Director, Communications and Strategy

The Colorado Education Initiative; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Colorado Education Initiative seeks a Director of Communications and Strategy to provide strategic leadership for CEI's narrative and communications work across Colorado. Reporting to the VP of Strategy, the director will lead strategy execution, elevate district impact stories, and steward CEI's brand.

The ideal candidate brings 10+ years in strategic communications, deep knowledge of Colorado PK-12 landscapes, and strong leadership to partner with senior leaders and guide external storytelling.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategic communications, narrative, marketing, PR, or related field.
• Substantive understanding of Colorado's PK-12 education landscape and district systems.
• Ability to translate complex priorities into compelling external communications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the execution and evolution of CEI's communications strategy and narrative across Colorado.
• Shape thought leadership and develop high-impact school district stories aligned with priorities.
• Oversee the communications team, set direction, and develop staff.
• steward CEI's brand and external voice and partner with senior leaders.

Skills

Strategic Communications Leadership

Narrative and Storytelling

Judgment and Autonomy

Cross-Functional Partnership

Brand Stewardship

Team Leadership and Execution

Job description

Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) seeks a Director of Communications and Strategy to provide strategic leadership for CEI's narrative and communications work. Reporting to the Vice President of Strategy, the Director will lead the execution and evolution of CEI's communications strategy, translating organizational priorities and evidence into a coherent external narrative and elevating stories of school district impact across Colorado.

The ideal candidate is an experienced strategic communications leader with strong judgment, substantive understanding of Colorado's PK-12 education landscape and school and district systems, and the ability to move fluidly between strategy and execution. The Director will serve as a senior thought partner to CEI leadership, steward CEI's brand and external voice, and lead and develop the communications team.

In addition to the qualifications described throughout, the candidate demonstrates strong alignment with CEI's District Systems Change Outcomes Framework, which defines the district-level systems conditions that enable sustained innovation and improvement in PK-12 public schools. The candidate is excited to join a team grounded in CEI's core mindsets: Dream Big & Act with Purpose, Service & Partnership Oriented, and Listen Deeply & Improve with Intention.

CEI’s mission is to champion, empower, and ignite Colorado leaders to deliver on the promise of public education to develop thriving young people and flourishing communities. CEI is a nonprofit organization that works across the state as an implementation expert, strategic partner, and statewide convener. Over the past 19 years, we have partnered directly with educators and community members in over 150 urban, suburban, and rural school districts across Colorado, and we currently partner with more than 80 school districts. In addition to our field implementation work, we engage in important policy and innovation agendas in Colorado. Our success is driven by a passionate team of diverse individuals who truly enjoy working together.

We are committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work that we support across Colorado. We seek to identify and embed equity-seeking practices in our culture and talent systems and have made a focused set of investments in the related professional development of our team. We believe our work demands this because of the historic and current experiences in the school systems in which we operate and because we believe the outcomes that we seek for students require the prioritization of equity. In all roles, we welcome candidates who are eager to participate in and contribute to this work and whose lived experiences deepen our perspectives on the education system.

Responsibilities

Narrative and Communications Strategy

Leads the execution and continued evolution of CEI's narrative and communications strategy, advancing a positive, proactive narrative about public education and elevating school district impact:

• Makes strategic decisions about messaging, positioning, audiences, channels, and content in partnership with the Vice President of Strategy.
• Identifies and responds to emerging opportunities and risks in the external education, policy, and media landscape.
• Leads CEI's media engagement strategy and prepares senior leaders to represent CEI effectively with external audiences.

Thought Leadership and Content Development

Shapes and advances CEI's thought leadership, translating the organization's work, evidence, and perspective into compelling content and stories that influence key audiences:

• Partners across CEI to identify the ideas, evidence, and stories most important to elevate externally.
• Leads development of high‑impact thought leadership and school district stories that advance CEI's strategic priorities and strengthen confidence in public education.
• Advises senior leaders on messaging, positioning, and opportunities to contribute CEI's perspective to important conversations.

Communications Team Leadership

Oversees CEI's communications team, currently including an Assistant Director of Communications and a part-time (0.5 FTE) Communications Manager, setting direction and creating the conditions for high-quality execution and staff development

• Sets priorities and quality standards, ensuring team capacity is aligned to organizational priorities.
• Supervises, coaches, and develops communications team members, supporting both strong performance and professional growth.
• Leads strategic communications projects for the organization, including partnership with and counsel to external partners as needed.

Brand Stewardship and Organizational Alignment

Stewards CEI's brand and communications practice across the organization, strengthening alignment and capacity for coherent external communication:

• Establishes standards and ways of working that enable teams to communicate effectively and consistently while maintaining appropriate autonomy.
• Partners with senior leaders and teams across CEI to strengthen organizational storytelling and alignment around key priorities.
• Assesses the effectiveness of CEI's communications efforts and uses learning to inform ongoing strategy.
• Represents CEI in partnership convenings, including those related to state policy decisions.

Organizational Leadership and Culture

Contributes as an organizational leader beyond the communications function:

• Actively contributes to the development and strengthening of CEI's culture.
• Supports new business development efforts aligned to organizational strategy and communications, in partnership with CEI's development team.

Qualifications:

A successful candidate will bring 10+ years of experience in strategic communications, narrative, marketing, public relations, or a related field, including demonstrated ownership of communications or narrative strategy. They will bring substantive understanding of Colorado's PK-12 education landscape and the realities of school and district systems, along with the judgment to translate complex organizational priorities into compelling communications for key audiences. They will be an experienced people leader and collaborative, assets‑based partner who operates with both strategic perspective and strong accountability for results.

• Strategic Communications Leadership: Ability to set direction, make strategic choices, and translate organizational priorities into a coherent communications approach.
• Narrative and Storytelling: Skill in identifying what matters and shaping complex ideas, evidence, and stories into compelling narratives.
• Judgment and Autonomy: Ability to anticipate relevance, exercise sound judgment, and navigate complex and evolving contexts with appropriate autonomy.
• Cross‑Functional Partnership: Ability to build trust and work effectively across teams and with senior leaders and external partners to advance shared priorities.
• Brand Stewardship: Strong command of organizational voice and brand, with the ability to maintain coherence while adapting appropriately across audiences and contexts.
• Team Leadership and Execution: Demonstrated ability to set clear expectations, develop people, and enable a team to deliver high‑quality work.

Compensation:

• Full‑time position.
• Salary commensurate with experience in a range of $105,000-$120,000.
• The person in this role must be available and willing to travel as needed. This is a Colorado-based position, which includes both remote and required in‑person hours at CEI’s Denver office. Some flexible scheduling is available.

CEI is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. CEI strives to be an inclusive organization, and, as such, takes affirmative action to ensure that discrimination does not occur against an employee or applicant on the basis of race, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation, disability, or any other classification considered discriminatory under applicable law.