538 Best Art, Media, Design Jobs in San Francisco, California (May 2026)

Senior Communications Manager

10 hours ago

San Francisco

Overview As the Senior Communications Manager, you are the Strategic Architect and a hands-on practitioner for your accounts, operating through a deeply ingrained equity lens. You serve as a trusted advisor to clients, leading the strategic direction of their communication programs while remaining deeply involved in the creation of high-impact, culturally resonant deliverables. You balance account leadership, organic revenue growth, and team mentorship with the active production of complex messaging, strategic proposals, and client-facing collateral. You are a thinker-doer—someone who sets the vision and executes the high-level work required to make it a reality. You will build and grow lasting client relationships by identifying new opportunities to add value, and you will manage and execute projects from inception to completion. Through a deeply ingrained equity lens, you will create and implement measurable, integrated strategic communication plans that prioritize inclusivity, amplify diverse voices, and reflect cultural competency for public agencies, civic organizations, and mission-driven private clients. Who We Are D&A Communications is a San Francisco–based, equity-first agency with nearly 30 years of experience advancing inclusive, community-centered strategies. We are culturally fluent storytellers who integrate public relations, creative services, and public engagement to deliver transformative communication programs for clients in both the public and private sectors—including government agencies, nonprofits, and mission-driven companies. Our work focuses on meeting people where they are—developing strategies that reflect community voices and promote equitable outcomes. From expanding transportation access and affordable housing to raising awareness about environmental resilience, to healthcare access and educational equity, we address the barriers impacting low-income residents and communities of color. With deep cultural competency and a strong understanding of diverse social landscapes, we specialize in social impact sectors such as healthcare, housing, transportation, and education. Partnering with government agencies, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and socially responsible companies, we design inclusive, community-centered campaigns that foster trust, build lasting connections, and drive meaningful, measurable change. What You Will Be Doing: Creating a More Just and Equitable Society As a Sr. Communications Manager, you will build deep and long-lasting relationships with your clients and act as a trusted and valued advisor to them by providing strategic insights and recommendations to address their needs. You will develop integrated strategic communications plans, lead and manage project teams, manage the day-to-day project tasks and deliverables, write scopes of work, create and manage budgets, solve problems, communicate with internal and external stakeholders, coach and mentor junior staff, and participate in the growth and development of our Agency. You will work collaboratively with clients to develop and implement a variety of culturally inclusive communication strategies that amplify diverse voices, foster equitable participation, and authentically reflect the communities being served, increasing visibility, awareness, and long-term sustainability. Our client work also includes planning and facilitating multicultural community meetings with hard-to-reach stakeholders, branding beloved places, spaces, infrastructures, government agencies, companies, and organizations that make up the fabric of our community, and working with community groups. As an equity-first agency, many of our clients and projects are focused on reaching people where they are, and ensuring that our tactics are inclusive of engaging those who make up the fabric of our community. We work with community groups and city departments to benefit underserved, diverse communities and address issues and barriers that impact low-income residents and communities of color, such as mobility and access to transportation and affordable housing, to raising awareness about environmental resilience; to creating marketing strategies that reflect an equity lens; to creating public policy initiatives that ensure diversity and inclusion are valued. You'll engage with stakeholders and community thought leaders through focus groups, town hall meetings, surveys, webinars, and more. Who You Are You are a strategic visionary and trusted advisor who approaches all work with a deeply ingrained equity lens. You possess high intellectual versatility and cognitive agility, allowing you to synthesize dense information rapidly and pivot strategy mid-course without losing the client's core goals. You are inherently proactive, identifying unstated needs to cultivate organic growth within your accounts and serving as a stabilizing force who navigates complex client relationships with executive presence and cultural fluency. You are a high-level "thinker-doer" who thrives in our high-velocity agency environment, balancing strategic leadership with the active, hands-on production of critical deliverables. You maintain unwavering attention to detail even while managing competing priorities and tight deadlines, ensuring that every output—from complex campaign frameworks to sensitive messaging—is client-ready and polished. You deftly balance the big picture with the tactical requirements of the project, ensuring that your accounts remain profitable, efficient, and consistently on track. You are a strategic catalyst for the agency, possessing an anticipatory mindset that identifies challenges before they surface and resolves them with precision. You provide mentorship and coaching to Communications Managers and junior staff, fostering a culture of accountability and innovation. You combine a strong work ethic with a commitment to empowering diverse communities, consistently delivering work that is as rigorous as it is inclusive. Key Responsibilities Client Services: Strategy & Organic Growth • Strategic Architect: Lead the creation of long-term integrated communication plans, defining the "Why" and "What" of the account strategy rather than the day-to-day scheduling., • Organic Account Growth: Proactively identify unstated client needs and potential areas for expanded scope, directly upselling new project work that aligns with the client’s evolving goals., • High-Level Practitioner: Maintain high billable utilization by directly authoring complex, high-stakes deliverables (e.g., crisis messaging, strategic proposals, and key campaign frameworks) that require an expert touch., • Fiscal Stewardship: Oversee the financial health of assigned accounts. Ensure profitability, approve budget forecasts, and perform the final strategic review of invoices to ensure they reflect the value and scope of work delivered., • Trusted Advisor: Act as the primary high-level point of contact for clients, navigating sensitive interactions, proactively anticipating roadblocks, and providing the executive presence needed to resolve complex bottlenecks., • Equity-First Oversight: Serve as the final quality gatekeeper to ensure all account deliverables adhere to the agency’s equity standards and resonate authentically with diverse communities. Leadership & Management: Mentorship & Capacity • Outcome-Based Delegation: Transition from assigning tasks to assigning outcomes. Provide the Communications Manager with the strategic objective, then empower them to own the execution and project delivery., • Capability Building: Actively mentor the Communications Manager and Sr./Communications Associate, coaching them on how to transition from a tactical master to a strategic leader. This includes training them on high-level relationship management and account health forecasting., • Strategic Syncs: Lead strategy syncs" with the Communications Manager (focused on account goals, risk mitigation, and growth opportunities) rather than tactical task check-ins., • Capacity Forecasting: Monitor the team’s bandwidth from a high level, ensuring the Communications Manager is utilizing resources correctly, while you focus on long-term team health and growth rather than daily scheduling., • Agency Culture & Process: Collaborate with the VP of Account Services to refine internal processes and equity standards. Contribute to the agency’s growth by championing new, innovative ways to operationalize social impact work., • Predictive Problem Solving: Use your cognitive agility to anticipate issues before they reach the client, guiding the team on how to pivot strategies or mitigate risks in real-time. Education, Experience, Skills • Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, English, or related field (advanced degree a plus)., • 10+ years in PR, Communications, Marketing, Advertising, or Public Affairs — agency experience strongly preferred., • 3+ years independently managing client relationships, projects, and cross-functional teams., • 3-5 years of coaching and mentoring junior staff., • Proven success in developing and executing integrated, equity-centered communication strategies., • Deep experience engaging diverse and underrepresented communities and crafting culturally resonant messaging., • Strong understanding of DEI principles and how to apply them in communications, marketing, and public engagement., • Skilled in stakeholder engagement and community outreach., • Proficient in Microsoft Office (Mac), Google Drive, Slack, and project management tools., • Experience directing digital communications strategy, including content ecosystems, social media, analytics interpretation, and multimedia storytelling across varied client or campaign contexts is a plus., • Experience working with government, public agencies, elected officials, or community-based organizations is highly desirable.

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