Director of Marketing and Communications

Position Title: Director of Marketing and Communications

Mission: Drew knows and believes in teenagers. We engage each student in a process of intellectual discovery to develop an individual voice, the confidence to express it, and the empathy to understand its impact.

Drew. What High School Should Be.

Founded in 1908, Drew is an innovative, progressive, independent high school located in the heart of San Francisco. Drew’s experienced, dedicated, and passionate faculty and dynamic student body form the core of Drew’s supportive and engaging community. Drew aims to foster and develop each student’s individual voice, encouraging each student to engage in a process of intellectual discovery, personal growth, and empathic learning. Drew’s curriculum focuses on experiential learning, global awareness, local community involvement, citizenship, and support of individual talents and strengths.

General summary

This is an exciting opportunity for a communications professional to join an innovative, mission-driven school in San Francisco and advance the school’s brand and strengthen its market position.

The Director of Marketing and Communications will work to align the school with its core values and advance brand positioning by developing and executing communication strategies and programs that will enhance Drew’s brand reputation, drive the institution’s growth, and improve stakeholder experience.

As a member of the school’s leadership team, and in close collaboration with the Director of Admissions and Director of Advancement, the Director of Marketing and Communications will promote deeper community engagement and improved visibility to positively impact enrollment and fundraising initiatives.

The candidate will be expected to work without a support staff so must be eager to roll up their sleeves to get work done at both the strategic and executional levels.

Essential duties and responsibilities

Design, implement, and manage the school’s strategic marketing and branding plan and work with departments to ensure consistency of its application – particularly around brand voice and visual identity.

Develop compelling marketing and brand goals, as well as associated key performance indicators across critical functions including academics, admissions, advancement, student life, and athletics.

Understand, analyze, and monitor market trends and brand positioning in the San Francisco independent school market bringing perspective to strategic growth conversations.

Manage the significant volume of school communications to a wide range of community stakeholders (faculty, staff, board, parents/guardians, students, alumnae and prospective families) and evaluate the impact of such communications through metric analysis.

Serve as the school’s social media leader, evaluating and redesigning Drew’s social media strategy and plan; stay current on trends in social media; make suggestions for new ideas or platforms; oversee social media postings and content creation.

Lead the editorial direction, design, production, and distribution of all print, video, digital, and social media content/channels; including the weekly newsletter to the community.

Manage and elevate the school’s brand identity by reviewing, filtering, and editing all communication and marketing materials, and by maintaining the style guide for proper use throughout the school community.

Create content for and manage school websites (drewschool.org on Blackbaud platform and admissions.drewschool.org on Finalsite platform).

Maintain/update internal website (DrewNet) for relevant communications content (calendars, events, announcements, etc.) and partner with the IT department to determine best internal communication tools.

Support Head of School in writing and presentation materials.

Guide public relations and develop journalistic relationships to secure earned media.

Manage quick response/crisis communications efforts.

Collect, create, and maintain a digital library of photographic and video images of school life.

Approve and manage external vendors contractors for production of content, including printers, designers, photographers and videographers.

Qualifications and Skills

A strategic, mission-driven individual with a strong understanding of branding, communication, and public relations.

A dynamic storyteller and strong writer with the ability to fully embody and sustain a credible brand voice through outstanding communication and copy-editing skills.

Digitally savvy with a strong design aesthetic and a working knowledge of Canva, Illustrator, Blackbaud, FinalSite, social media platforms.

Strong interpersonal skills that can engage various stakeholders in the school community.

A consummate team player who can move fluidly from the strategic to the executional and back.

Ability to multitask, manage and prioritize competing demands.

Experience in social media strategy development and deployment.

Experience in content creation, design, and production.

Experience in independent schools is a plus.

Experience in a public relations/communications agency is a plus.

Drew offers competitive compensation, including a generous benefits package that contains medical, dental, and vision insurance in addition to other coverages. Drew’s benefits package also includes a retirement plan with matching for those eligible.

Drew School is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to creating an identity-safe school, where all members of the community find opportunities for belonging and growth. The Drew School welcomes to its community those of any race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national and ethnic origin. Drew actively seeks to create a more diverse school community and as such, we encourage people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and marginalized communities to apply.