Community Engagement Coordinator (Development, Events, Media

Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame; Petoskey, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Michael High School, a Chesterton Academy in Petoskey, Michigan, seeks a Community Engagement Coordinator to strengthen donor relations, coordinate events, and support enrollment and marketing efforts. The role requires collaborative work with the Development Director, Headmaster, and leadership team.

The successful candidate will be a motivated communicator, highly organized, and passionate about Catholic education and community outreach across the Little Traverse Bay region.

Qualifications

• A faith-based Catholic education mission and strong communication skills.
• Experience in fundraising, development, or admissions is preferred.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

Responsibilities

• Donor Engagement & Development: Cultivate relationships with current and prospective donors.
• Event Planning & Coordination: Oversee fundraising, community, admissions, and special events.
• Recruitment & Enrollment: Support student recruitment and enrollment efforts with prospective families.
• Marketing & Promotion: Support marketing communications and outreach to families and donors.

Skills

Donor relations

Event planning

Marketing

Communications

Relationship building

Organization

Job description

Position: Community Engagement Coordinator

Employment: Full-time

Location: Petoskey, Michigan

Reports to: Development Director & Headmaster

Key Collaborators: Executive Director, Headmaster, Office Manager, and Leadership Team

This is a highly collaborative position with significant responsibility for building relationships, coordinating initiatives, supporting enrollment, and communicating the mission and story of St. Michael High School to the community.

SMHS is a private, independent Classical high school (9th through 12th grades) located in beautiful Petoskey, Michigan. We serve an ever-expanding network of families along the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Little Traverse Bay communities of Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs and beyond.

Our school has a member of its Board of Directors appointed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord. It is the only high school in the Little Traverse Bay region that teaches in the Catholic tradition and is the only high school in Northern Michigan with a classical curriculum.

Detailed description

Community Engagement Coordinator

(focus areas: Development, Event planning, & Marketing)

St. Michael High School, a Chesterton Academy in Petoskey, Michigan, is seeking a dynamic, organized, and mission-driven Community Engagement Coordinator to join our team full-time.

This position will play a key role in strengthening relationships with donors and supporters, coordinating school events, supporting student recruitment and enrollment, and helping promote the mission and story of St. Michael High School throughout our community.

Working closely with the Executive/Development Director, Headmaster, Office Manager, and school leadership team, this individual will serve as an important connector between the school, its families, benefactors, prospective families, and the broader community.

The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and relationship-builder who is highly organized, proactive, personable, and passionate about Catholic education and the mission of St. Michael High School and the Chesterton Academy network.

Key Responsibilities

Donor Engagement & Development

Working under the direction of the Development Director, the ideal candidate will:

• Assist with cultivating and strengthening relationships with current and prospective donors.
• Support donor communications, stewardship, acknowledgments, and follow-up.
• Help coordinate donor meetings, outreach, and engagement activities.
• Maintain accurate donor and supporter records and assist with development-related administrative tasks.
• Assist with annual giving campaigns, fundraising initiatives, and other development efforts.
• Help identify opportunities to deepen donor involvement and strengthen the school's culture of philanthropy.
• Represent St. Michael High School professionally and warmly in interactions with benefactors, alumni, families, and community supporters.

Event Planning & Coordination

Working in coordination with the leadership team and Office Manager, the ideal candidate will:

• Oversee the planning and execution of fundraising, community, admissions, and special events.
• Develop event timelines, checklists, budgets, communications, and logistics.
• Coordinate with faculty, staff, volunteers, vendors, families, and community partners.
• Ensure events are welcoming, professional, mission-aligned, and well organized.
• Assist with post-event follow-up, including donor stewardship and evaluation.

Recruitment & Enrollment

Working closely with the Office Manager and Headmaster, the Coordinator will support student recruitment and enrollment efforts by:

• Assisting with prospective-family communications and follow-up.
• Helping coordinate open houses, information nights, shadow days, campus visits, and other admissions events.
• Supporting timely and welcoming communication with prospective students and their families.
• Helping develop and maintain recruitment materials and outreach initiatives.
• Assisting with tracking prospective-family engagement and enrollment activity.
• Identifying opportunities to increase awareness of St. Michael High School among prospective families, parishes, homeschool communities, and other appropriate audiences.
• Helping ensure that prospective families experience a warm, organized, and mission-focused admissions process.

Marketing & Promotion

Working with the leadership team, the Coordinator will help advance the public presence and reputation of St. Michael High School by:

• Assisting with the development and implementation of the school's marketing and communications strategy.
• Creating and coordinating promotional materials for school programs, events, fundraising initiatives, and admissions.
• Supporting social media, email communications, website content, newsletters, and other communication channels.
• Gathering stories, photographs, testimonials, and other content that highlight the life and mission of the school.
• Ensuring communications consistently reflect the school's Catholic identity, mission, values, and culture.
• Helping promote school events, accomplishments, and opportunities to families, prospective families, donors, alumni, parish communities, and the broader community.
• Collaborating with members of the leadership team to ensure consistent messaging and branding.

Qualifications & Skills

The successful candidate will ideally possess the following attributes:

• A faithful, practicing Catholic
• A genuine enthusiasm for the mission of Catholic education and a desire to contribute to the growth and success of St. Michael High School.
• A warm, professional, and welcoming demeanor.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building abilities.
• Exceptional organization and attention to detail.
• Have the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong initiative and the ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a team.
• Experience in fundraising, development, event planning, admissions, marketing, communications, or a related field is preferred.
• Familiarity with social media, email marketing, website content management, and common office technology.
• Comfort working with donors, families, volunteers, community members, and school leadership.

Mission & Culture

St. Michael High School is a Chesterton Academy committed to providing an education rooted in the Catholic intellectual and moral tradition and forming young men and women in faith, virtue, and wisdom.

The Community Engagement Coordinator will be an important ambassador for the school, helping cultivate the relationships, events, communications, and outreach that allow St. Michael to thrive.