FULL-TIME JOB VACANCY
GLOBAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
Media Department
Multiple Office Locations Considered
Application Deadline: September 7, 2025
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is seeking a visionary, digitally savvy, and journalistically grounded communications leader to serve as its Global Media Director. This role will oversee HRW's global media, multimedia and audience engagement operations, lead brand strategy, reputation management, and shape how HRW communicates in a rapidly evolving digital and geopolitical landscape.
The Global Media Director will direct HRW's Media Department made up of Communications, Multimedia, Audience Engagement teams, to amplify our research and advocacy, elevate our public voice, and strengthen our global brand. The position oversees a large group of communications experts based around the world dedicated to telling compelling stories, engaging diverse audiences, and promoting HRW's work across traditional and digital platforms.
The Media Department ensures HRW's message is timely, accessible, and impactful across a rapidly-shifting landscape. The Global Media Director will work with the organization's Program, Advocacy and Development departments to increase the reach and influence of our research and advocacy, ensuring it effectively communicates our mission and drives impact and public engagement.
This leader will bring an exceptional understanding of the human rights movement and today's global media environment, along with a deep experience with newsroom and editorial operations, fluency in digital strategy and analytics, and a sophisticated grasp of how to engage audiences in multiple languages, formats, and contexts. Because of HRW's global footprint, regular international travel is required.
The position will report to HRW's Deputy Executive Director/Chief Programs Officer and will be based in any of the following locations where HRW has an office: Amman, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Johannesburg, London, New York, São Paulo or Toronto.
Responsibilities
External Communications
1. Develop and execute global communications strategies to maximize the reach of HRW's research and advocacy.
2. Ensure that HRW's international voice and perspective are present in key global debates, and that opportunities are seized for injecting a human rights perspective into global public-policy conversations.
3. Identify and target diverse global audiences across traditional, digital, and emerging platforms, grounded in audience research, trends, and analytics.
4. Translate complex human rights research into clear, powerful storytelling that resonates with news media, policy makers, donors, and the public.
5. Ensure editorial excellence and journalistic rigor in all public-facing content.
6. Refine HRW's approach to audience engagement by guiding how we develop engaging and educational digital content as well as advocacy materials help advance policy goals and promote human rights values.
7. Advance digital transformation by building out best-in-class practices for social media, search engine optimization, web, multimedia storytelling, email marketing and performance analytics.
Brand Building and Reputation Management
1. Develop a clear and strategic approach to HRW's storytelling that helps global audiences understand HRW's mission, methods, and impact.
2. Strengthen and steward HRW's brand to maximize both short and long-term social impact while reinforcing brand identity and cohesion.
3. Build strategies to achieve HRW's fundraising goals and deepen stakeholder engagement.
4. Defend the organization against threats to its reputation, proactively identifying threats, shaping narratives, and managing crisis communications in high-pressure or sensitive situations.
Organizational Management and Leadership
1. Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and divisional directors.
2. Engage with staff across the organization to understand HRW's strategic plan and what changes we might need to make to our brand and media strategies to achieve our goals.
3. Attract, develop, motivate and retain a high-performing, diverse global team of communications professionals through effective leadership, inclusive recruitment, and on-going mentorship.
4. Build relationships with board members and donors to keep them informed of the latest developments and successes and to help identify additional prospective donors.
5. Collaborate with other senior executives within HRW to ensure the integration of a communications perspective into all HRW projects at early stages.
6. Drive, build and nurture consensus among passionate, internal stakeholders, garnering support to synthesize insights and galvanize action.
7. Champion HRW's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion—both in internal culture and external messaging.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be a strategic, mission-aligned communications leader with experience operating at the intersection of journalism, advocacy, and digital innovation.
This person will need to combine big-picture vision with hands-on execution, have a track record of leadership in global, complex organizations, and be comfortable operating in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment, and have a deep understanding of the shifting media, digital and technology landscape.
The ideal candidate is not expected to be a human rights expert, but they should have a demonstrated commitment to human rights and an advocacy-oriented mindset and the ability to work closely with our human rights experts, seamlessly integrating with and supporting their work.
We are interested in candidates that demonstrate the below skills and abilities, but are also keen to hear from those with significant track records of success in our sector that might not meet every point listed below, particularly if they come from a background that is traditionally underrepresented in the human rights sector.
Strategic Acumen and Leadership
1. A strategic leader who is comfortable in an extremely fast-paced environment with many competing priorities.
2. The ability to see both the big picture and potential pitfalls, and to capitalize on opportunities by developing and executing persuasive communication strategies.
3. Experience serving as a trusted advisor to executive leadership.
4. Demonstrated experience in the development of multi-pronged external communications, content and advocacy materials designed to inform opinions and ultimately influence outcomes.
5. Outstanding judgment and independent, critical thinking, with the ability to make both intelligent decisions and accept appropriate risks.
6. Proactive leadership, with experience making strategic decisions efficiently in a complex environment that are inclusive of diverse opinions.
7. Capability to develop approaches that ensure HRW's brand is differentiated, unique and understood among diverse constituencies.
Credibility and Expertise
1. The character and background to command credibility, legitimacy, and respect across the media, Board members, donors, and other diverse external stakeholder groups – particularly the rights-holders we are committed to supporting.
2. Deep understanding of journalism, global media, social media markets; exposure to, and ideally a credible understanding of, international rights-related issues.
3. Strong network of external relationships, especially with the media; experience strategically leveraging relationships and networks to meet objectives.
4. Charismatic, articulate and diplomatic approach, with the ability to deliver HRW's story, value and insights, internally and externally in a convincing and compelling manner that drives results.
5. Understanding of and ability to support fundraising efforts.
Values and Personal Attributes
1. An unshakeable commitment to human rights and a drive to execute on this commitment.
2. An understanding of global geopolitics and of HRW's distinct role as a part of a global human rights movement.
3. The character and experience needed to create and promote an inclusive and positive work environment where all staff feel welcome and can access opportunities for professional growth and impact, soliciting diverse points of views, supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and proactively addressing any bias or discrimination.
Salary and Benefits: HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive compensation and employer-paid benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance. HRW offers a relocation assistance package and will assist employees in obtaining necessary work authorization, if required; people of all nationalities are encouraged to apply. The salary range for this position if based in the US is USD 220,000 – 236,000
How to Apply: Please apply by September 7, 2025, by visiting our online job portal at careers.hrw.org and attaching a cover letter and resume, preferably in PDF format. No calls or email inquiries, please. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your application submission or require a disability related accommodation, please email [email protected]. Due to the large response, application submissions via email will not be accepted and inquiries regarding the status of applications will go unanswered.
Human Rights Watch is strong because it is diverse. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Human Rights Watch does not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or criminal record. We welcome all kinds of diversity. Our employees include people who are parents and nonparents, the self-taught and university educated, and from a wide span of socio- economic backgrounds and perspectives on the world. Human Rights Watch is an equal opportunity employer.
Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization known for its in-depth investigations, its incisive and timely reporting, its innovative and high- profile advocacy campaigns, and its success in changing the human rights-related policies and practices of influential governments and international institutions.
