Director of Development Communications

About City Teaching Alliance 

Our mission is to improve educational and life outcomes of children in urban schools by preparing culturally responsive, effective career educators who accelerate student achievement and disrupt systems of racial and socioeconomic inequity. City Teaching Alliance accomplishes this by recruiting outstanding candidates, equipping them with state-of-the-art training, and linking their certification to their demonstration of effective teaching practices and skills. Our residents and teachers will provide the necessary proof points to make a national case for educator effectiveness and accountability. Learn more about City Teaching Alliance on our website: https://www.cityteachingalliance.org/

Overview

The Director of Development Communications play a pivotal role in crafting and executing strategic communication initiatives aimed at enhancing donor engagement and support for the organization. Your responsibilities will involve providing expert, on-brand communications support across various channels, developing comprehensive communication strategies, and producing compelling content to inspire philanthropic action.  This role will report to the Managing Director of Development.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Strategy and Vision

• Develop and implement a data- and deadline-driven, efficient, comprehensive, in-budget, on-brand prospect/donor communications project plan designed to achieve strategy objectives and broaden/deepen philanthropic support
• Execute annual and multi-year development communication and marketing strategy aimed at significantly increasing donor support in depth and breadth across all donor segments
• Analyze and regularly report on communication results (e.g. social media, NFT marketing, newsletter and website engagement) with constant eye toward ROI
• Lead and inspire a team of development and communications professionals to achieve fundraising targets and enhance brand visibility.

Marketing and Brand Management

• Oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive marketing communications plan to enhance brand awareness and visibility.
• Manage the organization's donor facing brand identity, ensuring consistency across all communication channels and materials.
• Conceive, design and produce eye-catching, highly persuasive and inspirational development communication and marketing content and materials, including but not limited to: donor website page(s)/section(s), platform-specific organic and paid social media, DAF holders and family offices, monthly newsletter/relevant e-blasts, corporate sponsorship, co- and cause-marketing, non-cash/non-traditional prospects and donors, videography, print/digital annual report, email messaging/talking points/FAQs, one-pagers, decks, Giving Tuesday, print and digital year-end appeals, specialized fundraising campaigns and so forth
  
• Keenly investigate emerging communication modalities and make informed recommendations
• Stay abreast of ever-evolving donor, sector and organizational communication preferences and trends/best practices; designs and updates practices/style guide(s)

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Provide expert, tonal, on-brand omni-channel donor/public facing communications support to CEO, CAO, MDD, AO, EDs
• Work collaboratively and in partnership with development coordinator, development operations manager, national Marketing Communications team and cross-functional colleagues
• Provide asset management and writing, proofreading/editing support for grants, other projects
• Other duties as assigned
  

Organizational Stewardship

In addition to the key responsibilities noted above, you will be asked to participate in activities that serve to support the organization overall. Some examples of these activities include:

• Final interview days
• Working groups and committees
• Recruitment initiatives
• All-staff retreat planning and facilitation

Target Start Date: May 2024

Location:  Remote with a strong preference for Baltimore, Dallas, DC, or Philadelphia

Time Commitment & Compensation: $94,451- $102,109 & is subject to a geographic differential which could increase or decrease it by 4% or 8% depending on city of residence. We are an anti-racist organization that prioritizes equity so we do not negotiate salaries.

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
• 7+ years’ experience non-profit development marketing and communications preferred.
• Exceptional verbal/written communication and graphic designs skills; obsessed with accuracy, quality and deadlines.
• Expert knowledge of Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud; SEO/SEM, all social media platforms, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Asana.
• Excellent organization, research and detail-orientation skills.
• A motivated self-starter able to work effectively with minimal supervision and as a member of a team.
• A proactive, detail-oriented, analytical problem-solver able to work on multiple projects and priorities at any one time.
• Ability to work effectively with people of all backgrounds.
• Ability to safeguard confidential information is essential.
  

City Teaching Alliance Values 

WE SERVE CHILDREN.

Children are the center of our work. We rely on the communities we serve to guide and inform the decisions we make about our curriculum, program and practice.

WE ARE AN ANTI-RACIST ORGANIZATION.

We are committed to ongoing knowledge seeking, reflection, and action to deliberately oppose racism.  We are an inclusive organization that values the diversity of people, backgrounds and perspectives. We are active allies who pursue justice in the communities in which we live and work.

WE ARE LIFE-LONG LEARNERS.

We are dedicated to continuous improvement, innovation and excellence. We strive to be on the forefront of what is best for teacher education and students based on research and practice.

WE VALUE EACH OTHER. 

We value each other as whole people. We are servant leaders who foster a supportive working environment that is empathetic and caring, and values direct, constructive feedback.

EOE Statement: We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.