TEST James

DIRECTOR OF IMPACT & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

La Cocina's mission is to elevate Latine-centered knowledge that heals and transforms, always in partnership with those most impacted by trauma and systemic inequity.

REPORTS TO: CEO & Founder

DEPARTMENT: Executive

FLSA STATUS: Full-time, Exempt

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 12, 2026

ABOUT LA COCINA

La Cocina is a nationally recognized nonprofit incubator and multilingual community mental health institute that leads with healing-centered care, clinical excellence, community organizing, and social justice values. We are a “teaching clinic” where multilingual clinicians, advocates, and community-based organization (CBO) leaders grow alongside community partners. Through our co-design incubator, La Cocina develops original, culturally affirming interventions that respond directly to the lived realities of the families we serve.

Every program, supervision structure, and service offered at La Cocina is designed to meet urgent community needs and to prepare the next generation of community-based providers, advocates, and leaders to practice with cultural humility, compassion, and liberatory intent.

As La Cocina expands its national presence—through innovation, research, field-building, and narrative leadership—we are investing in strategic infrastructure that elevates our impact, strengthens donor partnerships, and amplifies our organizational voice.

THE OPPORTUNITY

La Cocina is seeking an exceptional Director of Impact & Strategic Communications (DISC) to join the organization's Executive Office and serve as the CEO & Founder's and Incoming President's strategic partner in communications, evaluation oversight, and development. This senior role is designed for a highly skilled professional who thrives at the intersection of narrative strategy, impact storytelling, data-informed evaluation, and resource development.

Reporting to the CEO & Founder, the DISC plays a pivotal role in shaping La Cocina's external voice, translating evaluation findings into compelling impact narratives, developing and writing grants, stewarding donor relationships, managing fundraising activities, and ensuring organizational communications reflect La Cocina's values and mission with clarity and coherence.

The Director will also collaborate closely with La Cocina's incoming President—who oversees operations—to ensure communications, development, and evaluation workflows are aligned with organizational systems, priorities, and growth trajectories.

This role oversees one specialist-level staff member and partners with external designers, artists, evaluators, consultants, and development contractors to produce high-quality communications, impact reports, proposals, and public-facing products. The ideal candidate is strategic, relational, data-informed, and deeply committed to social justice, narrative transformation, and culturally- affirming social and emotional healthcare in immigrant communities.

For the right candidate, this is an extraordinary opportunity to help shape the narrative, visibility, and influence of a nationally recognized Latine innovation institute—building a communications, impact, and development ecosystem rooted in dignity, rigor, and healing justice.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum of 6+ years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, development/fundraising, organizational learning, evaluation management, or related leadership roles within mission-driven, nonprofit, or social justice–oriented environments.

Demonstrated experience managing media relations, including preparing organizational leaders for interviews, responding to media inquiries, developing press materials, and stewarding relationships with journalists, outlets, and public-facing partners.

Proven ability to lead organizational communications—including messaging strategy, narrative development, donor communications, and high-stakes writing (e.g., reports, grants, speeches, impact summaries).

Strong experience with grant writing, prospect research, donor stewardship, and development systems, with demonstrated success securing philanthropic or institutional funding.

Experience overseeing or coordinating equitable and developmental evaluation, data, or impact measurement processes, including working with evaluators, synthesizing findings, and producing clear, accessible reports.

Exceptional writing, storytelling, editing, and communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone and register for diverse audiences—including families, community partners, funders, policymakers, and national networks.

Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams, while exercising strategic judgment, confidentiality, and executive-level communication skills.

Demonstrated experience managing staff and teams, with the ability to mentor, delegate, and support high-quality performance across diverse roles.

Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple long- and short-term priorities in a fast-paced, multilayered environment.

Proficiency with digital communications tools, donor and CRM systems, website/content management platforms, and integrated digital communications environments.

Deep alignment with La Cocina's mission, values, and healing justice, community-centered frameworks.

Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings or weekends based on organizational needs.

Ability to travel between La Cocina's Denver and Northern Colorado offices.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bilingual fluency in Spanish and English strongly preferred, with the ability to draft, edit, and translate high-quality written content in both languages for diverse audiences.

8–10 years of senior-level experience in strategic communications, narrative strategy, development/fundraising, evaluation or impact management, or related fields within mission-driven or community-centered organizations.

Experience developing or managing evaluation frameworks, outcomes dashboards, or mixed-methods reporting, including transforming quantitative and qualitative data into compelling, accessible narratives.

