About LACI 

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for the people of Los Angeles by unlocking innovation by working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies, transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities, and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. In the past ten years, LACI has helped 340 portfolio companies raise $697 million in funding, generated $323 million in revenue, and created 2,565 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a projected 5-year economic impact of more than $573 million. Learn more at laci.org

Position Summary:

The Vice President of Marketing & Communications works closely with the CEO on vision, priorities, and core messaging while leading a team to develop and execute plans, campaigns, and tactics to attract applicants to LACI’s programs, share LACI’s stories, and build LACI’s thought leadership. An experienced and proactive marketing and communications leader, this position manages staff, consultants, and projects while ensuring excellent internal customer service that balances deadlines & workload of your team. This role is a collaborator who can also toggle between editing copy for social media, drafting a press release, scripting a video, creating a slide deck, or pitching a story

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the Marketing & Communications team: work closely with the CEO to align on vision, identify priorities, and craft core messaging; lead, manage, and guide your Marketing & Communications (MarCom) team on strategy, tactics, and voice; support key messaging campaigns led by consultants and/or LACI staff from across the organization; ensure excellent customer service to meet internal needs while managing expectations on deadlines and process; represent the MarCom team at the leadership level; lead planning for MarCom priorities; and develop your staff’s skills and capacity. 
• Craft and oversee marketing plans for recruitment, in particular of underrepresented populations: support LACI’s programs and related recruitment efforts (e.g., startup incubation, small business impact accelerator, workforce training, pilot RFI’s, etc.); craft messages and strategies that are aligned with LACI’s vision, mission, and value; drive awareness and participation overall; and target messaging for underrepresented populations through partnerships as well as digital, social, event, and earned media strategies.
• Grow LACI’s thought leadership through earned media, events, and digital/social: build content and relationships to grow the organization's regional, statewide, and national thought leadership in creating an inclusive green economy through opinion editorials, reports, blogs, events, videos, and social media.
• Help tell the story of LACI: help tell the story of LACI’s impact and comprehensive strategy through profile pieces on the CEO and LACI that support and drive recruitment, fundraising, and partnerships; amplify the stories of our startup and small business founders participating in our incubation and impact acceleration programs; share the impact and results from multiple tracks of pilot projects and our community partners, and workforce development graduates; conceive, craft, and articulate the story via news releases, speeches, annual reports, presentations, marketing, & fundraising materials.
• Communications/Branding/Social Media:  lead content development across LACI’s channels, including website, newsletters, video, social media, and earned media.
• Manage earned media strategy and media partners: through your personal relationships and consultants, manage press relationships to ensure coverage surrounding LACI programs, special events, public announcements, and other projects; serve as point person on media interactions that help promote and/or impact the organization; manage all large-scale stakeholder outreach, press conference and announcement planning; write media advisories and press releases, and pitch stories to reporters.
• LACI Events: oversee LACI’s virtual and in-person events strategy with your team to ensure event strategy aligns with organizational goals and delivers LACI’s integrated message; and align with pillar leads on priorities, audience, message, unique selling points and program outcomes. 
• Help support startups: Act as marketing and communications advisor/consultant for LACI startups to amplify success of the startups and their founders, in particular with major media opportunities.

Why You’re Right for the Job:

• You’ve managed teams to produce results: You’re an excellent manager and bring out the best in people to achieve high performance results to advance mission and purpose.
• You’re experienced in marketing, digital, and earned media. You have experience leading marketing campaigns, working with top social media platforms and a solid understanding of how and why people use social media. You know how to form meaningful connections across a variety of platforms, and build relationships that continue to grow and amplify the brand and the work. 
• Editing and writing is your thing. You’re an excellent, experienced writer and/or editor with a track record of producing high- quality, externally-facing content such as articles, speeches, op-eds, blogs, case studies and website content. You know how to synthesize and translate complex information for a broad spectrum of audiences from technologists and engineers, to investors, to entrepreneurs (in a tweetable format, when needed)!
• You’re focused and flexible. You know what you need to get done, but you’re flexible when priorities change. It doesn’t phase you to work in a fast-paced environment in both working closely with a CEO to identify and shape key messages and priorities while frequently leading and working your team with limited guidance, because you know how to ask questions and get the information you need to get the job done. 
• You have exceptional attention to detail. A typo is not getting past you! (Okay, no one’s perfect - but it’s rare.) Your organization and time management skills are excellent. Sometimes, you’re even amazed at how many balls you can juggle (#humblebrag).
• You enjoy telling stories while empowering partners. In managing your own team and being part of the larger LACI community, you love to empower staff and colleagues, entrepreneurs, and community members to succeed in their roles and goals. You are confident you can create the messaging toolkits and training for people to act as ambassadors of LACI and further our mission.

Requirements:

Basically, we want to know you can get the job done. This means you have:

• 12 years of work experience working in progressive roles with a combination of marketing, public relations and communications environments
• 10 years communications background, preferably in non-profit, impact investing, corporate communications, public relations, start-ups, sustainability, cleantech, social impact or related sector
• Experience with digital and data-focused marketing with a record of success in developing relevant digital strategies and leveraging platforms to build a brand
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• The ability to lead and inspire creative, marketing, events, and social media team members and content creators to achieve organizational goals
• Strong management skills, including the ability to manage up/down/across an organization to align messaging across channels
• Team player with ability to work collaboratively with a variety of departments 
• Thorough understanding of the media landscape, especially in Los Angeles and California
• Experience directly interfacing with high-level executives and other external audiences
• Passionate about LACI's mission and able to promote and communicate to stakeholders

Work Requirements

• Must work onsite from LA office

Position Details:

This is a full-time position, starting immediately. LACI operates out of the La Kretz Innovation Campus, in the bustling Downtown LA Arts District. Since we are rapidly growing, you will be getting in on the ground floor at LACI, with the opportunity to evolve with us and shape your future here. Some travel may be required.

Salary Range: Total Compensation for VP Range $138-160k commensurate with experience, education, skills, etc including health benefits, 401k match, professional development, commuter benefits and more.

In addition to working on a campus with other innovators, we offer industry competitive benefits including: paid holidays, vacation/sick time, health benefits, 401(k) plan with match, and paid parking (with EV charge stations). We also support alternative transportation with a metro pass and bikeshare for every employee.