Job Description

NYC Outward Bound Schools (www.nycoutwardbound.org) is a nonprofit organization that transforms schools and changes lives by bringing out the best in students, teachers and school leaders throughout New York City. We operate a citywide network of public schools, in partnership with the City’s Department of Education, which primarily target students from underserved neighborhoods. Our schools feature rigorous learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom, and are built upon a culture of high achievement and mutual support. And we provide our students with a robust To & Through College program. To further extend our impact, we also offer Adventure & Team Building programs to young people not enrolled in our schools and professional development to NYC public schools interested in adopting specific practices from our schools. Over the past 30 years, we have served over 100,000 students.

Summary

The Director of Communications & Content sets and implements communications strategies aimed at increasing NYC Outward Bound Schools’ visibility among key constituents and leveraging our brand. S/he works closely with other senior leaders within our organization and our Network Schools. Our ideal candidate is a skilled storyteller able to work easily with the media, our staff, educators, students and funders. The Director of Communications & Content reports to the Chief Advancement Officer and is a key member of our highly collaborative, five-person Advancement team, which is responsible for raising nearly $4M a year from private and public sources and for increasing the organization’s visibility. We are driven by our mission to ensure that all NYC’s young people have access to a high-quality education and are looking for someone who shares that passion and is excited by the opportunity to connect with our schools and students.

Essential Functions

• • Develop, implement and evaluate our annual communications plan
  • Raise our organization’s visibility through press coverage, targeted events (including our annual gala, College March and cultivation events), and growing our online presence
  • Develop rich content for and manage the creation of all key print and electronic collateral including, but not limited to, brochures, e-newsletters, social media, website and appeals
  • Recruit and coach spokespeople for the organization – particularly a cadre of our students
  • Encourage brand consistency across the organization and its Network Schools
  • Identify, cultivate and manage all media relationships
  • Identify and implement strategies for reaching and influencing education thought leaders

Minimum Qualifications

NYC Outward Bound Schools is seeking an accomplished Director of Communications & Content who has at least 5 years of experience in that or a similar role. S/he must be a strong storyteller and adept at a variety of communications-related areas such as media relations, e-newsletters, donor communications, website/social media content, and coaching speakers. The ability to translate the organization’s work into coherent and compelling messages, and disseminate them to the right audiences through the best distribution channels is critical.

• • Experience developing and implementing communications strategies
  • Highly collaborative style and ability to work in partnership with a variety of constituent groups, including staff, board members, reporters, students, school principals, donors, and other supporters
  • Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate our work into compelling stories and coach others on these skills
  • Skilled website (WordPress) management; preferred
  • A strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently
  • Relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence”
  • High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels
  • Self-starter who is entrepreneurial

Ideal candidates will share the belief that:

• • All people are capable of doing great things when they are challenged and supported appropriately.
  • Learning happens best in a community that actively encourages and practices respect, empathy, safety, inclusion, and diversity.
  • Development of character is as important as the development of intellect, and that the two go hand in hand.

Compensation and Benefits:

• • We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
  • We offer medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as HRA/FSA/Transit accounts, life insurance, 403(b), Sick Leave, paid holidays, and generous PTO.

NYC Outward Bound Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination against, and harassment of, any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, genetic information, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, military or veteran status, qualified individuals with a disability on the basis of the disability, or any other category which may be protected under applicable state or federal law.

 

How to Apply

Interested candidates should upload a cover letter and resume via our applicant tracking system using the following link:  https://app.trinethire.com/companies/13701-nyc-outward-bound-schools/jobs/18794-director-of-communications-content

No phone calls please. We appreciate all responses, but due to the high volume of resumes received, we can only contact those applicants whose qualifications best match the position requirements

Bureaus: New York. Job Categories: Full-Time. Job Types: Marketing and Communications. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.