Communications Manager - Public Relations

Albemarle County Public Schools; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Albemarle County Public Schools is seeking a strategic Communications Manager to lead the Office of Strategic Communications. You will orchestrate external messaging, visual identity, and multimedia storytelling to engage families, staff, and the broader community.

You will collaborate with elected officials, district leadership, and school staff to ensure consistent, equitable messaging that supports ACPS strategic goals. Strong AP style, design skills, and a proactive PR approach are essential.

Qualifications

• Degree in Communications, Public Relations, Graphic Design, Marketing, Journalism, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of five years in public relations, digital marketing, or corporate communications with a strong portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Office’s external messaging and brand identity across channels.
• Develop proactive, content-driven PR campaigns highlighting district initiatives and achievements.
• Supervise staff and interns, manage workflows and design queues.
• Collaborate with School Board and leadership to craft strategic communication solutions.
• Manage multimedia content creation for the district website and social media.

Skills

AP Style

Graphic design

Video/content creation

Social media strategy

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Hootsuite

Sprout Social

CMS/web content tools

Job description

Strategic Communications

Tell Stories That Shape a Community. Build a Brand Families Trust. Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) is looking for a storyteller, strategist, and creative powerhouse to lead our Office of Communications’ public relations efforts. If you’re the kind of person who can turn a School Board policy into a scroll‑stopping social post, transform student achievements into a compelling video, and make a Tuesday newsletter something people actually want to open — we want to meet you.

This isn’t a behind‑the‑desk communications planning position. You’ll be the creative force driving our brand, our voice, our visual identity, and the stories that connect over 14,000 students and their families to the work happening in our schools every day. You’ll partner directly with school and administration staff, the superintendent’s cabinet, and elected leaders to tell the stories of ACPS, and you will have the creative freedom to build campaigns, content, and a digital presence that makes people proud to be part of this division.

We’re not just hiring a manager — we’re looking for a content creator who can build trust, champion public education, and bring a creative mind so that we can bridge the divide between the school division and the community we serve. If you have a portfolio full of work you’re proud of, a mastery of AP style, and the instinct to tell a great story before anyone else does, we want to see what you can bring to Albemarle County Public Schools.

ACPS employees enjoy competitive pay and benefits, including health & dental coverage, retirement, flexible spending accounts, paid time off, wellness program, employee care clinics, discounts on gym memberships, and more! Be sure to check out our website to learn more about our Division and our Schools.

Please include a link to your portfolio representing your work in multimedia content development (video, graphic design, social media content).

Full Job Description

The Communications Manager‑Public Relations leads the Office of Strategic Communications’ efforts to foster an informed, engaged, and connected community through transparent, accessible, and consistent communication. The manager is the chief architect of the division’s external messaging, visual identity, and storytelling in a multimedia environment. As a member of the Division Leadership team, the manager collaborates with elected officials, department staff, school administrators, and school staff to ensure consistent and equitable messaging to all students, families, and community partners. This position focuses heavily on proactive communication strategies that establish dialogue through high‑quality content creation. The position manages the ACPS brand identity, social media content, and external email communication messaging across the division. The Communications Manager ensures all messaging from the division, departments, and schools is engaging, visually compelling, and adheres strictly to style guidelines and division brand standards. The manager supports the Chief Communications Officer and Deputy Chief Communications Officer by developing and implementing external communications initiatives and managing public relations operations to engage families, staff, and the broader Albemarle County community.

