Director of Communications

Illinois Education Job Bank; Rock Island (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 108,000; Full time

Job summary

Illinois Education Job Bank seeks a Director of Communications to develop and implement district-wide strategic communications. You will coordinate internal and external messaging across all media, serving as liaison and spokesperson for the District.

You will lead media relations, crisis communications, social media strategy, and brand management, while supervising staff and managing the communications budget.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a public relations, communications, or marketing environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Clear and concise writing ability for many purposes (marketing, web, advertising, social media, etc.)
• Experience with media relations and crisis management.

Responsibilities

• Develops and directs the Districts strategic messaging and oversees all communications materials through all media.
• Oversees the development and maintenance of the corporate website, ensuring current and relevant content.
• Schedule posts and monitor social media to grow audience and engagement.

Skills

Oral communication

Written communication

Public relations

Media relations

Crisis management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in English/Communications/Marketing/Journalism

Tools

Graphic design software

Publication software

Video editing basics

Job description

Under the direction of the Superintendent, the Director of Communications develops and implements strategic communication initiatives and oversees the development, coordination, and dissemination of both internal and external communications across all media platforms. The Director serves as the District’s communications liaison and spokesperson, coordinates media relations, and leads communications during emergencies and other critical incidents.

Functions and Responsibilities:

Communications

• Develops and directs the Districts strategic messaging and oversees all communications materials through all media.
• Develops, composes, distributes, and implements policies to enhance the efficiency of the communications department and maintain a positive corporate brand.
• Oversees the development and maintenance of the corporate website, including methods to deliver messages, ease of navigation, and clarity of information; ensures that all content is current and relevant.

Social Media Management/Monitoring/Production:

• Schedule posts, gauge sentiment of social media topics, watch trends and look for ways to grow an audience through page likes/follows, investigate new social media channels to use for the District.
• Expand professional relationships with members of the local and regional media.
• Guide effective relationship-building to increase public support and understanding.
• Create written communications and craft responses to Web site form requests.

Media Relation/Crisis Communications/Issue Management:

• Work with individual schools, staff, and local media to develop positive stories about the school district.
• Prepare statements to advise/train staff in interviewing situations.
• Prepare messages for the emergency notification system (robocalls, texts, emails).
• Identifies, analyzes, responds to, and tracks issues facing the school district; troubleshoots negative impacts and mitigates if necessary.

Brand Management/Graphic Design:

• Photograph events, produce community newsletter layout, maintain/update Realtor information sheets, create graphics for social media, and maintain graphic standards.
• Conducts training on a variety of web-related topics.
• Develops, plans, and organizes significant school District events throughout the school year.
• Recommends and implements market research in support of the communications strategic plan/ objectives.

Leadership

• Serves as District Cabinet /executive member.
• Collaborates with executive leadership and Board of Education (BoE) to develop the District’s mission statement and vision.
• Oversees the District’s international translation and interpretation services and ensures effective communication goes out to multilingual families.
• Assists executive leadership in developing presentations, speeches, and other critical messages.
• Supports board policies.
• Provide training for cabinet-level staff.

Fiscal Responsibilities

• Prepares and manages the department budget.
• Processes and approves financial transactions.
• Ensures transactions are processed in a timely manner.
• Obtains appropriate approvals.

Supervision:

• Supervises staff in the communications department.
• Sets performance and deadlines in ways that comply with the Districts plans and vision.
• Organizes workflow and ensures that employee(s) understand their duties or delegated tasks.
• Monitors employee productivity and provides constructive feedback and coaching.
• Communicate regularly with employee(s) to ensure that assignments/tasks are being completed.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree in English/Communications/Marketing/Journalism

Salary/Benefits

$90,258 - $107,915

Additional Notes

Required Experience/Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a public relations, communications, or marketing environment/organization or industry.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Clear and concise writing ability for many purposes (marketing, web, advertising, social media, etc.
• Experience with media relations and crisis management.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent oral, written, and presentation skills and the ability to build and retain positive relationships.
• High degree of creativity, energy, self-motivation and initiative.
• Comprehensive knowledge of publication and graphic design software.
• Basic knowledge of video recording/editing equipment/software.
• Critical thinking.
• Ability to resolve complex issues with diplomacy.
• Ability to multitask.
• Demonstrates the ability to work with people from various ethnic groups and cultures.