Policy & Shopper Communications Manager

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview

About The Role

Instacart’s Communications team is seeking a Policy & Shopper Communications Manager to drive strategic storytelling that advances our company’s public policy priorities and supports the Instacart shopper community. This unique flex role presents the opportunity to lead policy communications across the central United States while also supporting high-impact work across the entire team, spanning projects across policy and shopper communications. 

The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and strategic thinker who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and is eager to stretch to support two of the most important stakeholder audiences we serve. Reporting to the Director of Policy Communications, this dual-sided role offers a dynamic opportunity for a communications pro to shape complex messaging, drive media coverage, build reporter relationships, and engage with a wide cross-section of internal partners. The ideal candidate is adaptable, highly collaborative, and eager to grow in a fast-paced environment.

About The Team

Instacart is the leading online grocery technology company in North America, and our mission is to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. We have built a Communications team to match the company’s ambitious trajectory and growth plans.

Our team’s north star: Bring Instacart’s mission to life through world-class storytelling that earns trust, elevates perception, drives our business, and inspires belief in our vision. The Policy & Shopper Communications pod plays a critical role in that work — combining deep subject matter expertise with creative, cutting edge communications strategies to help elevate our work with shoppers, protect our ability to operate, and grow our business.

About The Job

The Manager, Policy & Shopper Communications will operate as a member of the Communications team, with collaboration with partners across Policy & Government Affairs, Legal, Social Impact, Product, Operations, and more.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Central U.S. policy communications — including proactive and reactive media relations, strategic messaging, and press outreach across local and regional policy issues.
• Build and maintain relationships with regional media, especially local reporters and outlets across key Central/Midwestern states.
• Serve as a flex support across the entire breadth of policy and shopper communications, contributing to the most important advocacy campaigns, shopper technology launches, and reputation building initiatives across the team as needed.
• Draft messaging, media materials, and communications plans for a range of topics including policy, labor, and shopper experience.
• Support the development and execution of regional and national communications strategies to advance Instacart’s policy priorities and shopper communications goals.
• Assist in rapid response and issues management across both policy and shopper workstreams.
• Collaborate with internal teams to deliver consistent messaging and align communications across channels and stakeholders.
• Help elevate Instacart’s voice through thought leadership, earned media, events, and other public-facing opportunities.
• Contribute to internal communications strategies and support the rollout of key updates impacting the shopper community and broader policy environment.

About You

Minimum Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring a blend of strategic thinking, strong writing, and adaptability, along with a passion for mission-driven work and storytelling. This role is an excellent fit for someone who thrives in ambiguity, works well cross-functionally, and is looking to build deep communications expertise across multiple mission-critical subject areas.

• 5–8 years of relevant experience in communications, public affairs, political campaigns, media relations, or similar fields
• Experience working in or with high-paced policy, political, or shopper/consumer communications environments
• Demonstrated ability to pitch and place stories with local and regional press; comfort cultivating relationships with journalists and media outlets
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives for different audiences
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders and cross-functional projects under tight deadlines
• Experience working in the technology industry prioritized 
• Familiarity with emerging issues in labor, technology, food, or health policy is a plus
• Collaborative, proactive, and highly organized
• Solutions-oriented mindset and comfort navigating fast-changing priorities
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in storytelling and team dynamics
• Passionate about communications and storytelling

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on policy issues at the state or local level (bonus if in Midwest)
• Background supporting labor, economic, or gig economy-related communications
• Understanding of the shopper/driver experience within app/marketplace platforms
• Ability to serve as a strategic connector across policy and consumer-facing teams
• Experience working in a matrixed communications or agency environment

Additional Details

• Some regional travel will be required for media engagement and on-the-ground storytelling efforts
• This role is part of a distributed team and requires comfort working across time zones and functions

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CA, NY, CT, NJ$138,000—$153,000 USDWA$132,000—$147,000 USDOR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI$127,000—$141,000 USDAll other states$114,000—$127,000 USD