Narrative and Messaging Strategist

About The Wakeman Agency

Founded in 2003, The Wakeman Agency is a social change communications firm, providing support to progressive nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible companies. Known as “the people behind the people at the forefront of social change and innovation,” The Wakeman Agency serves as a trusted advisor to organizations around the globe. Our core services include strategic communications and advisory, special events, thought leadership development and crisis communications

Job Summary

The Wakeman Agency is seeking a Narrative and Messaging Strategist to join our team. The ideal individual will have experience and interest in storytelling to advance social justice.

The selected candidate will have a proven track record of taking complex ideas and translating them for adoption by diverse stakeholder groups for various social issues. This position requires an understanding of the social justice landscape, messaging and narrative development and qualitative analysis.

Responsibilities:

• Develop narratives and messaging for clients
• Use storytelling for social justice and social change
• Develop and edit various content pieces for company and clients, including tone and style guides, lexicons, talking points, messaging strategies, and positioning identities
• Research client stakeholders and competition for communications development
• Meet with clients to understand their voice
• Collaborate with PR department and the CEO’S office on storytelling initiatives
• Lead narrative shift design, creation, implementation and revision processes
• Identify key outcomes and success indicators for narrative change work including messaging and narrative tool development
• Develop agency thought leadership and foresight opportunities by identifying trends and best practices in support of effective storytelling for social justice
• Develop communications assets such as voice/messaging guides and toolkits based on research findings

Who we’re looking for:

• A creative, curious storyteller
• Someone invested in social justice, DEI, and advancing social responsibility
• An individual with a high level of cultural competency who understands the power of language
• A person who believes that human-centered stories have the power to change
• A self-starter with a drive to run with an idea on their own, but can also collaborate

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in storytelling and narrative development
• Experience with qualitative research methods and analysis (ex. Interviews, focus groups, surveys)
• Demonstrated understanding of communications research methods such as public opinion studies and message testing
• Ability to communicate with various audiences and adapt voice as necessary
• Able to juggle multiple projects with competing deadlines
• Demonstrated experience in social justice communications
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Expertise in developing narratives that influence behaviors
• Ability to develop effective communication plans
• Ability to effectively communicate and provide counsel on client facing projects, interacting with leadership teams
• Familiarity with Google Office, Asana, Toggl, and other project management software a plus
• Degree in communications, media studies, or related humanities or social sciences field

If the prospect of working on behalf of progressive organizations that endeavor to change the world is appealing, then we’d love to hear from you. Women, People of Color, People with Disabilities and LGBTQ people are strongly urged to apply.

Qualified candidates expressing interest in this position in a full-time, part-time or consulting capacity will be considered. The full-time salary for this role is within the range of $70,000-$85,000 with benefits.

Apply

To apply, please send a resume to [email protected]. In the subject line, please write: Research & Narrative Strategist. If you do not meet the criteria for this role, but are interested in future opportunities that may be better suited for your skillset, we would still like to hear from you! Send your resume to [email protected] with the subject line: Talent 2025.