Director of Marketing and Communications

The Ancona School

About The Ancona School:

The Ancona School is a 21st century independent school for preschool through 8th grade students located in Chicago's historic Hyde Park-Kenwood community. Since its founding in 1962, Ancona has been a leader in providing a thoughtful, experiential and multicultural education to a diverse population of learners. The school combines the best of Montessori and progressive educational traditions with innovative teaching and curriculum in open, multi-age classrooms. Ancona graduates go on to Chicago’s most selective public, independent and parochial high schools. Outstanding teachers, active parent involvement and a true concern for social justice distinguish our community of learners.

https://anconaschool.org

Position Details

Director of Marketing and Communications
Job
Full-time
3/22/2019
Chicago Illinois
Chicago, IL

Summary/Objective:

The Ancona School is hiring a Director of Marketing and Communications to start June, 2019. The Director of Marketing and Communications will build Ancona’s brand and elevate the visibility of the school to drive strong enrollment and philanthropic support. The Director of Marketing and Communications will oversee the School’s external communications, marketing, PR, graphic design, and website. They will also play a key role in prospective student recruitment and fundraising. This position is a part of the School’s Leadership Team and will work closely with the Director of External Affairs, the Director of Admissions, and the Head of School.

Duties Include:

External Communications

  • Create, schedule, and send all external communications, including: Weekly parent newsletter, Quarterly alumni and friends newsletter, Monthly update from the Head of School, Monthly Prospective Parent Newsletter, Spring/summer New Parent Newsletter, Annual Report, Event invitations, Crisis communication, and Other stand-alone emails, as needed.
  • Develop and maintain the school-wide communications plan matrix in collaboration other communications stakeholders 
  • Support and troubleshoot third-party communication tools, i.e. Mailchimp

Marketing

  • Create and execute an enrollment marketing strategy for the school 
  • Manage print, digital, and radio ad campaigns as well as profiles on third-party websites 
  • Curate and maintain the brand, logo, and work mark, ensuring school-wide adoption and consistency 
  • Develop a social media marketing strategy, and manage the school’s social media presence 
  • Select Ancona-branded swag for prospective families and events 
  • Lead the Marketing Task Force, which includes members of the Board of Trustees and the Ancona parent community 
  • Manage relationships with outside agencies and vendors associated with marketing campaigns 
  • Maintain the Ancona style guide

Public Relations

  • Author press releases 
  • Foster relationships with media outlets 
  • Pitch stories about Ancona events in order to elevate the school’s local and national profile

Graphic Design

  • Design large projects, including admissions materials and major event programs 
  • Create print and digital advertising design templates, and delegate design projects as needed 
  • Manage and oversee all creative projects

Website

  • Serve as lead content manager for the school’s website 
  • Plan and execute design revisions, as needed, and work in collaboration with the Director of Technology on the functionality and ongoing development and maintenance of all aspects of the school’s overall web presence 
  • Manage search engine optimization (SEO)

Prospective Student Recruitment

  • Represent Ancona at neighborhood events 
  • Recruit prospective applicants in conjunction with the Director of Admissions 
  • Support the Director of Admissions during admissions interview season and serve as a backup interviewer, as needed

Fundraising

  • Manage the Annual Fund solicitation process 
  • Create and send major gifts final reports

Preferred Skills and Competencies:

  • Passion for the mission and vision of the Ancona School 
  • Natural extrovert with excellent interpersonal, collaboration, and relationship-building skills 
  • Outstanding written and oral communicator 
  • Strong organizational and presentation skills 
  • Knowledge of both traditional and emerging marketing channels 
  • Emotionally mature with a very good sense of humor and the flexibility and sensitivity to work with diverse personalities and situations 
  • Tech-savvy and experienced in the Mac platform and a variety of software, including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, WordPress, and Mailchimp (or comparable) 
  • Handles crises and change with integrity and regard for confidentiality 
  • Experience with photography and videography a plus

Preferred Education and Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in related field required, graduate degree preferred, or equivalent experience 
  • Minimum of four years of related experience 
  • Demonstrated success in a non-profit or independent school environment

EEO Statement:

It is the policy of Ancona School not to discriminate against any employee or any applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, handicap, sex, physical condition, developmental disability, sexual orientation or national origin. This policy shall include, but not be limited to, the following: recruitment and employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, selection for training including apprenticeship, layoff, and termination.


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