Digital Communications Manager Jobs in Reston, VA

Who are we?

Malala Fund is working for a world where all girls can learn and lead. Malala Fund advocates for resources and policy changes needed to give all girls a secondary education, invests in local education leaders and amplifies the voices of girls fighting for change. Learn more at malala.org.

What does this team do?

The Strategic Communications team is the creative and editorial engine behind how Malala Fund shows up in the world. The team translates research, advocacy, and grantee impact into stories, campaigns, and content that move the audiences who can accelerate change for girls: donors, policymakers, partners, and the public.

The team operates on a social-first, visually-led model across six focus countries: Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Team members work in close partnership with country communications colleagues, programme teams, and advocacy leads to ensure all content reflects local context, political nuance, and the communities we serve with accuracy, dignity, and care while maintaining the coherence, quality, and strategic alignment that Malala Fund's global platform demands.

What does this position do?

The Manager, Digital Communications is an individual contributor and people management role for an experienced digital communications leader with deep platform expertise, strong editorial judgement, and experience growing and protecting high-profile brands across complex public, cultural, or advocacy environments.

The Manager leads Malala Fund's owned digital channels, translating organisational priorities into platform-native strategies that grow audiences, mobilise supporters, and contribute to fundraising outcomes. They will oversee digital strategy, content planning, channel performance, and audience engagement while partnering closely with Strategic Communications, Development, and country teams to ensure Malala Fund's stories reach the right audiences in the right formats and moments.

Malala Fund invests in civil society organisations in Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Brazil to advance policy, accountability, and systems change so every girl has the opportunity to complete 12 years of education. Digital communications are central to that mission—building public awareness, strengthening supporter engagement, and generating the political and financial support needed to help every girl learn and build their futures.

Duties and Responsibilities

Channel strategy and audience growth

• Lead the execution and continuous improvement of Malala Fund's owned digital channel strategy across all platforms, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities, campaign calendars, and fundraising objectives.
• Bring deep platform expertise to inform content strategy, publishing cadence, audience engagement, and optimisation across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Malala.org, and emerging platforms.
• Grow Malala Fund's global audiences through data-informed strategy, experimentation, social listening, and community management, using performance insights to strengthen engagement, advocacy, and fundraising.
• Anticipate platform trends, algorithm changes, and emerging formats, advising the organisation on opportunities to strengthen digital performance.
• Ensure Malala Fund's owned channels operate in close coordination with the public communications of our principals, identifying opportunities to amplify key moments of engagement and influence.

Digital content execution and platform packaging

• Lead the end-to-end digital content pipeline—from creative briefing through publishing and distribution—ensuring all content is delivered with quality, consistency, and platform relevance.
• Manage and develop the Senior Creative Producer, providing clear direction, coaching, and feedback on platform-specific content and production priorities.
• Coordinate Malala Fund's digital publishing calendar in close partnership with global and country communications teams, Partnership Managers and the Development team to ensure content is strategically sequenced and optimised for audience engagement and fundraising.
• Ensure all digital content meets Malala Fund's accessibility, safeguarding, and ethical storytelling standards, escalating editorial and brand decisions where appropriate.
• Execute rapid-response digital communications during key advocacy and fundraising moments while championing platform-native storytelling through experimentation with emerging formats and features that expand Malala Fund's reach.

Revenue generation and donor engagement

• Partner closely with the Digital Fundraising Manager and Development team to ensure digital communications contribute directly to fundraising performance and supporter growth.
• Design and execute digital campaigns that convert audience engagement into measurable advocacy and fundraising outcomes across key moments, including Malala Day, International Day of the Girl, and year-end giving.
• Ensure advocacy and rapid-response communications are designed with clear mobilisation pathways that encourage audiences to donate, advocate, subscribe, or take other meaningful actions.
• Support the Development team by showcasing impact through digital storytelling, audience insights, and campaign performance.
• Manage budgets associated with digital production, paid media, and external vendors, ensuring resources are invested effectively.

