Senior Director, Executive Communications - 22732

AMENDED

Position Summary: As the largest public school system in the United States, the NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) is a complex, fast-moving system devoted to providing a great education to its nearly 1 million students in over 1,800 schools. The Division of Family and Community Engagement and External Affairs is responsible for promoting the school system’s news, services, programs, and policies, and actively engaging the NYCPS’s internal and external audiences.

The Senior Director, Executive Communications supports the vision of the school chancellor and the work of the NYCPS by creating and ensuring that agency messaging effectively engages with a wide range of audiences, from families, students, and educators to elected officials, policymakers, community partners, and the general public. A central goal of this work is to change the narrative about the NYCPS by highlighting success stories and sharing the Chancellor’s vision and initiatives that demonstrate how we are reimagining the student experience. The position requires excellent writing, editing, and leadership skills; a strong understanding of education policy; exceptional creativity in developing ideas for compelling output; previous experience in communications, speechwriting, or journalism; and comfort with working on a variety of platforms, including print and digital. Performs related work.

Reports to: Executive Director of Communications and Media Relations, Communications Office

Direct Reports: Copy Writer

Key Relationships: Works closely with the Chancellor’s Office, Director of Digital Communications, and the Deputy Chancellor of Family and Community Engagement and External Affairs.

Responsibilities

• Draft speeches, talking points, scripts, letters to internal and external stakeholders, and other related materials in a voice that humanizes the work of NYCPS and is accessible to families and the public.
• Conduct research to support and strengthen prepared remarks as needed.
• Edit remarks, talking points, scripts and other content written by speechwriters on the team.
• In collaboration with the press office, develop a strategic plan to position NYCPS senior leaders as a thought partner in education, elevating their visibility and voice citywide and nationally.
• Contribute content and manage the editorial calendar for PS+You, the Chancellor’s weekly email to families.
• Help drive content strategy decisions across the agency, ensuring internal and external communications reflect the Chancellor’s voice, vision, mission, and priorities.
• Work with content experts to gather information and details to ensure senior leaders are prepared to deliver impactful and engaging messages in public and private speaking engagements that focus on the agency’s priority areas.
• Work closely with the Executive Director of Communications and Media Relations and senior leaders to create messaging that is accurate, accessible, and culturally sensitive to all audiences, in line with NYCPS’ multilingual approach to engagement.
• Edit communication materials, including remarks and testimony, written by other teams to ensure that the text is appropriate and reflects the voice and values of NYCPS.
• Train team members in crafting effective written communications that reflect the Chancellor’s voice and vision.
• Oversee and disseminate NYCPS style guide.
• Set editorial goals and measure progress and results, where possible.
• Assist the Executive Director of Communications and Media Relations in rapid response to breaking news or crisis communication.
• Lead other editorial projects, as needed.
  
  

Qualification Requirements

Minimum

• Graduation from an accredited college with a baccalaureate degree and four (4) years of full-time paid supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial or executive experience of a nature appropriate to the duties of the position, such as budgeting, personnel, public relations, education or equivalent, or four (4) years of full-time paid experience as assistant to an executive in one of the fields described above, or a satisfactory equivalent; or
• High school graduation or equivalent and eight (8) years of full-time, paid experience as described in “1” above; or
• A satisfactory equivalent combination of post baccalaureate education and experience. However, all candidates must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent as described in “2” above.
  
  

Plus

• Excellent spoken and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work collaboratively with staff to brainstorm, problem-solve, and execute projects.
• Ability to start and cultivate positive working relationships with team members and other parties within the agency.
• Strong organizational and critical thinking/problem-solving skills; ability to identify potential solutions to problems and make quality, rational decisions under pressure.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment; commitment to meeting deadlines and improving processes.
• Strong strategic thinking skills, including the ability to see how high-quality editorial content can help achieve an organization’s strategic objectives.
  
  

Preferred

• Experience within a large, complex organization in a communications or editorial capacity.
• Familiarity with education issues, locally and nationally, with a passion for public policy.
• Strong leadership and organizational skills.
• Commitment to improving public education and ensuring all students have access to a high-quality school.
• Flexibility, creativity, and ability to work well under pressure.
• Familiarity with social media platforms, such as Facebook and X.
  
  

Salary: $144,962 - $175,000

(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

• New York City Residency is NOT Required *
  
  

We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DOE Non- Discrimination Policy

The Department of Education of the City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's actual or perceived sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or pregnancy. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.