ability to develop visioning and strategic planning around digital campaigns, expertise in using a broad range of digital tools and tactics, and a track record of successfully overseeing and driving sophisticated digital campaigns across a variety of digital channels and platforms. 
• Deep budget/account management experience, including experience contributing to new business and marketing opportunities (e.g., leading proposal and budget development, participation in pitch meetings, etc.).
• Sharp strategic instincts and the skills to develop a strategic vision, articulate it, and get buy-in from others on that vision.
• Excellent communication skills—including strong, persuasive writing and the ability to translate complex ideas for varied audiences—along with an eye for design and a basic understanding of the visual design aspects of digital campaigns.
• Well-developed analytical, facilitation, and engagement skills. 
• Deep budget/account management experience.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• International experience/work on multi-country projects/campaigns is preferred but not required.
• Must be authorized to accept employment in the United States.

Expectations

• Provide high-quality professional consulting services and expertise to clients while leveraging the talents of the team.
• Be a team player and excel at team-oriented problem-solving.
• Demonstrate an excellent work ethic.
• Contribute positively to the MG culture and to the psychological safety of an intercultural environment.
• Support and embody the organization’s values, goals, and operating principles.
• Have an upbeat, creative, and professional demeanor.
• Bring curiosity and commitment to our work.

Benefits

• All employees are eligible for bonuses/incentives/profit sharing based on individual and company performance.
• Hybrid workplace with flexibility in terms of in-office and work-from-home arrangements. 
• Employer-paid medical/vision insurance on the first day of the month following employment start date. Depending on plan choice, plans that include dependents are covered at 47% and up.
• Dental insurance paid at 50% by the employer on the first day of the month following employment start date.
• Employer-paid life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance plans available on the first day of the month following employment start date.
• Flexible spending account (medical/dependent care/transportation/parking). 
• Monthly remote work allowance of $75.  
• Professional development resources up to $1,500 annually.
• Fifteen paid vacation days per year after the first 90 days of employment, plus one additional day accrued for each year of employment (up to a total of 20 days total vacation days).
• Ten days of wellness leave available per year, accruable up to 20 days.
• One month (20 work days) paid sabbatical eligibility after each seven years of continuous employment.
• MG paid holidays off: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and one personal holiday of choice (11 days annually).
• 401(k) retirement plan: You are eligible to participate in this program on the first day of the month following three months of full-time employment. As a participant, you may make tax-deferred contributions up to the maximum allowable amount into the plan. MG will make an annual contribution equal to 3% of your compensation the following year. Roth option available.

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Metropolitan Group, we know that diverse backgrounds, experiences, and cultures strengthen our work and our workplace. We strive to create an intercultural workplace through greater recognition, understanding, and appreciation of a broad range of differences among individuals and groups within society, and to incorporate an intercultural perspective in our work. 

We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, genders, races, religions, ages, sexual orientations or gender identities, abilities, or other identities. We encourage all candidates to apply—even if you don’t believe you meet every requirement outlined above. If you have any questions, please reach out to JoinTheTeam@metgroup.com.

Application Information

Send a cover letter, your resume, and (optional) professional work samples related to digital campaign planning, strategy, execution, or oversight to JoinTheTeam@metgroup.com. Please include in your cover letter how you heard about this role. 

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and we encourage the submission of applications no later than our priority application deadline of September 5, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Applications will be accepted until the role is filled. 

We anticipate a hiring process of two to three panel interviews, with a hire made in late September or October 2023.

Download the complete job description here.