Essential Functions

• Leads the Office’s efforts to engage students, families, and community partners, including regular communication with school administration and division leadership to ensure consistency of messaging and brand identity across the division;
• Leads graphic design efforts for the division, creating visually engaging assets (flyers, infographics, digital banners, and reports) that align with the district’s brand identity and public relations goals;
• Actively supports the implementation of Albemarle County Public Schools’ strategic plan;
• Develops and executes proactive, content-driven public relations campaigns to highlight the division's strategic initiatives, School Board actions, and student and staff achievements;
• Supervises, mentors, and evaluates communications staff and student interns in the execution of public relations strategies; manages workflow, design queues, and project delegation within the department;
• Partners with School Board, Division leadership, and School staff to create strategic communication solutions for the diverse and complex needs of schools, educators, and students;
• Develops multimedia content for the Albemarle County Public Schools website, ensuring accurate content and adherence to brand standards;
• Writes, edits, and audits web content across departmental and school-specific pages;
• Collaborates with school administration to craft effective communication strategies and messages targeted at students, families, and staff within the school community;
• Monitors communication analytics (website traffic, user behavior) and uses data to optimize the division’s digital public relations strategy;
• Manages the division's social media platforms, executing a comprehensive content calendar that drives community engagement and promotes division news;
• Supports school administrators in establishing and managing school‑based social media sites;
• Owns the strategy, design, and distribution of all division‑wide external email communications and newsletters, ensuring high open rates and mobile‑friendly layouts;
• Manages contracts and relationships with external vendors related to printing, mass communication tools, and graphic design tools;
• Collaborates with the Chief Communications Officer and division leadership to develop and implement comprehensive, data‑driven communication plans;
• Collaborates with school administrators and teachers to promote consistent messaging that engages students and families across the division;
• Assists in the rapid deployment of crisis communications, formatting and distributing weather‑related closures, safety incidents, and community alerts across email, web, and social media channels;
• Serves as an active member of the leadership team for the Division administration;
• Engages in ongoing professional growth and self‑directed learning to acquire contemporary knowledge and maintain skills necessary to effectively impact the communication strategies of teachers, administrators, division leadership, and elected officials;
• Manages the Department’s efforts to advance the Division’s strategic plan objectives to engage our school community through effective communications and community engagement strategies;
• Provides leadership for teachers and staff in the creation and dissemination of effective, equitable, and inclusive multimedia communication strategies;
• Supports all departments and schools throughout the Division in collaboration through content creation, graphic design, and strategic communication planning;
• Leads or supports committees and project teams responsible for public relations, marketing, and outreach to advance ACPS initiatives, professional development, and educational offerings;
• Evaluates communication practices and provides support to ensure teachers, staff, and division leadership are engaging communities consistent with the goals set forth in the Division’s strategic plan;
• Keeps informed on emerging technologies, developments, and best practices in the fields of public relations, community engagement, graphic design, and multimedia production;
• Represents the Office of Communication and Albemarle County Public Schools at regional or national conferences;
• Develops and implements a comprehensive strategic multimedia communication plan to support school division efforts in fulfilling the strategic plan’s mission, vision, values, and goals;
• Utilizes communication technologies to increase visibility and engagement between ACPS and the communities it serves;
• Monitors external communication channels to ensure that division leadership engages in dialogue with the community on issues related to the school division;
• Reviews school division web content and directs school principals and content managers on strategies and requirements to improve content;
• Directs school‑based Web Content Coordinators through the Academic Leadership Compensation Program (ALCP) and department‑based web content managers to ensure that school and department websites are current and in alignment with Division standards and requirements;
• Keeps up to date on industry accessibility and other best practices related to web content, graphic design, and new media communication channels;
• Coordinates and leads external communication projects with other departments and divisions;
• Represents the department as delegated on matters involving external communication and public relations best practices;
• Manages creation, curation, and archival of graphic, photographic, and video content to enhance published information;
• Creates and manages several recurring communication publications;
• Manages Division brand standards and consistent implementation across the school division;
• Assists with redacting information requested through FOIA;
• Drafts news articles and media alerts to create awareness of ACPS events and information;
• Works directly with members of the Cabinet and the School Board to develop presentations and other communications to strengthen public engagement;
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with absolute mastery of Associated Press (AP) Style and proofreading. Strong graphic design skills and high proficiency in design software (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite) and multimedia content creation. Deep understanding of website content management. Expertise in managing mass email communications, digital newsletters, and social media management platforms (e.g., Hootsuite, Sprout Social). Ability to translate complex educational policies or division initiatives into clear, accessible, and visually appealing content for the general public. Strong project management capabilities, including the ability to prioritize concurrent projects, manage a project budget, and meet strict deadlines. Ability to perform effectively under pressure, particularly during crisis situations, while maintaining professional composure.

Education And Experience

Any combination of education and experience equivalent to graduation from an accredited four‑year college or university with a degree preferably in Communications, Public Relations, Graphic Design, Marketing, Journalism, or a related field is required. Minimum of five years’ experience of a responsible nature in public relations, digital marketing, or corporate communications with a strong portfolio demonstrating graphic design and AP Style writing. Must include at least two years in a supervisory or project management capacity. Experience in K‑12 public education, local government, or non‑profit sector is preferred.

Physical Conditions And Nature Of Work Contacts

Work is typically performed in an office, conference room, school building and/or classroom with occasional walking, light lifting and other limited physical activities. Continuous ability to communicate by phone and email is necessary. Regular use of computers, keyboards, laser printers, etc. is necessary. Occasional use of digital cameras, digital video recorders, and digital audio recorders is necessary. Occasional operation of county vehicles to travel to locations throughout the county is required. Regular contact is made with internal departments and senior persons at all levels of county government and school division. Contacts are usually cooperative, however, require tact and diplomacy. External contacts with vendor companies and other information services agencies are necessary. Occasionally performs urgent tasks to meet organizational deadlines. Frequent work activity after normal duty hours but weekend and evening duties are necessary.