Position Description

The Whale Museum is seeking a creative, highly capable Communications Manager to advance the museum’s public voice, visual identity, and storytelling.

This is an in-person position based in Friday Harbor, Washington on San Juan Island. The role is ideal for someone with excellent writing and editing skills, strong visual judgment/graphics capability, experience with web and social media, and a natural feel for engaging public audiences. We seek a candidate who will make the museum’s communications cohesive, current, accessible, credible, and compelling across social media, website, newsletters, print materials, signage, fundraising campaigns, media outreach, and public education. The successful candidate will be a key member of the Museum’s staff and will work closely and collaboratively with the entire team.

The successful candidate will meaningfully shape how people understand and connect with The Whale Museum’s work. The Communications Manager will help translate the museum’s research, education, and conservation programs into clear and compelling public-facing stories.

The strongest candidates will understand how to create communications that people want to read, watch, and share while maintaining accuracy and credibility. They should be comfortable communicating science and conservation work in a way that is accurate and approachable, including the thoughtful use of humor, curiosity, and strong visuals.

A marine  science background is welcome but not required. We are most interested in someone who can write well, think strategically, create audience-focused content, ensure visual consistency, and help the public better understand the full scope and impact of The Whale Museum’s work. The right candidate should be excited to learn about marine mammals, the Salish Sea, conservation, education, and the role of The Whale Museum in the community.

This position reports to the Executive Director and collaborates closely across departments.

Key Responsibilities

• Overall responsibility for all aspects of The Whale Museum’s communications presence
• Lead The Whale Museum’s communications strategy, web/social media presence, and content calendar
• Strengthen and unify the museum’s public voice and visual identity across platforms
• Write, edit, and proofread public-facing materials, including newsletters, press releases, fundraising appeals, brochures, signage, website text, and program descriptions
• Create engaging social media content, graphics, short videos, captions, stories, reels, and digital campaigns
• Maintain and update the museum’s website and regular newsletters
• Translate the museum’s work into accessible stories for diverse audiences
• Help staff identify stories, clarify messages, and communicate program work accurately and effectively
• Create or coordinate graphics, posters, brochures, digital content, signage, and other visual materials
• Support media outreach, partner communications, public events, fundraising campaigns, and special projects
• Maintain a practical style guide and communications systems to improve consistency and coordination across the museum

Required Qualifications

• Excellent writing, editing, proofreading and graphical skills
• At least two years of professional experience in communications, journalism, marketing, public relations, digital media, or a related field
• Demonstrated ability to create engaging public-facing content for social media, newsletters, websites, campaigns, or other digital platforms
• Strong visual judgment and experience creating public-facing graphics, layouts, digital materials, or visual campaigns
• Translate complex information into clear, accurate, engaging public-facing language
• Strong editorial judgment, including the ability to adapt tone, use humor thoughtfully, and maintain credibility across audiences and platforms
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage deadlines across multiple projects
• Experience using common communications tools such as website content management systems, email marketing platforms, design tools, social media platforms, and shared project/document systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in science communication, conservation communications, environmental education, nonprofit storytelling, public engagement, or mission-driven digital content
• Familiarity with marine conservation, marine mammals, the Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest ecology, salmon, or environmental issues
• Experience with media relations, fundraising campaigns, donor communications, grant reporting, photography, videography, short-form video editing, brand/style guides, or accessibility/plain-language communication