Platform partnerships and vendor management

• Develop strategic relationships with platforms, creators, cultural partners, brands, influencers, and other organisations that expand Malala Fund's reach and credibility with priority audiences.
• Manage external agencies, creative partners, and production vendors, ensuring high-quality delivery and value for investment.
• Partner with country communications leads to balance global consistency with locally relevant digital approaches and audience needs.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen relationships with technology and social media companies that support Malala Fund's advocacy, communications, and fundraising priorities.

What you bring to us and the role!

Digital strategy and platform expertise

• 7–10 years of experience leading digital communications, social media strategy, audience engagement, or digital marketing, with a demonstrated track record of building engaged audiences and delivering measurable organisational impact.
• Demonstrated expertise across major social platforms—including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook—with a strong understanding of platform-native storytelling, audience behaviour, analytics, and algorithmic trends.
• Experience developing and executing digital content strategies that have driven measurable audience growth, engagement, advocacy, fundraising, or brand awareness, including social-first content production across video, photography, graphics, and multimedia storytelling.
• Experience designing or supporting digital fundraising campaigns and understanding how digital communications contribute to supporter acquisition, donor engagement, and long-term audience growth.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret performance data, identify opportunities, test new approaches, and translate insights into strategic recommendations.
• Experience managing external agencies, creators, platforms, vendors, partnerships, and budgets to deliver high-quality digital campaigns.
• Experience leading communications for a high-profile, mission-driven organisation, public figure, or brand where culture, storytelling, reputation, and public engagement intersect. This may include experience in media, journalism, advocacy, public affairs, purpose-led brands, international development, or other complex, public-facing organisations. Experience in international development is an advantage, but not required.
• Understanding of global issues and cultural contexts, particularly across the regions where Malala Fund works, with the judgement to navigate complex and sensitive issues through digital communications.

Leadership and collaboration

• Experience managing and developing direct reports, creating an environment of trust, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across communications, development, programmes, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to influence decisions through expertise, data, and sound judgement rather than positional authority.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, balance long-term planning with day-to-day execution, and consistently deliver high-quality work in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief creative teams, present recommendations to senior leaders, and communicate complex ideas clearly.
• A proactive, solutions-oriented approach, with a willingness to experiment, learn, and continuously improve digital performance.

Values and approach

• Commitment to Malala Fund's mission and a belief in the power of digital communications to advance advocacy, influence public opinion, and mobilise resources for girls' education.
• Commitment to ethical, dignified, and audience-centred storytelling that reflects the voices and experiences of the communities Malala Fund serves.
• Commitment to applying safeguarding principles across all communications and content production.
• Curiosity about emerging platforms, technologies, audience behaviours, and creative formats, with a desire to continually strengthen Malala Fund's digital communications.
• A collaborative leadership style, characterised by humility, generosity, accountability, and a willingness to both teach and learn.
• A results-oriented mindset that values measurable impact, continuous improvement, and thoughtful experimentation over vanity metrics.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position will manage the Sr. Content Producer.

Travel Required

Approximately 3-5 trips, including international, annually for in-person team meetings, content gathering, or event staffing.

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Malala Fund is an equal opportunity employer and inclusive organization who welcomes employees from under-represented and intersectional communities  including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities. We seek people with diverse backgrounds, cultures, ages, experiences and identities to provide a wide range of perspectives, ideas, views and insights into the strategy, policies, culture and ambitions of Malala Fund.

Malala Fund is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the safety and dignity  of all of  those involved in our work. Our first priority is protecting everyone who comes in direct or indirect contact with our organization, including staff, partners, grantees, and the communities in which we work

Malala Fund has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse,  exploitation, harassment, or discrimination of any kind  by any of our staff, representatives or partners. We commit to ensuring that those who work with Malala Fund or on our behalf are able to work in an environment that is safe, respectful, and free from harm. To uphold this commitment, Malala Fund reserves the right to conduct background checks on prospective and current employees.