The Schott Foundation for Public Education

OVERVIEW

The Schott Foundation for Public Education is a national foundation whose mission is to develop and strengthen a broad-based and representative movement to achieve fully resourced, quality preK-12 public education, giving every child an opportunity to learn. The Schott Foundation’s core belief is that only a grassroots movement can lead to systemic change in the disparities poor children and children of color face in our country’s schools. In helping to build this movement, Schott recognizes its pivotal role as both funder and advocate in the social justice arena.

The Schott Foundation seeks an experienced communications professional to play a crucial role in expanding the foundation’s reach and influence through various communication platforms. Applicants should have strong writing experience, including experience writing for the media; experience with social media strategy; and a firm commitment to social justice. Applicants should be self-driven, accountable to goals, have energy and enthusiasm for innovation, and an interest in social change issues and advocacy.

The Communications Director will also lead communication efforts of the Education Justice Network (EJN). EJN, of which the Schott Foundation is a member, is a collaboration of six national nonprofits engaged in policy development, research and advocacy and united to promote educational equity and opportunity for students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. EJN seeks to expand its reach through various communication efforts, including social media, blog posts, and newsletters.  

EJN consists of:

• Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University
• National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder
• Research for Action (RFA)
• The Schott Foundation for Public Education
• The Southern Education Foundation (SEF)
• The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) at Stanford University

Read more about EJN here: http://bit.ly/2adyb3w

Location: Flexible; New York City, NY or Washington, DC preferred

SUMMARY OF DUTIES

Reporting to the Vice President of Programs and Advocacy, the Communications Director will perform the following duties.

Weekly EJN Newsblast: Rebrand, produce, and promote a weekly newsblast focused on the work of EJN and its members. This includes:

• Monitoring the news daily and selecting relevant postings
• Adding context to postings from various sources
• Creating new postings that amplify EJN member reports and shared priorities
• Linking to/incorporating current EJN and other newsblasts, newsletters, “best of” blogposts, etc.
• Coordinating content with ally organizations

Communications Workgroup: Convene and facilitate a regular meeting of the Communications Workgroup, comprised of communications staff from each EJN member organization, to gain strong, ongoing substantive knowledge of projects and publications, creating opportunities for:

• Developing strategic joint communications projects/products that amplify the ongoing work of member organizations
• Creating a shared event/editorial calendar as a mechanism to develop strategic opportunities
• Develop an updated a centralized media contact list

Publications: Support the writing and editing of op-eds, blogs, report summaries, etc. and provide assistance with media placement in local, national and mainstream and progressive media outlets.

Communication Tools: Work closely with the foundation communications team and consultants to develop infographics and other design projects to amply the work of the network.

Contacts Management: Build and manage the EJN e-mail list.

Evaluation: Lead in the assessment of communication impacts, utilizing programs such as Google Analytics to document the reach of the network.

Social Media: Support members and grassroots partners through development and implementation of social media strategies for projects, organizational positioning, training, and capacity building.

Media Relations: Write press releases, maintain press clip files, and conduct outreach and relationship development with bloggers and other media, such as journalists, to support coverage of EJN news.

Research: Complete various research projects and data analysis as required for communications projects.

Reporting: Attend local education justice events to report news live via social media, blogposts, photos, videos clips, etc.

Team Work: Complete other duties as assigned as part of the Schott Foundation’s Programs and Advocacy Team

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, political science, or related field
• A strong interest in racial justice and equity
• 5 to 8 years of experience in communications including campaign experience
• Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Proficiency using social media and other digital tools for organizations, and a passion for using these tools to drive action and engagement
• Proficiency with all Microsoft Office programs
• Experience/Proficiency with Google Analytics
• Results-focused approach and strong work ethic
• Strong project management skills; ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines and respond to fast-shifting priorities
• Knowledge of education policy and practices; knowledge of education media highly desirable
• Highly organized with effective time management; ability to work independently and in a team
• Sense of humor
• Ability to develop accessible messages from research findings and relate them to current policy and news in engaging and meaningful ways
• Willingness to travel occasionally

How to Apply:

Please send your resume, cover letter, and two relevant writing samples with “Communications Director” in the subject line to: [email protected]

The Schott Foundation for Public Education is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and multicultural workplace.