Director External Communications Jobs in Reston, VA

Job Title: Director, External Communications

Department: Communications and Brand Marketing

Location: Remote, Washington, D.C.

Reports to: Senior Vice President, Communications

Direct Reports: Yes

Classification: Exempt

Position type: Full-Time Employee

Anticipated Pay Range at Commencement of Employment:: $87,000 - $120,000

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 300,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families. 

We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We're a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member - a spouse, parent, or child - actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges: frequent relocations, deployments, career disruption, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time - because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we're driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We're Looking For:

• Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change - and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You'll Do Here:

• Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility
• Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done
• Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment - and to make life better for those who serve - Blue Star Families is where you belong.

General Description

The Director, External Communications leads Blue Star Families' external visibility efforts across media relations, earned and social media, influencer engagement, and brand partnerships to elevate the organization's national profile, expand awareness of military family issues, and strengthen brand reputation among key audiences and the general public. This role develops and executes integrated communications strategies that advance organizational priorities, advocacy, programs, and fundraising initiatives. Regular in-person meetings, networking engagements, and representation of Blue Star Families within the Washington, D.C. community are essential functions of the position.

As a senior member of the Communications team, the Director manages agency and vendor relationships, cultivates media and influencer partnerships, and drives measurable growth in awareness and engagement. The ideal candidate is a strategic, highly organized leader who can balance vision and execution-successfully managing multiple priorities while delivering results in a fast-paced environment.

This position requires regular in-person engagement within the local Washington D.C. community. In-person community engagement is an essential function of the role and is necessary to support relationship-building, program delivery, event execution, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities. The individual must reside in and actively engage with the community in Washington D.C.

Periodic overnight travel is an essential function of the role. Team members are required to travel several times per year to attend meetings, trainings, offsites, and events. Attendance and participation in these in-person gatherings are necessary to support collaboration, organizational alignment, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities.

The Director, External Communications  must reside in the DC Metro area.

Key Job Functions

Media Relations and Brand Visibility

• Develop and execute earned media strategies that increase awareness of Blue Star Families, its programs, research, and advocacy priorities.
• Build and maintain relationships with national, regional, military, defense, nonprofit, lifestyle, and mainstream media outlets.
• Identify and secure media opportunities for organizational leadership, subject matter experts, military families, and program representatives.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for media inquiries and coordinate timely responses.
• Manage the organization's public relations agency and other external communications partners, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and performance expectations.
• Develop media materials including press releases, media advisories, talking points, key messages, briefing documents, and spokesperson preparation materials.
• Monitor news cycles and identify opportunities to proactively position Blue Star Families in relevant conversations and coverage.

Social Media and Influencer Engagement

• Lead the development and execution of Blue Star Families' social media strategy across all platforms.
• Oversee social media content planning and collaborate with internal teams to amplify programs, campaigns, events, partnerships, and advocacy initiatives.
• Analyze audience engagement and platform performance to optimize content and drive growth.
• Develop and implement influencer, creator, and ambassador engagement strategies that expand reach and introduce new audiences to the organization's mission.
• Cultivate relationships with military-connected influencers, content creators, strategic partners, and brand advocates.

Brand Partnerships and Campaign Support

• Support communications initiatives tied to corporate partnerships, sponsorships, national campaigns, and special events.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to identify compelling storytelling opportunities that advance organizational goals.
• Ensure consistency in messaging, brand voice, and organizational positioning across external-facing channels.
• Contribute to the planning and execution of integrated communications campaigns that leverage earned, owned, shared, and partner channels.

Communications Planning and Content Development

• Develop and maintain a diverse, organization-wide story bank of military- and veteran-connected families, volunteers, program participants, caregivers, and partners available for media opportunities, speaking engagements, advocacy efforts, fundraising campaigns, social media content, and organizational storytelling.
• Develop and execute communications plans that support organizational priorities, programs, research initiatives, advocacy efforts, partnerships, and special events.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify communications objectives, key audiences, messaging strategies, and promotional tactics for major initiatives.
• Draft and refine key messages, talking points, FAQs, presentations, executive communications, website content, articles, blogs, and other communications materials.
• Create compelling storytelling and content that highlights the experiences of military and veteran families and demonstrates organizational impact.
• Partner with teams to identify and elevate stories that support fundraising, stewardship, advocacy, and community engagement goals.
• Lead the creation and coordination of communications assets, including campaign toolkits, fact sheets, media materials, impact stories, and other external-facing resources.
• Support the execution of integrated communications campaigns across earned, owned, shared, and partner channels.
• Ensure messaging consistency, brand alignment, and quality standards across communications materials and initiatives.

Measurement, Reporting, and Communications Operations

• Manage media monitoring, social listening, and communications tracking platforms.
• Track, analyze, and report on media coverage, social media performance, influencer engagement, and campaign outcomes.
• Develop regular reports and dashboards that demonstrate communications impact and progress toward organizational goals.
• Maintain media lists, influencer databases, and communications resources.
• Stay informed of emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in media relations, social media, digital communications, and audience engagement.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Experience, Skills & Background

• Bachelor's degree in communications, PR, marketing, or a related eld or comparable experience.
• 5+ years of experience in media relations, public relations, social media, brand marketing, or external communications with 3+ years of experience managing an in-house communications team.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing integrated media and social media strategies that drive measurable outcomes.
• Proven experience securing earned media coverage and cultivating relationships with reporters, producers, influencers, and strategic partners.
• Experience managing external agencies, contractors, consultants, or vendors.
• Strong writing, editing, messaging, and storytelling skills across digital and traditional communications channels.
• Highly organized with exceptional project management skills and the ability to coordinate multiple concurrent projects, deadlines, and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and competing demands.
• Self-starter who takes ownership of projects, identifies opportunities, and proactively drives work forward with limited direction.
• Experience using media monitoring, social media management, analytics, and reporting platforms.
• Ability to travel locally up to 60% of the time as required to perform essential job responsibilities.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as necessary to perform essential job responsibilities.
• Ability to travel overnight on an occasional basis to attend meetings, trainings, conferences, and events.
• Physical ability to lift and carry supplies and equipment up to 30 lbs.

Preferred Experience, Skills & Background

• Bachelor's degree in communications, PR, marketing, or a related eld; a graduate degree is preferred.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, mission-driven or community-based organization
• Familiarity with chapter-based or distributed community models
• Experience with storytelling and its application to membership engagement and data
• Strong communication skills, self-starter, and you leverage creative thinking to address opportunities. 

More About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families empowers military and Veteran families to thrive by connecting them with their civilian neighbors - both people and organizations - to create strong communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another.

Our groundbreaking research is raising the nation's awareness of the unique challenges of military family life. With the help of neighbors across the country, Blue Star Families is overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government. Our innovative programs are solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers, whose numbers are only increasing.

Blue Star Families is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 

EEO Policy

Blue Star Families is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Why Blue Star Families?

• Mission-driven work supporting military service members and their families
• Flexible work options (remote, or hybrid depending on the role)
• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• Flexible Spending Accounts, life insurance, and disability insurance
• Communications allowance
• Professional development and career growth opportunities
• PCS leave for Active Duty military spouses