Expertise with data equity frameworks, participatory community-based research or evaluation methods (e.g., CBPAR), and practices that prioritize dignity, cultural humility, and community co-ownership of data.

Experience working in multilingual, multicultural environments and with communities navigating systemic inequity and significant health disparities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead La Cocina's strategic communications portfolio, ensuring all public-facing materials—including messaging, publications, digital content, presentations, campaigns, and organizational storytelling—reflect the organization's mission, values, and liberatory frameworks with clarity, dignity, and accuracy.

Oversee organizational impact and evaluation workflows, coordinating with internal teams and external evaluators to ensure ethical, culturally grounded, and community-centered data practices; synthesize findings into clear reports, dashboards, and communication tools that support learning, fundraising, and visibility.

Identify, write, and manage grant proposals, LOIs, and funder communications, ensuring clarity, compelling storytelling, data-informed reasoning, and strategic alignment with La Cocina's priorities.

Design and oversee innovative donor stewardship systems by managing the donor database/CRM, overseeing donor communications, creating stewardship pathways, preparing donor updates, and collaborating with the CEO to nurture long-term philanthropic relationships.

Plan and execute fundraising events and campaigns, coordinating logistics, messaging, materials, and partner engagement to elevate visibility, deepen relationships, and support sustainability.

Develop and steward La Cocina's organizational voice, crafting uniform messaging frameworks, key talking points, and brand-aligned language for staff, leadership, program teams, and partnerships across multiple platforms.

Manage La Cocina's media presence, including responding to media inquiries, preparing leaders for interviews, developing press kits and statements, and cultivating relationships with journalists, outlets, and narrative partners.

Oversee website content strategy and governance, ensuring the site remains current, compelling, accessible, and aligned with La Cocina's evolving narrative and programmatic ecosystem.

Supervise La Cocina's Communications & Impact Design Specialist, providing coaching, mentorship, guidance, and clear priorities to ensure high-quality production of materials, graphics, collateral, and digital assets.

Partner closely with the incoming President to ensure communications, evaluation, reporting and development workflows are aligned with organizational operations, data systems, and strategic priorities.

Collaborate across departments to generate content, collect data, surface community narratives, and elevate program stories in a manner that honors the dignity, agency, and lived experiences of families and partners.

Advance La Cocina's national voice and influence by supporting the development of publications, presentations, speeches, and thought leadership that articulate the organization's insights, frameworks, and emerging contributions to the field.

Strengthen internal learning and meaning-making systems, ensuring data and stories flow between programs, leadership, development, and communications in ways that support adaptive strategy and organizational coherence.

Uphold the highest standards of cultural humility, narrative integrity, and community-centered practice, ensuring that all messaging, evaluation, and fundraising activities honor the complexity and wisdom of our Latine, immigrant, and multilingual communities.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This is a full-time position with the option to work remotely two days per week, except when organizational needs require additional on-site availability.

The Director of Impact & Strategic Communications may work primarily from either La Cocina's Northern Colorado or Denver office. Regardless of home base, the role requires regular travel—one to two times per week—between the two office locations to ensure alignment across teams and sustained support to the Executive Office.

Occasional evening and weekend availability is required based on program, development, and organizational needs.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to perform the essential functions of the role. While performing job duties, the employee is regularly required to communicate effectively, both in person and via digital platforms. The role may involve standing, walking, and using hands to handle or feel tools and equipment. The ability to occasionally lift office supplies up to 20 pounds is required.

CLASSIFICATION & BENEFITS

This is a full-time, exempt position eligible for benefits after 60 days of employment.

Benefits include a 401(k) plan with employer match, health/vision/dental insurance, paid time off (PTO), FlexTime, and three weeks of annual office closures in July and at year-end.

May be eligible for relocation costs reimbursement.

SALARY RANGE: $95,000 to $125,000 ANNUALLY

Annual salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. La Cocina is committed to offering competitive compensation that supports the recruitment and retention of exceptional, mission-aligned leaders.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit cover letter and Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume to this portal. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.

In your cover letter, respond to this reflective prompt: This role is deeply relational and requires leadership grounded in cultural humility, narrative integrity, and social justice values. In your cover letter, please share how your personal or professional journey has prepared you to tell stories—and steward data—in ways that honor the dignity and complexity of Latine, immigrant, or multilingual communities.

Only complete applications (cover letter & CV/résumé) will be reviewed. No phone calls, please.

La Cocina is an equal opportunity employer that centers diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. We encourage applications from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) persons, immigrants, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other underrepresented and/or under-resourced groups. La Cocina does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status and/or veteran status.

brandon.brooks @ campbellcompany.com