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Teach For America

Vice President, National Communications and Engagement (Flexible; NYC or DC Preferred)

The Role

The Vice President, National Communications and Engagement, will be a distinctive thought leader and people leader who can manage complex internal and external dynamics. S/he will have the ability to communicate with clarity and conviction Teach For America’s mission and impact to a broad range of internal and external constituents, and empower others to do the same. S/he will be able to build strong relationships and operate at ease with influential leaders. The successful candidate will be politically savvy and strategic, able to steward a narrative of Teach For America that transcends a political paradigm of being either left or right leaning. S/he will be highly effective in cultivating and managing media relationships. S/he will demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness across all types of communities and lines of difference. Just as importantly, the Vice President will believe deeply that education is an essential element in the effort to expand human and civil rights and that Teach For America is vital to continued progress in this effort.

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The Vice President, National Communications and Engagement, will report to the Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, and serve as a member of Teach For America’s Operating Team. S/he also oversees a team of approximately 15, with five direct reports.

The Team

Marketing & Communications

Our team’s mission is to build an understanding of educational inequity and Teach For America’s work. Our Communications sub-team generates media coverage that increases awareness of TFA and the broader movement to close the opportunity gap. Our Marketing sub-team is focused on inspiring people to take action by crafting stories and sharing the experiences of our teachers, alumni, and communities through multi-channel integrated marketing campaigns. And, our Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships sub-team builds and fosters strong foundational relationships within the broader coalition of individuals and organizations committed to ending educational inequity.

Qualifications:

Primary Responsibilities

The Vice President of National Communications and Engagement oversees the development and execution of Teach For America’s national voice and communications strategy as well as guiding and managing Teach For America’s relationship with national media outlets as the organization’s primary spokesperson, in addition to our CEO.

Leadership and Management

  • Set the vision and direction for the National Communications and Engagement team and evolve the structures and processes that enable the team to lead and support the entire organization
  • Develop an inclusive team culture that draws on a diverse range of perspectives and supports and inspires people to do their best work
  • Effectively manage the team’s activities with wisdom, poise, purpose, and clarity to ensure the team delivers fully against its vision and charge, in concert with the broader Marketing and Communications team
  • Attract, retain, and develop a strong, talented, and diverse team
  • Strengthen alignment, cohesion and culture across Marketing and Communications as a member of the five-person Leadership Team

Strategic Communications

  • Guide the development of Teach For America’s national voice, narrative and messaging to build awareness, understanding, and support for the mission, and support regional leaders to adapt the narrative and messages to their local contexts
  • Develop a rapid response and crisis communications operation
  • Oversee the integrated communications plan for engaging a base of more than 55,000 corps members, alumni and staff, partnering with the M&C leadership team as well as regional and national team leaders
  • Oversee the integrated communications plan for inspiring more than 40,000 applicants to Teach For America each year, partnering with the M&C and Recruitment leadership teams
  • Drive alignment between Teach For America’s live-events, CEO communications, constituent engagement and national communications strategy

Internal and External Relations

  • Serve as an on-the-record spokesperson for the organization
  • With a digital-first orientation, proactively pitch news and editorial content, cultivate and strengthen relationships with key influencers, and prepare staff and corps members to interact with the media
  • Oversee the strategy for leveraging Teach For America’s CEO to drive national messages while working to establish her as a national thought leader in education
  • Develop and steward a surrogate strategy, working closely with regional leaders
  • Advise critical Teach For America teams – including community partnerships, government affairs, policy, and legal affairs, as well as regional and national teams that support corps members and alumni – to integrate a broad scope of public engagement work

Requirements

Prior Experience

  • Significant senior leadership and management experience in strategic communications for a large national organization; background in political communications preferred
  • A track record of leveraging internal and external communications (with specific savvy optimizing digital channels) to effectively navigate a complex and/or polarized landscape
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively manage rapid response and crisis communications
  • Demonstrated strength in building relationships, influencing others, and moving fluidly among a wide variety of stakeholders and situations
  • Demonstrated ability to publicly position an organization and its executive leaders at the forefront of issues on a national stage; experience positioning issues and/or organizations with millennial / genZ markets
  • Proven experience as a manager of teams who can attract and retain top staff; create clarity in internal and external ambiguity; and develop, motivate, and unify the team
  • Dedication to building and fostering an inclusive, cohesive, and vibrant team culture, and empowering those within the team and across the organization
  • Deep familiarity with, and relationships in, the education sector and national news media

Skills

Key Personal Attributes include:

  • A passion for educational equity, with a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
  • Ability to think big, generate ideas, and drive solutions to complex problems in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
  • Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including all aspects of content creation and editorial development
  • Skill in the art of persuasion, with a deep sense of humility and openness to the perspectives of others
  • A strong sense of possibility in the face of obstacles and ability to balance short- and long-term results
  • A commitment to constant learning and interest in understanding the multiple dimensions of education reform success and failure in communities across the country.

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree required preferably in Communications or Public Relations; advanced degree preferred

Work Demands

  • Ability to travel regularly or ~1-2 times/month
  • Ability to work some weekends and evenings

Apply Now

To be considered for this role, you must submit an online application, as well as a tailored cover letter detailing your interest in the role. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the link to the online application. For more information, please contact staffing@teachforamerica.org or visit www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/careers.

Benefits and Salary

Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package is included. Learn more at www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/careers/employee-benefits.

Commitment to Diversity and Equal Opportunity Employment Policy

Teach For America encourages individuals of all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort. Learn more about our diversity on staff: www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/careers/life-at-tfa/workforce-diversity-and-inclusiveness.

Teach For America is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

This job description reflects Teach For America’s assignment of essential functions and qualifications of the role. Nothing in this herein restricts management’s right to assign, reassign or eliminate duties and responsibilities to this role at any time.

Job ID: d3807ecd0f0989bdf482ef7d6b38f009
Employment Type: Other

This job is no longer available.

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