About First Focus on Children

First Focus on Children is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. First Focus on Children leads a comprehensive advocacy strategy, with its hands-on experience with federal policymaking and a commitment to seeking bipartisan solutions. Some advocates believe that painting a compelling picture of the problems facing children is enough. First Focus on Children believes awareness is the starting point, not the finish line.

First Focus on Children approaches its advocacy work — performed in partnership with its 501(c)(4) affiliates, First Focus Campaign for Children and Kids Can’t Wait — through four essential steps:

  • Raising Awareness
  • Developing Policy Solutions
  • Building Will
  • Taking Action

Our public-facing communications include our website, social media channels, our email list, our Substack pages, and podcast, through which we translate federal children’s policy into compelling, accessible advocacy content for policymakers, funders, advocates, and the public.

Part of the job with be to help organization’s leadership develop a strategy to create and build a more aggressive 501(c)(4) affiliate, Kids Can’t Wait, to raise visibility and urgency about the need to improve the lives of children and to counter political forces seeking to diminish attention and visibility about the best interests and rights of kids.

Job description summary

First Focus on Children is seeking a full-time Senior Director of Digital Advocacy & Marketing to lead and execute the organization’s digital communications, marketing, and fundraising strategy. This person will be a primary driver of the organization’s digital revenue generation — building and scaling online fundraising programs that meaningfully contribute to First Focus on Children’s financial sustainability — while also managing our digital presence across all platforms, from website and social media to newsletter, podcast, and advocacy engagement.

This is a high-impact role that combines the instincts of a digital fundraiser and marketer with the skills of a content creator and communications strategist for the purposes of achieving advocacy change for children. The ideal candidate understands how to build donor acquisition funnels, convert digital audiences into financial supporters, grow online revenue through disciplined campaign management and creative storytelling, and facilitate engagement to legislators on children’s policy issues.

Because we are a small, high-impact organization, this role requires both strategic vision and hands-on execution across a wide range of disciplines. We are looking for a creative self-starter with the demonstrated ability to initiate projects and drive results with minimal supervision, and who brings deep commitment to children’s health, education, development, safety, and well-being.

Essential functions

Digital Fundraising & Revenue Generation

  • Serve as the organization’s primary digital fundraiser, with responsibility for building and scaling online revenue programs that generate significant contributed income for First Focus on Children and its affiliates.
  • Design, execute, and continuously optimize digital fundraising campaigns including year-end appeals, Giving Tuesday, mid-year drives, major donor cultivation, and foundation stewardship — with the expectation of growing digital revenue substantially year over year.
  • Build and manage donor acquisition funnels that convert digital audiences — newsletter subscribers, social media followers, podcast listeners, and web visitors — into first-time and recurring financial supporters.
  • Develop compelling fundraising copy, email sequences, donation landing pages, and digital calls to action that communicate urgency and drive conversion.
  • Leverage digital marketing tools — including paid advertising, search, and social — to identify, reach, and cultivate prospective donors at scale.
  • Collaborate with the President and senior leadership on major donor and foundation cultivation strategies, developing digital touchpoints that support larger funder relationships.
  • Track and report on all fundraising performance metrics including revenue totals, donor acquisition costs, conversion rates, average gift size, and retention rates, and use that data to continuously improve results.

Website Management & Digital Presence

  • Manage and continuously improve the First Focus on Children website, ensuring content is current, user-friendly, SEO-optimized, and mission-aligned.
  • Develop new landing pages, microsites, and political and fundraising campaign-specific web content in coordination with staff and external vendors.
  • Monitor site analytics and translate data into actionable content strategy and user experience improvements.
  • Maintain website security, accessibility, and technical performance.

Social Media Development & Management

  • Develop and execute a comprehensive, platform-specific social media strategy across LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and emerging platforms.
  • Create compelling, shareable content — including graphics, short-form video, data visualizations, and threads — that advances our policy priorities and builds audience for fundraising conversion.
  • Grow audience engagement, monitor trends in children’s policy and advocacy, and leverage real-time opportunities to amplify First Focus on Children messaging.
  • Establish editorial calendars, content workflows, and performance benchmarks, reporting regularly on results.

Substack Newsletter Promotion & Growth

  • Partner with First Focus on Children leadership to promote and grow the organization’s newsletters.
  • Drive subscriber acquisition through targeted campaigns, referral programs, cross-platform promotion, and strategic partnerships.
  • Develop testing strategies for subject lines, formats, and distribution timing to optimize open and engagement rates.
  • Track and report on newsletter performance metrics and identify opportunities for audience segmentation and personalization.

Podcast Production & Audio/Video Editing

  • Lead production of the podcast, including scheduling, recording coordination, editing, mixing, and publishing across major podcast platforms.
  • Edit and produce video content for YouTube, Instagram, and other short-form platforms, including episode clips, advocacy video, and event highlights.
  • Develop a consistent visual and audio brand identity across all multimedia content.
  • Manage episode release schedules, write show notes and transcripts, and coordinate promotion across channels.

