Narratives and Communications Manager

ABOUT THE ROLE

Lahaina Community Land Trust is seeking a Narratives and Communications Director to help steward and tell the evolving story of community land ownership in Lahaina.

This is more than a traditional communications position.

LCLT was created in the aftermath of the 2023 Lahaina fire from a simple but transformative understanding: ʻāina is not a commodity. Who owns land shapes who gets to remain, whose histories are carried forward, how wealth moves through a community, and who gets to determine what comes next.

Our communications work must reflect that understanding.

The Narratives and Communications Director will work closely with the Executive Director, staff, board, community members, and partners to communicate LCLT's work while helping advance larger narrative shifts around land, ownership, displacement, recovery, and community self-determination.

We are looking for someone who understands that words and images matter. Whose stories are centered matters. And the stories we collectively tell about what is possible can either reinforce existing systems or help us imagine and build something different.

This person should be an excellent writer and communicator, a capable visual storyteller, comfortable working across multiple platforms, and deeply aligned with LCLT's commitment to the liberation of ʻāina and people.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Narrative Strategy and Storytelling

Develop and steward LCLT's organizational voice and narrative across communications platforms.

Work with the Executive Director, staff, board, and community to identify and communicate the deeper stories emerging from LCLT's work—not simply what we are doing, but why it matters and what it makes possible.

Help advance narrative shifts that challenge the treatment of land as commodity and instead center ʻāina as relationship, responsibility, belonging, and the foundation of waiwai/community well-being.

Translate complex ideas about community land ownership, housing, economics, recovery, conservation, and policy into language that is accessible, compelling, and grounded in Lahaina.

Ensure that LCLT's storytelling honors the knowledge, history, dignity, and agency of the people whose stories we carry.

Writing and Content Development

Write and edit newsletters, website content, social media, community updates, presentations, reports, outreach materials, donor communications, and other organizational content.

Assist the Executive Director with media releases, opinion pieces, presentations, and other external communications.

Gather stories, photographs, quotes, program updates, and other materials from staff, community members, and LCLT projects.

Maintain consistency of voice while adapting communications appropriately for community, funder, government, media, and broader public audiences.

Social Media and Digital Communications

Manage LCLT's social media presence and content calendar.

Demonstrate basic working literacy across platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, including posting, formatting content appropriately for different platforms, community engagement, and basic analytics.

Monitor and respond appropriately to comments, messages, and inquiries in coordination with LCLT staff.

Maintain and update LCLT's website and other digital communications channels.

Visual Communications and Presentations

Create clear, compelling, and visually coherent communications materials using platforms such as Canva and PowerPoint.

Develop and update presentations for community meetings, funders, conferences, government partners, media, and other audiences.

Be able to turn information, ideas, photographs, and data into effective visual storytelling.

Work comfortably on sometimes tight timelines, including the ability to create or substantially revise presentations quickly when organizational needs arise.

Develop flyers, informational materials, social media graphics, reports, and other visual communications consistent with LCLT's identity and values.

Community and Media Communications

Support community outreach and public education related to LCLT programs and initiatives.

Coordinate media inquiries with the Executive Director and support proactive media outreach when appropriate.

Monitor media coverage and broader public narratives related to Lahaina recovery, land ownership, housing, displacement, and LCLT's work.

Grant Narratives and Reporting

Work collaboratively with program and administrative staff to develop clear, compelling narratives for grant applications and grant reporting that accurately communicate LCLT's work, impact, and larger vision.

Take primary responsibility for developing and refining the narrative portions of grant applications and reports, translating program activities, outcomes, and community impact into strong written storytelling aligned with LCLT's voice and values.

This position is not responsible for managing the full grant administration process. Other LCLT staff will support grant calendars and deadlines, budgets, financial reporting, required documentation, and other administrative components. The Narratives and Communications Director's role is to ensure that the story we tell through our grants is accurate, powerful, consistent, and reflective of the deeper purpose of the work.

Organizational Communications

Help maintain systems for organizing photographs, stories, media coverage, presentations, communications assets, and other narrative resources.

Support donor and partner communications, including impact updates, thank-you communications, reports, and campaign materials.

Artificial Intelligence and Demonstrated Skills

Lahaina Community Land Trust has an important and evolving organizational policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence to generate content.

The skills required for this position—including writing, editing, narrative development, design, visual communication, social media content creation, and presentation development—must therefore be demonstrable independent of generative AI tools.

AI-generated work is not a substitute for the underlying craft, judgment, voice, cultural understanding, or critical thinking required for this position.

Applicants should be prepared to provide work samples that demonstrate their own writing, design, and communications abilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are less interested in a particular communications pedigree than in demonstrated ability, judgment, values alignment, and quality of work.

Strong candidates will bring:

• Demonstrated professional experience in communications, journalism, storytelling, community organizing, public relations, design, or related work.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly without flattening their meaning.
• Strong understanding of Lahaina's community, history, culture, and current context.
• A demonstrated commitment to the principle that ʻāina is not a commodity, and an ability to carry that value into communications and narrative work that moves toward the liberation of ʻāina and people.
• Basic social media literacy, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Working design skills using Canva, PowerPoint, or comparable tools.
• Demonstrated ability to build and revise strong presentations, including under tight timelines.
• Strong visual judgment and an understanding of how words, photographs, graphics, and design work together to tell a story.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with a small, community-centered team.
• Excellent judgment regarding sensitive community stories, internal information, media engagement, and public communications.
• Ability to listen deeply and recognize when LCLT should be telling a story—and when it should be making space for someone else to tell their own.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications. Job location includes Lahaina and Kahului, with the possibility of occasional meetings elsewhere. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance, a retirement plan with employer matching contributions, and other employee benefits.

WHAT MATTERS TO US

LCLT's communications are not simply about increasing visibility.

Narrative shapes what people believe is possible.

For generations, dominant economic narratives have taught us to understand land primarily through ownership, price, investment, development, and return. LCLT exists to practice, and help articulate a different relationship.

We believe ʻāina is not commodity.

We believe community ownership can create permanence where markets create displacement.

We believe recovery should not mean rebuilding the same systems that made our community vulnerable in the first place.

And we believe the stories told about Lahaina's recovery should help move us toward greater community power, belonging, responsibility, and liberation—for ʻāina and for people.

The person in this position should want to help tell that story.

Application Instructions:

Please apply now through Indeed. Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, references, and examples of their work. Work samples should include examples that demonstrate the applicant's own writing and visual communications abilities, such as writing pieces, social media materials, presentations, newsletters, campaign materials, or other relevant work.

Lahaina Community Land Trust is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals with diverse professional and lived experiences.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $35.00 - $42.00 per hour

Expected hours: 30.0 – 40.0 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan

Ability to Commute:

• Kahului, HI 96733 (Required)

Work Location: In person