How to apply for Chief Marketing Officer

About The Clean Slate Initiative

The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) is a newly independent nonprofit (est. 2024) with a rare bipartisan mission: automating record sealing for millions of Americans with arrest or conviction histories. With a 48-person staff, active campaigns in red and blue states, and a growing Southern focus, CSI offers a chance to shape a national narrative and policy movement at a critical inflection point. Working here means joining a high-growth, multi-entity organization (501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)) where marketing can directly unlock economic opportunity for 70–100 million people.

About the role

As Chief Marketing Officer, you will own the brand, narrative, and marketing strategy for both CSI and its affiliated 501(c)(4), Clean Slate Now. You will lead efforts to shift public perception, support legislative campaigns, and drive awareness of record-sealing implementation and notification. This role is pivotal in scaling a bipartisan movement, requiring you to balance national storytelling with regional specificity, especially in the South.

A typical day

Your day might start with a strategy call with state campaign directors to align national messaging with local legislative pushes, followed by a creative review for a digital campaign highlighting a new Clean Slate law. In the afternoon, you could meet with the 501(c)(4) team to plan advocacy ads, then review data on narrative change metrics with your team. Expect frequent collaboration across departments and a focus on scaling impact as CSI grows.

Who The Clean Slate Initiative is looking for

• Proven experience leading marketing for a mission-driven nonprofit, advocacy group, or political campaign, ideally with both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities.
• Deep understanding of narrative change and how to communicate bipartisan issues in a polarized environment, with a track record of reaching diverse audiences including Black communities disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system.
• Skills in integrated campaign management: digital, earned media, partnerships, and grassroots mobilization, with the ability to support legislative and implementation goals across multiple states.
• Experience building and managing a marketing team in a high-growth, remote-first organization, and comfort with multi-entity structures and distinct board reporting.

Tips for this application

• Highlight any experience marketing bipartisan or criminal justice reform issues—CSI is rare in its bipartisan appeal, so show you can navigate both red and blue states.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the 501(c)(3) vs. 501(c)(4) distinction and how marketing strategies differ for each entity, especially regarding advocacy and political messaging.
• Quantify your impact on narrative change or policy wins: e.g., 'led campaign that increased awareness by X%' or 'supported passage of Y bill through targeted marketing.'
• Show cultural competence in reaching Black and other marginalized communities, as nearly 50% of Black adults have records compared to 27% of white adults.
• Emphasize experience in scaling marketing for a growing organization, as CSI expects continued growth and is expanding from legislation to implementation, notification, and regional focus.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your vision for how marketing can accelerate Clean Slate laws and implementation, including narrative change and public education.', 'Specific examples of leading marketing across multiple entities or complex organizational structures (e.g., 501(c)(3) and (c)(4)).', 'How you would approach regional marketing, particularly in the South, while maintaining a national brand and bipartisan appeal.', "Your commitment to economic opportunity and racial equity, tied to CSI's mission and the scale of the problem (70–100 million Americans)."]

Research before applying

• Study CSI's legislative wins and active campaigns in red and blue states to understand their bipartisan approach and current priorities.
• Understand the difference between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations and how marketing and advocacy are regulated for each.
• Research the landscape of criminal justice reform marketing, including key players, narratives, and opposition arguments.
• Explore the specific challenges of record sealing implementation and notification, and how marketing can support those efforts.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you build a marketing strategy that supports both legislative campaigns and implementation/notification efforts across multiple states?
• Describe a time you navigated a politically polarized environment to advance a bipartisan issue—what was your approach?
• How would you differentiate marketing for CSI's 501(c)(3) versus Clean Slate Now's 501(c)(4)?
• What metrics would you use to measure the success of narrative change and marketing in this context?
• How would you ensure marketing reaches and resonates with Black communities and other disproportionately affected groups?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Focusing only on traditional nonprofit marketing without addressing the unique demands of a multi-entity, bipartisan advocacy organization.
• Ignoring the racial equity dimension—nearly 50% of Black adults have records, so any marketing strategy must be culturally competent and inclusive.
• Proposing generic digital campaigns without showing how they tie to legislative wins, implementation, or narrative change in a polarized environment.