CRM Management & Supporter Engagement

  • Own and manage the organization’s CRM system — maintaining data integrity, segmenting lists, and building automated workflows for supporter engagement and donor stewardship.
  • Develop and implement email marketing strategies that engage diverse audiences including policymakers, advocates, media, donors, and coalition partners.
  • Coordinate digital outreach for action alerts, petition campaigns, and advocacy mobilization efforts tied to federal legislative priorities.
  • Integrate CRM data across platforms to provide a unified view of constituent engagement and inform organizational strategy.

Graphic Design & Brand Consistency

  • Create high-quality graphics for social media, email campaigns, reports, fact sheets, presentations, and web content using Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or equivalent.
  • Maintain and evolve the First Focus on Children visual brand identity, ensuring consistency across all digital and print channels.
  • Collaborate with policy and advocacy staff to translate complex data and policy content into compelling visual formats for broad audiences.

Organizational & Cross-Team Responsibilities

  • Work with others internally and in collaboration with partner organizations to advance First Focus on Children’s comprehensive children’s policy agenda.
  • Represent First Focus on Children outside the organization at meetings, events, and speaking engagements as appropriate.
  • Proactively identify emerging digital platforms, tools, and tactics and bring forward-looking recommendations to senior leadership.
  • Independently utilize standard office technology and software, including email, word processing, and video conferencing tools, to perform all essential job functions.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Language Ability

Ability to produce concise, persuasive, and grammatically correct written communications across a wide range of formats and audiences, from policy advocates and elected officials to donors and the general public.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to define communications and fundraising challenges, collect and analyze performance data, draw valid conclusions, and propose actionable recommendations. Ability to manage multiple digital programs simultaneously and adapt strategy in response to a fast-moving policy and political environment.

Leadership Ability

Ability to work across the organization and with external partners — including child advocates, coalition members, and policymakers — to effectively accomplish specified goals and deliverables. Demonstrated ability to initiate and lead projects with minimal supervision.

Education, Knowledge & Skills

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required with 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in digital communications, marketing, fundraising, or advocacy.
  • Proven track record of executing digital fundraising campaigns that generate significant revenue, with demonstrated experience in donor acquisition, online conversion optimization, and digital revenue growth.
  • Experience building and managing donor acquisition funnels and digital marketing-to-fundraising pipelines, including email sequences, donation landing pages, and calls to action.
  • Proven expertise in social media strategy and management, including content creation and community engagement across major platforms.
  • Hands-on experience with website management (WordPress or equivalent CMS).
  • Proficiency in audio/video editing software.
  • Graphic design skills and proficiency in Canva Pro and/or Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
  • Experience managing email marketing and CRM systems (EveryAction, HubSpot, Mailchimp, or equivalent).
  • Experience growing and promoting a newsletter, podcast, or comparable content platform.
  • Advanced communications skills including persuasive writing, storytelling, and the ability to distill complex policy content for general audiences.
  • Understanding of the federal policy-making process and the political landscape, and ability to work effectively in a bipartisan advocacy environment.
  • The maturity and confidence to work internally and externally to promote First Focus on Children’s legislative and policy communications agenda.
  • Demonstrated ability to work with minimal supervision; self-starter who takes initiative and drives projects to completion.
  • Deep commitment to improving the lives of children and families through federal policy change.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience working in nonprofit or government advocacy, policy, or political communications.
  • Experience with paid digital advertising for fundraising purposes (Google Grants, Meta Ads, promoted social content).
  • Knowledge of and/or interest in children’s policy issues, to help ensure First Focus on Children covers the full array of issues of importance to children.
  • Familiarity with SEO and analytics platforms.
  • Experience with Substack or similar subscription/newsletter platforms.

Who You Are

The ideal candidate brings not just technical skill, but the drive and creativity to build. You are:

  • A digital fundraiser at heart who understands that great content and great revenue generation go hand in hand.
  • A creative self-starter who doesn’t wait to be told what to do — you see gaps and fill them.
  • Equally comfortable thinking strategically and rolling up your sleeves to execute.
  • A strong storyteller who can make children’s policy urgent, relatable, and shareable — and who knows how to turn that urgency into donor action.
  • Data-informed but not data-paralyzed — you use analytics to improve, not just to report.
  • Collaborative and communicative, able to work effectively with advocates, policy experts, and organizational leadership.
  • Passionate about making a difference for the kids who can’t yet speak for themselves in the halls of power.

Compensation & Benefits

First Focus on Children offers a competitive nonprofit compensation package commensurate with experience, including:

  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Retirement plan with employer contribution
  • Generous paid time off, including holidays
  • Flexible and hybrid work arrangements
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Mission-driven, collaborative work environment

To Apply

Submit a cover letter outlining your interest in the position and your qualifications and your resume demonstrating your digital communications and fundraising work (e.g., social media campaigns, fundraising campaign results, video or audio clips, newsletter or website projects) to:

jobs@firstfocus.org

Subject Line: “Director of Digital Advocacy & Marketing Job”

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage early submissions. First Focus on Children is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks candidates from diverse backgrounds.