The DOE – Superintendent of Schools is looking for a Director of Communication and Public Relations.
Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to:
Organizational Overview:
Since 1800, the Archdiocese of New York has been committed to forming scholars in the image of God through Catholic education. This rich history of educating and developing children from all walks of life continues today with more than 68,000 students in over 200 schools across ten counties.
The mission of our Catholic school system is to ensure its schools are Christ-centered, academically excellent, and welcoming communities that teach students to be life-long learners and leaders energized by fidelity to Christ, the Church, and one another. This is accomplished through cutting edge academic programs and values-driven instruction led by passionate school leaders who care about every student under their watch.
Job Responsibilities
The Director of Communications and Public Relations reports directly to the Superintendent of Schools and is the official spokesperson of the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of New York. The Director will have a high standard for excellence and sophisticated writing style. Primary job responsibilities include:
- Create and implement a proactive communications plan to increase brand awareness;
- Establish relationships with relevant members of print, broadcast and electronic media, including maintenance of up-to-date media list;
- Proactively pitch communications initiatives promoting the good work taking place in schools (i.e. programmatic enhancements, grant implementation, etc.);
- Create opportunities for the Superintendent’s staff to be represented in the education reform sphere through media features and event participation (i.e. editorial boards, conferences and panels);
- Proactive daily management of social media accounts;
- Management of all school-related public affairs crises, in collaboration with the senior management team, Regional Superintendents and principals, producing a response strategy and all written materials including public statements and correspondence;
- Create and design Superintendent’s newsletters to schools, families and pastors, as well as an Annual Report on all operations;
- Develop and maintain a multi-based relationship with the editorial leadership of Catholic New Yorkto assure advantageous and appropriate coverage of the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of New York;
- Build relationship and maintain close contact with the Communications Director of the Archdiocese of New York;
- Work in concert with the marketing team to ensure the integration of messaging and graphic standards;
- Design and maintenance of Superintendent’s website content;
- Provide media training to principals and Superintendent’s staff;
- Explore new public relations outreach methods (i.e. Flock Notes, online surveys, etc.);
- Design and produce all public-facing brochures, flyers and related materials;
- Engage media relations company to supplement internal operations;
- Coordinate visits by Archbishop to schools;
- Oversee and collaborate with the Enrollment Office to promote Touring Tuesday open houses throughout school system;
- Design events to promote Catholic education in New York as a renaissance movement; and
- Create and maintain a budget for communications materials and office operations.
Candidate Qualities
The ideal candidate will possess at least five years of experience in communications and/or media relations and have a proven track record of crafting effective communication in a collaborative organization and will be:
- Knowledgeable about Catholicism as well as education policy and administration;
- Aware of and engaged in education topics relevant to the national media dialogue;
- An innovative strategic writer (with best in class writing skills) that can imaginatively re-conceive how to pitch stories on behalf of Catholic schools, locally, regionally and nationally;
- Able to respond with urgency to media requests and skillfully compose press releases, speeches, op-eds, etc.;
- A strong advocate for Catholic education and overall education reform;
- A driven relationship builder (internally and externally);
- Able to synthesize information and communicate to different audiences – e.g. media, parents, school leaders, staff etc.;
- A solid understanding of the current trends in social media;
- Willing to multi-task and manage multiple projects; and
- Able to adopt a customer service approach to the position.