Director of Marketing and Communications
Essential Functions and Key Objectives
The Director of Communications and Marketing reports directly to the Head of School and is responsible for the school’s overall marketing, publications and communications. The Director of Communications and Marketing works closely with the Director of Enrollment Management and the Chief Advancement Officer on marketing and branding of the school.
Responsibilities:
• Works closely with the Head of School and senior staff to enhance the school’s appeal to a widening range of prospective families, faculty and staff, and alumni, parents, and friends.
• Responsible for the oversight of the scheduling and production of all school publications.
• Collaborate with the Director of Enrollment Management in developing and executing marketing efforts to attract and retain high-quality students.
• Work in partnership with the Chief Advancement Officer to create feature stories, an alumnae magazine (one per year), electronic newsletters, website copy and other printed and online/electronic media materials to support the fundraising efforts.
• Manage PR, media relations and school advertising.
• Responsible for the ongoing management and occasional redesign of the school’s website.
• Develop, manage and evaluate internal communications as needed.
• Develop communication standards, guidelines, templates, and tools.
• Serve as the School’s creative director — managing designers, printers, and photographers.
• Advise and collaborate with the head of school and senior staff on effective media engagement techniques.
• Leads strategic institutional efforts to plan, execute, and evaluate marketing strategies, communications programs, and media relations to create and reinforce the school’s distinctive identity as a global, boarding school, supporting the work of admission, development, and other school offices as required.
• Disseminate the school’s and the head’s key messages to various constituencies. Organizes and participates in the drafting of speeches, press communications and website postings, and presentation materials for the school leaders.
• Ensure that the annual alumnae print magazine and Walking the Lane electronic newsletter content and graphic identity are consistent with those of the school as a whole and advance the school’s relationship with current families and alumnae.
• Publishing a weekly electronic school newsletter.
• Maintaining photo library, hiring and directing photographers for events throughout the year.
• Ensures alignment of the school’s messages and image across publications (online and paper), speeches and events. Writes/edits pieces for publication as necessary.
• Provides strategic direction for the school’s social media strategy.
• Develops and implements a media relations strategy. Serves as the chief public relations officer and media relations officer for the school, proactively supplying appropriate information to the media and responding to inquiries.
• Serves as the school’s resident crisis communications expert and as the school’s liaison to crisis communications firms.
Competencies:
• The director will need to be a strategic thinker with a demonstrated ability to develop a long-term vision for the school in partnership with the senior leadership team.
• The director will need to understand drivers of choice and possess a deep understanding of prospective student and family needs, behaviors, and preferences in order to develop effective marketing campaigns and strategies.
• The director will need to be a data-driven decision maker with a demonstrated ability to leverage data and analytics along with an understanding of digital marketing in order to make informed decisions about the school’s communication and marketing plans.
• The director will need to be both creative and innovative; able to develop new approaches to connecting with prospective students, families, and potential donors.
• The director must have a solid understanding of digital marketing channels with a premium placed on social media platforms and Google analytics.
• The director must have a demonstrated ability and default inclination to collaborate with the admission and advancement offices in order to ensure cohesive and consistent messaging.
• The director must be a skilled writer – capable of executing on a variety of assignments intended for both the full breadth of the school constituency and particular audiences within that constituency.
• The director will need to be an effective manager of the communications and marketing efforts.
• The director will need to be capable of managing a budget while advocating for budgetary needs that emerge on a year-to-year basis. In addition, the director directs vendor relations for all aspects of communications and marketing.
Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s Degree required, Master’s degree is preferred
• 10 – 15 years of increasingly responsible management experience in public relations, journalism, communications, marketing or related role with demonstrated experience and a successful track record in media relations.
• Experience working in an independent school and/or higher education is a plus.
• Superior communication skills to express, orally and in writing, St. Timothy’s School’s mission, vision, and goals with clarity, passion, and persuasion.
• Strong management skills, both strategic and operational, and a demonstrated ability to manage, mentor and motivate others.
• Visionary and strategic planning capabilities to be applied toward the development of an innovative marketing and communications program and the leadership necessary to ensure its successful implementation.
• Demonstrated project management skills and understanding of digital media tools, integrated media campaigns, social media, video, and website design.
• Highly proficient in use of technology: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Power Point), Adobe InDesign, Canva, and Photoshop.
• Attention to detail combined with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a deadline-driven environment.
• A high degree of professionalism, sound judgment, awareness, and discretion while maintaining complete confidentiality.
• Capable of building collaborative relationships and effectively navigating across a highly engaged school community.
• Self-confidence, humility, integrity, warmth, and a flexible personal style combined with a sense of humor that will earn the respect and attention of the organization and community.
