Aspen Institute employees come from a wide range of backgrounds and possess a unique blend of education, skill, and policy experience. We recognize that our people are our vital resource and we value their knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment. At the Aspen Institute we offer competitive salaries and a wide variety of benefits to our employees and their families.
If you would enjoy working in a dynamic environment and are looking for an opportunity to become part of a stellar team of professionals, we invite you to apply online today.
| Department: | COMMUNICATIONS |
| Location: | Washington, DC |
| Salary: | 78,000 - 80,000 |
ABOUT US
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners.
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT
The Communications and Marketing Department creates compelling content to elevate and position the Aspen Institute as a values-based organization that ignites human potential through dialogue, leadership, and action to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. The department also serves as an in-house agency that provides communications and marketing support to the Institute’s 40+ programs, initiatives, public events, fundraising efforts, and the president’s office. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org.
We function on the foundation of 5 values: Collaboration, Learning, Excellence, Accountability and Respect or CLEAR. These attributes and behaviors are how we work. Upholding our department values is of paramount importance as they guide us to thoughtfully engage with our colleagues whilst performing at the highest level.
ABOUT THIS ROLE
The Senior Associate, Content Marketing & Audience Engagement leads the execution and evolution of the Aspen Institute’s digital content strategy across our primary channels — web, email, social media, and video — while helping build the next phase of personalized audience engagement through Aspen Passport, our soon-to-be-launched enterprise logged-in platform.
This role partners closely with Communications colleagues, Aspen enterprise teams, and program teams across the Institute to curate, package, and distribute compelling content that strengthens audience connection, grows engagement, and reinforces Aspen’s role as a trusted global convener.
You will operate at both the channel and ecosystem level: driving day-to-day content performance across digital platforms while shaping how personalization, subscriptions, and CRM insights deepen long-term engagement across the Aspen network.
This position reports directly to the Director, Content Strategy. The salary range for this position is $78,000 - $80,000. In accordance with our Reimagining Work policy, the Senior Associate should be willing to be in-person with colleagues a minimum of 40% of the time while having the flexibility to work remotely for the balance.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Manage Cross-Channel Content Marketing & Distribution
Partner with Communications staff and Aspen Institute programs to curate and share engaging content across the Institute’s primary digital channels — web, social media, video and email newsletters.
Edit and optimize homepage and blog content to drive discoverability and engagement.
Develop and manage content calendars across email and major digital touchpoints.
Package content to support audience growth and deepen engagement across programs.
Ensure consistent brand voice, tone, and accessibility standards across channels.
Identify opportunities to cross-promote program content to broader Institute audiences.
Manage and Grow Aspen Passport Editorial & Personalization Strategy
Support the launch of the Aspen Passport.
Drive logged-in adoption and repeat engagement behaviors of Aspen Passport.
Help define governance, editorial curation, cadences, and decision rights for dashboard modules.
Integrate future initiatives into the logged-in experience.
Strengthen Audience Growth & Engagement Systems
Drive Passport engagement via program newsletters and cross-program updates.
Partner with the Marketing Cloud administrator to connect CRM segmentation, preferences, and behavioral triggers to engagement journeys.
Monitor and analyze performance across email, web, and social channels to identify audience opportunities.
Conduct lightweight A/B testing to improve content packaging, messaging, and engagement flows.
Define and track KPIs, including audience growth, engagement rates, subscription starts, and conversion pathways.
Collaborate Across Product & Programs
Work closely with Vice President for Network Strategy and Enterprise Development and ITS/Digital Products (ex: Aspen Passport) on strategy, execution, backlog priorities, user stories, user acceptance testing and quality assurance (product ownership remains with ITS).
Serve as a connective partner between Communications, Enterprise Engagement, program teams, and vendors.
Translate audience insights into actionable recommendations for content and product improvements.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO THRIVE
3-5 years in digital audience growth strategy, community management, content marketing, or related roles.
Content Creation and Marketing Skills:
Demonstrated ability to curate and package content that drives measurable engagement.
Demonstrated experience creating content calendars and implementing strategies.
Experience managing social media, including Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube
Experience in crafting engaging digital content for websites, social media, and email.
Strong writing/editing skills for concise and compelling online content.
CRM Platform Management Skills:
Hands-on experience with a CRM (ideally Salesforce, including Marketing Cloud and Experience Cloud), including segmentation, journey building, personalization, reporting, and management of enterprise community platforms in partnership with system admins — beyond traditional social media community management.
Proficiency in multitasking and meeting deadlines and working across teams and functions.
Excellent communication skills for teamwork and stakeholder collaboration.
Curiosity, empathy, hustle, and grit.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.
The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against.
The Aspen Institute welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs, including the interview process. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about accessibility, please email hrsupport@aspeninstitute.org or call 202-736-2127 in advance of your visit. Requests for ASL or CART services should be made at least two weeks in advance when possible. We will make every effort to fulfill requests, subject to availability.
