Managing Director of Communications

Company: KIPP Texas Public Schools
Location: Austin
Posted on: April 9, 2021

Job Description:

Company Description

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a nonprofit public charter school network, dedicated to preparing students in educationally underserved communities for college success and choice-filled lives. Today, KIPP Texas operates 59 public charter schools educating over 31,100 students across four regions - Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of 255 college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. KIPP schools are part of the free public school system and enrollment is open to all students. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low-income families.

Job Description

The MD of Communications will steward KIPP Texas' brand by spearheading KIPP's internal and external communications strategy. This position will serve as one of the spokespersons for the organization, oversee KIPP Texas' content and messaging for owned media channels including the website, publications, social media accounts, crisis communications, programming for events, earned media strategy-PR and Media Relations-, KIPP's internal communications and family communications strategy, donor stewardship, and organizational messaging. S/he will coach and develop a team two direct reports.

Key Responsibilities

In partnership with the Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer, develop and manage strategic communications plans that include, but is not limited to the following strategic priorities

• Organize the KIPP Texas Story: Create a comprehensive messaging document that organizes all organization priorities, attributes, and initiatives into defining messages.
• Expand the KIPP Texas Audience: Re-engage in comprehensive outreach strategies to press and partners across Texas.
• Create KIPP Texas Storytellers: Focus internal communications on key messages and increase opportunities and incentives for staff, students, and families to engage with key messages.
• New Community Entry: Develop and implement strategic plans, communications, resources, and media relations tactics to help generate leads and increase brand awareness and recognition when KIPP Texas enters a new community.
• Build upon KIPP Texas' Crisis Communications Protocols & Resources: Create a crisis communications strategic plan, resources, and resource portal for KIPP campuses.
  Collaborate with peers, KIPP Texas' Director of Marketing and Managing Director of Enrollment and Deputy Chief of Advocacy, on cross-functional tasks
  
  • Work with the Director of Marketing to develop copy for marketing materials
  • Thought partner with the Director of Marketing and Creative Services Manager to ensure the website is reflective of the latest editorial content (ongoing), allows for campuses to personalize their pages, and integrates a blog and newsroom, implements learnings, content changes, and new UX from external and internal website audits.
  • Develop and manage extensive communications strategic plans to support enrollment and recruitment efforts
  • Support the Deputy Chief of Advocacy with as-needed communications
    Internal Communications: Support and manage your team to lead internal and family communications at KIPP Texas and ensure Internal Communications is timely, consistent, and rooted in a scalable and sustainable strategic framework as KIPP's employee population continues to grow
    
    • Intranet Site: KIPP needs to build an intranet site that should be the go-to source for all communications.
    • KIPP Texas' Blog: Generate owned blog content 2-3/week to help share news, announcements, and information with our key audiences.
    • Staff Communications: Develop and distribute all-staff emails and help lead all-staff calls annually, develop a robust internal communications strategy to build affiliation and pride among staff while consistently informing them of important information and context.
    • Organizational Updates: These are weekly emails that Sehba Ali, KIPP Texas' CEO, sends to all staff.
      Public Relations and Social Media: Manage direct reports to meet media and public relations goals focusing on increasing brand awareness of KIPP and telling impactful stories about our families, students, staff, and communities
      
      • Manage PR and media relations across all KIPP Texas regions
      • Represent KIPP Texas in regional media opportunities, manage regional media events, and craft documents (press releases, media alerts, etc.) for external distribution.
      • Oversee the external communications manager in the daily monitoring of media calls, requests, and inquiries
      • Oversee the external communications manager in the daily distribution of KIPP Texas' media report, weekly distribution of KIPP Texas' communications and media overview and the daily updates to KIPP's newsroom
      • Serve as the editor-in-chief of content, strategy, and planning KIPP's statewide channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) regional channels (Facebook) and supporting campus channels (Facebook)
      • Provide campus-level resources, training, and best practices for managing campus social media pages
      • Develop and distribute a quarterly social media newsletter for campus administrators on Facebook
        Serve as one of the spokespersons for the organization for media outlets
        
        • Manage, develop, and distribute KIPP Texas talking points, statements, and media responses
        • Develop and distribute KIPP's annual press kit
        • Leverage and prepare organizational spokespeople, senior leaders, and teachers for press opportunities
        • Support KIPP Texas' media campaigns and projects
        • Provide comprehensive and rapid behind-the-scenes communications support to direct management and other senior leaders across the organization
          Train KIPP Texas' leaders on organizational messaging
          
          • During summer training and other leadership opportunities, educate KIPP's leaders on the latest messaging to ensure our senior-most leaders are speaking about the organization in the same way.
          • Develop KIPP Texas' messaging and voice branding guidelines
            
            Supervisory Responsibilities
            
            • Directly manage a team of two direct reports, to results in their respective functional areas:
            • Director of Internal Communications
            • External Communications Manager Qualifications
              
              • Education: Bachelor's degree required, master's degree in applicable field preferred
              • Experience: 8+ years of full-time professional experience required; 3+ years of full-time people management required
              • Licenses or Certifications (if applicable): None
              • Strong writing and editing skills
              • Experience in a non-profit and/or start up
              • Experience in public relations and strategic communications
              • Relationship-building and influencing skills, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders
              • Creative, ambitious and highly adept in designing and implementing cohesive communications strategies
              • Excellent communication skills, both orally and written
              • Results and quality-focused with an eye for detail, a bias for excellence in building and deploying communications plans and managing multiple communications platforms and channels
                
                Additional Information
                
                In addition to a competitive salary scale, a part of KIPP Texas' competitive benefits options, KIPP offers all employees an $0 HMO plan for the employee only. In addition to our $0 plan, KIPP provides a $600 employer contribution towards a Health Savings Account and a variety of other supplemental benefits such as Dental, Vision, Short and Long-Term Disability, Pet Insurance, Life, etc.

Keywords: KIPP Texas Public Schools, Austin , Managing Director of Communications, Executive , Austin, Texas