Director of Communications

New York, NY

ABOUT ST. LUKE’S SCHOOL

Independent, Day School for JK – Grade 8 (www.stlukeschool.org)

An independent, coeducational Episcopal day school in the West Village (New York, NY), St. Luke’s School offers a balanced and challenging Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8 curriculum that serves students of all faiths and spiritual practices. Small by intent and design, St. Luke’s size promotes openness, accessibility, and collaboration. St. Luke’s students and faculty come from a variety of backgrounds - we value, seek and encourage an enriching and diverse community. 

ABOUT THE JOB

Job Snapshot

FSLA Status: Full-time, Exempt

Reports To: Chief Community Officer

Start Date: July 1, 2024

Salary Range: $100,000-150,000 (depends on years of experience)

Benefits (include but not limited to): Paid Time Off, Professional Development, Health Insurance, Retirement, Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Lunch Program

St. Luke’s School seeks a Director of Communications who is visionary, experienced, and passionate about storytelling in all its forms. We’re looking for a communications professional who will amplify the voices of our community and find opportunities for our mission and our children to be the heartbeat of the story we tell about the school. 

Responsibilities & Expectations

• Act as a steward of St. Luke’s School’s messaging and branding. Think strategically and holistically about the communications department and its involvement with the school and related constituents. 
• Be a strong, skilled writer and editor. In all written communications, the Director should be invested in clarity, precision, and correctness while cultivating a consistent and characteristic St. Luke’s voice.
• Have a clear and decisive sense of design that aligns or can be aligned with our aesthetic.
• Work well under pressure individually and with our leadership team, and be a reflexive, adaptive thinker who can work collaboratively and creatively.
• Have strong leadership skills.
• Be dexterous with photography and graphic design and excited about being on the ground among our students and community members, capturing the magic of St. Luke’s.
• Put the St. Luke’s stamp on internal and external communications, making our voice, image, tone, and brand consistent across all platforms. 
• Oversee community messages, social media channels, and our online presence, and work directly with the Communications Manager to generate and edit content and copy.
• Work in partnership with the Communications Manager, teachers, division heads, and other members of the St. Luke’s community, seeking to accurately and comprehensively cover all important events and celebrations of learning. 
• Lead projects and manage meetings and agendas related to the Communications Department initiatives.
• Generate lively, authentic, diverse content for our social media channels consistently – always to be a seeker of stories and an innovator. Partner with students to highlight and amplify their voices. 
• Open a window into the daily experiences of St. Luke’s students for parents, alumni, prospective families, and other important constituents. 
• Collaborate with the Head of School and Admissions & Development Departments on Marketing strategy.
• Collaborate with the Technology Department on systems integration with the website related to communications and aesthetics.
• Serve on the Risk Assessment Task Force, maintain a network of other communication directors in the independent school world, and work with outside PR agencies, especially in relation to crisis communications.
• Bring together members of our leadership team to ensure all departments feel seen, heard, and represented by our communications department, and draw from their knowledge to improve our practices. 
• Manage the Communications Manager’s media integration across classes and divisions to improve students’ media literacy and bring their voices and choices into our social media platforms.
• Oversee the department to ensure we cover all important school events and activities; photograph as much school life as possible; film performances as needed; bring in contractors for higher-level projects, such as large-scale marketing design, professional videography, professional photography, and professional branding consultancy; design posters, graphics, and other promotional material; maintain a presence in the private school marketing realm and seek new advertising opportunities; maintain and update the website and seek new ways to bring our school to the forefront of digital visibility; and more.
• Stay current with media, marketing, and communications trends, innovations, and best practices.
• Most of all, strive to bring forward St. Luke’s story in all they do, and to honor what makes our school unique.

All Employee Expectations

• Commitment to the St. Luke’s School mission, values, institutional goals, and educational philosophy. Understanding and commitment to the community standards of compassion, dignity, excellence, honesty, and respect.
• Commitment to forwarding equity goals, nurturing belonging, and working in and fostering an inclusive community by applying skills, values, and principles that acknowledge, respect, contribute, and work effectively across differences.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, integrity, and strong work ethic.
• Strong collaboration skills. Working collaboratively with other faculty, specialists, and staff in a small, close-knit, creatively energetic environment. Fosters a partnership between faculty and staff to create a positive environment for students’ academic and social-emotional learning.
• Ability to work creatively and with a sense of urgency to make sound decisions, take initiative, and prioritize tasks.
• Attention to detail and resourcefulness.
• An interest in and openness to professional growth and development. Desire and ability to embrace continuing education in the field. Participate and attend workshops, conferences, and other training.
• A sense of joy and wonder and an optimistic attitude. Works in a collegial manner with co-workers and community members.
• Warm, welcoming, and helpful demeanor with a good sense of humor, energy, and patience.
• Ability to be self-motivated. Flexibility and willingness to change. Ability to pivot as changes are made or needed in order to fit the school’s current needs or adjustments to protocols. Be present at the school during the required work hours.
• Perform additional duties, such as morning, recess, lunch and participate in the life of the school. Be present and on-time to assigned duties.
• Participate in and attend faculty/staff meetings and committees, including school-wide initiatives about issues of equity, pedagogy and curriculum.
• Participate in the life of the school, including attendance at required events such as curriculum night, parent conferences, grade-level cocktail party, Christmas Fair, Spring Benefit, and school games and events.
• Ability and willingness to occasionally work outside of the workday or work week for special programs, events, and meetings is required.
• Enforce school policies and rules with students.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite. Technological savvy and strong proficiency in Google environment, Excel, and database programs, as well as interest and ability to learn new technology platforms and systems.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent
• Minimum of 3 years of communications or marketing experience.

TO APPLY

St. Luke’s requires all applicants to apply online. Applications must be submitted in order to be considered. Please direct all questions to Peggy Chen, Human Resources, at 212.924.5960 or hr@stlukeschool.org

St. Luke's School is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment. St. Luke's School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or any other category protected by local, state or federal law in its employment and administration policies, scholarship program, or admission policies. It is the policy of St. Luke's School to recruit, train, hire, promote, and otherwise attend to all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or any other category protected by local, state or federal law.