Vice President of Public Affairs

Commonwealth Foundation

Harrisburg, PA or Hybrid in PA

Position Summary

The Vice President of Public Affairs provides senior leadership for the Commonwealth Foundation’s Public Affairs team and ensures the successful execution of strategies that advance the organization’s mission, policy priorities, and institutional goals.

Reporting to the Chief Public Affairs Officer, the Vice President translates organizational priorities into strategic communications, messaging development, issue campaigns, and public-facing initiatives. The Vice President manages the team’s day-to-day performance, establishes clear priorities and accountability, and ensures that projects move effectively from strategy through execution and evaluation.

The ideal candidate is an experienced public affairs and communications leader with strong judgment, excellent management skills, and a record of delivering results in a fast-paced policy, advocacy, or media environment. This role requires the ability to lead people, shape messages, manage complex initiatives, and coordinate effectively across teams and communications channels.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Management

  • Lead, manage, and develop a high-performing Public Affairs team responsible for communications, media relations, digital marketing, advocacy, editorial content, podcasts, and other public-facing initiatives.
  • Translate organizational priorities and objectives into strategic direction, clear priorities, plans, successful execution, and measurable outcomes.
  • Oversee major departmental projects, budgets, consultants, agencies, and other outside partners in coordination with the Chief Public Affairs Officer, ensuring effective performance and responsible stewardship of resources.
  • Establish and uphold effective systems for planning, coordination, approvals, and accountability within the team and across departments.
  • Provide clear, regular reporting to the Chief Public Affairs Officer and other key stakeholders on departmental priorities, progress, outcomes, risks, and resource needs, including Public Affairs updates and results for board, grant, and other institutional reports.
  • Anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, resolve obstacles, and elevate significant strategic or reputational issues.
  • Foster strong collaboration among Public Affairs, Policy, Government Affairs, Development, and other organizational teams.

Communications and Media

  • Lead the development and execution of communications strategies that strengthen the organization’s influence, advance its policy and institutional priorities, drive public narratives around key issues, and elevate the thought leadership profiles of the organization’s experts and executives.
  • Guide message development and research, ensuring that complex policy issues are communicated clearly, accurately, and persuasively.
  • Identify opportunities to elevate the organization’s executives, policy experts, research, and ideas through media coverage and thought leadership.
  • Provide strategic oversight of the organization’s owned and paid media efforts, ensuring that digital marketing, content, and advertising support broader Public Affairs objectives.
  • Provide high-level oversight of the organization’s brand and public voice, helping ensure consistency across communications channels and public-facing products.
  • Coordinate crisis communications and other sensitive or high-stakes situations with the Chief Public Affairs Officer and executive leadership.
  • Represent the Commonwealth Foundation in media appearances, public forums, briefings, and other external settings as appropriate.

Public Influence and Advocacy

  • Strengthen the Commonwealth Foundation’s public influence by leading strategies that shape public debate, advance policy priorities, position the organization, and elevate its ideas, executives, and experts with key audiences.
  • Lead the development and execution of integrated public advocacy campaigns, partnering with the Chief Public Affairs Officer and leaders across Policy and Government Affairs to define objectives, audiences, narratives, messages, and tactics.
  • Provide strategic direction across earned media, editorial content, public communications, stakeholder engagement, and paid and owned media so that each element reinforces a common strategy and advances measurable outcomes.
  • Ensure campaigns move effectively from strategy through execution, establishing clear accountability for deliverables, timelines, coordination, and results.
  • Use public-opinion research, audience insights, and performance data to inform campaign strategy, message development, and tactical adjustments.
  • Anticipate and capitalize on opportunities arising from legislative developments, current events, and public debates affecting the organization’s priorities.
  • Evaluate campaign outcomes, capture lessons learned, and apply those insights to strengthen future initiatives.

Qualifications

  • At least eight years of progressively responsible experience in public affairs, strategic communications, media, advocacy, public policy, government, political campaigns, or a related field.
  • Significant experience managing and developing staff, coordinating complex work, and holding teams accountable for results.
  • Demonstrated success developing and executing communications strategies and integrated public affairs or issue campaigns.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with strong instincts for messaging, media relations, and public positioning.
  • Sound strategic and reputational judgment, including the ability to operate effectively under pressure and respond to rapidly changing circumstances.
  • Ability to translate organizational strategy into clear plans, responsibilities, deadlines, and measurable outcomes.
  • Working knowledge of brand, marketing, digital communications, owned media, and paid media sufficient to provide effective oversight of specialists in those areas.
  • Experience managing significant projects, budgets, vendors, and multiple concurrent priorities.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with executives, policy experts, government affairs professionals, communications staff, and outside partners.
  • Knowledge of Pennsylvania’s political, policy, and media environment is strongly preferred.
  • Commitment to free markets, individual liberty, limited government, and the Commonwealth Foundation’s mission.
  • Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
  • Ability and willingness to travel.

LOCATION & TRAVEL

This position is based in Pennsylvania and follows a hybrid work schedule with regular collaboration in our Harrisburg office. We welcome candidates currently living in Pennsylvania or those willing to relocate. Estimated travel: up to 10%.

The Commonwealth Foundation is an equal-opportunity employer.

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

  • Cover letter explaining your interest in this position, the mission of the Commonwealth Foundation, and your salary requirements
  • Resume

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link:

https://talentmarket.org/candidates/apply-for-your-dream-job/

Questions can be directed to Claire Kittle Dixon, President of Talent Market, who is managing the search process: [email protected].

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market, the liberty movement’s talent agency, is a nonprofit that connects liberty-minded professionals with free-market nonprofit jobs at no cost to candidates or organizations. We work with 501(c)(3) organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation. Visit Talent Market to explore open roles, join our talent network, or work with us on your next hire.