Deputy Executive Director of Insights and Communications

A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

The Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) provides leadership on issues of economic justice by advancing racial equity and inclusive growth to ensure that all Philadelphians share in the city’s prosperous future and by alleviating the immediate impact of poverty on individuals, families and communities.  CEO is Philadelphia’s Community Action Agency (CAA); CAAs are private or public agencies created by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act and federally designated to receive Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding. 

Guiding Principles (We believe…)  

• The people of Philadelphia deserve the opportunity to live happy, healthy, full lives.  

• City Government should both recognize its culpability in creating and sustaining inequity and aspire to its responsibility to provide opportunities, represent the best interests, and promote the well-being of all residents.  

• People can offer meaningful insights into both personal experiences and how systems around them function.  

• Poverty is a deliberately created systemic issue and city government can lead in calling for justice and dismantling the barriers that often prevent opportunities.  

Values (How we work)  

• Dignity: We actively respect our individual colleagues and people in the community.  

• Inclusivity: Our work is more beneficial, valuable, and valid when our full range of experiences, knowledge, and skills can contribute.  

• Persistence: We recognize the challenges inherent in this work, and when we get discouraged, we find ways to be resilient, lift each other up, and push forward.  

• Accountability: We are transparent and honest about our plans, our actions, and our results.  

• Honesty: We create a space to have healthy, honest dialogues about systems, people, and misconceptions and then communicate truthfully.  

Position Summary 

This position provides executive leadership for CEO's Enterprise Information and Communications functions, overseeing organizational communications, enterprise information strategy, evaluation, performance reporting, storytelling, and equitable engagement. The Deputy ensures that information generated across the organization, including operational data, community insight, evaluation findings, and organizational performance, is transformed into meaningful communication, organizational learning, and executive decision support. 

• Enterprise Information: Lead the agency's enterprise information functions, including information systems, evaluation, performance reporting, organizational analytics, and information governance to strengthen organizational learning, accountability, operational effectiveness, and executive decision-making. 

• Communications: Provide strategic leadership for internal and external communications, executive messaging, public information, media relations, and organizational narrative to ensure clear, consistent, and mission-aligned communication across all audiences. 

• Storytelling and Knowledge Translation: Lead strategies that transform data, evaluation findings, resident experiences, and organizational outcomes into compelling stories, reports, and communications that strengthen public understanding, transparency, and accountability. 

• Organizational Learning and Equitable Engagement: Foster the integration of resident voice, program outcomes, policy insights, community engagement, and equitable engagement practices into organizational learning, evaluation, communications, and executive decision-making. 

• Executive Decision Support: Ensure Executive Leadership has timely access to meaningful organizational information through executive dashboards, performance reporting, organizational insights, and evaluation findings that support strategic planning and resource allocation. 

Essential Functions 

Enterprise Leadership and Organizational Strategy  

• Establish and communicate the strategic vision for CEO's Enterprise Information & Communications Unit, ensuring its work advances organizational priorities, strengthens accountability, and supports continuous learning.  

• Provide executive leadership to the agency's communications, enterprise information, evaluation, storytelling, and organizational reporting functions.  

• Foster a collaborative, high-performing culture that promotes innovation, cross-functional partnership, and effective use of information throughout the organization.  

• Advise the Executive Director and Executive Team on emerging trends, organizational performance, and opportunities to strengthen decision-making through information, evaluation, and communications.  

Enterprise Information and Organizational Learning   

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of CEO's enterprise information strategy, including performance reporting, evaluation, organizational analytics, executive dashboards, and information governance.  

• Ensure organizational information is transformed into meaningful insights that support executive decision-making, strategic planning, organizational performance, and continuous improvement.  

• Oversee the development of executive, Board, funder, public, and partner-facing reports that communicate organizational performance, impact, and progress toward strategic goals.  

• Guide the development of organization-wide standards for information quality, reporting, documentation, and data governance. 

Communications and Storytelling    

• Lead the development and execution of integrated internal and external communications strategies that strengthen public understanding of CEO's mission, priorities, and impact.  

• Oversee executive communications, media relations, public information, organizational messaging, and crisis communications as appropriate.  

• Ensure evaluation findings, organizational data, community insights, and resident experiences are translated into compelling storytelling, reports, and public-facing communications.  

• Promote consistent messaging and alignment across organizational communications, strategic priorities, and public engagement. 

Evaluation, Community Insight and Equitable Engagement    

• Oversee organizational evaluation and applied analytics that strengthen program effectiveness, organizational learning, and accountability.  

• Foster partnerships across CEO to ensure resident voice, program outcomes, policy insights, community engagement, and equitable engagement practices inform organizational learning, communications, evaluation, and executive decision-making.  

• Promote the use of qualitative and quantitative information to identify emerging trends, understand community needs, and strengthen organizational responsiveness.  

• Support the development of performance measures and evaluation frameworks that demonstrate organizational impact and advance continuous improvement.  

Cross-Functional Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness    

• Partner with leaders across CEO to align enterprise information, communications, evaluation, and reporting with organizational priorities and operational needs.  

• Promote the effective use of enterprise systems, business process improvement, and information management practices that strengthen organizational effectiveness and reduce administrative burden.  

• Build and maintain productive relationships with City departments, community organizations, funders, research and evaluation partners, and other external stakeholders.  

• Perform other duties as assigned.  

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Demonstrated success providing executive leadership in one or more of the following areas: communications, enterprise information, organizational reporting, evaluation, performance management, public affairs, organizational strategy, or related functions. 

• Experience leading diverse, multidisciplinary teams and fostering a collaborative, high-performing organizational culture. 

• Proven ability to establish strategic vision, lead organizational change, and drive cross-functional initiatives. 

• Strong understanding of enterprise information management, organizational reporting, evaluation, performance measurement, and evidence-informed decision-making. 

• Experience translating complex organizational information, data, evaluation findings, and community insights into actionable recommendations and compelling communications for diverse audiences. 

• Knowledge of information governance, organizational performance measurement, and executive reporting practices. 

• Demonstrated success leading internal and external communications, executive messaging, media relations, public information, and organizational storytelling. 

• Understanding of equitable engagement principles and the role of resident voice and community insight in organizational learning and decision-making. 

• Ability to build consensus, influence decision-making, and develop productive relationships with executive leadership, staff, community partners, funders, elected officials, and other stakeholders. 

• Strong organizational leadership, project management, and change management skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously. 

• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills. 

• Strong analytical, systems-thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to connect information, people, and organizational priorities to support strategic decision-making and continuous improvement.  

Supervisory Responsibilities  

Directly supervises Directors and Managers within the Insights and Communications Unit and oversees a cross-functional division responsible for communications, storytelling, data, research, and evaluation activities. 

Other Specialties, Certifications, Physical Requirements, and Work Conditions  

• Regular, predictable attendance is required  

• Successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire 

• Four (4) year college degree required. 

• Master’s degree preferred. 

• Equivalencies in formal advanced degree and experience will be considered. 

• Previous work in nonprofit or public sector required. 

• 7+ years of progressive management experience required. 

• Experience leading communications, data, evaluation, research, or organizational impact functions preferred. 

TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.

Salary Range: $110,000 - $130,000

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:

• Transportation: City employees get unlimited FREE public transportation all year long through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program. Employees can ride on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and regional rail for their daily commute and more.
• Parental Benefits: The City offers its employees 8 weeks of paid parental leave.
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents.
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
• Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!

Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx