Manager of Public Affairs, Philadelphia School Partnership

Posted by Philadelphia School Partnership on April 17, 2017

Organization Summary
The Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) works to give every child in America’s fifth largest city the opportunity to attend a great school. We invest philanthropic funds in high-impact schools so they can serve more low-income students—whether they be in the traditional public, public charter or private sectors. Our aim is to catalyze the creation or transformation of enough schools to ensure better options for 50,000 students, or nearly one in four of all Philadelphia schoolchildren. Since 2011 PSP has invested in more than 50 schools, creating new educational opportunity for 25,000 students. PSP also works to create the conditions that enable great schools to grow and thrive, including a strong pipeline of qualified teachers and principals, resources and initiatives to empower parents and families, and policies that enable entrepreneurial school leadership and create opportunity for high-performing schools to grow. Additionally, PSP invests to catalyze collaboration, facilitating the sharing of best practices among schools and support organizations. Nonpartisan and data-driven, we work with government officials, business leaders, education leaders and practitioners, and community groups to pursue the promise of a great school for every child.

PSP believes that in a city as large as Philadelphia, there is not one best or right kind of school. Two hundred forty thousand children need a wide variety of schools from which to choose. The city has numerous examples of high-performing schools, and they span all three primary sectors: charter schools, district schools and private/Catholic schools. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of quality options in all three sectors. More than 35,000 students sit on waiting lists for the city’s best schools—which include private, charter, district magnet, and district neighborhood schools. Our work centers on leveraging philanthropic capital to attract entrepreneurial leadership and overcome inertia and financial and political barriers so that Philadelphia can have more great schools.

Like all cities, Philadelphia has finite resources for K-12 education. PSP believes the route to effectively educating all of the city’s children lies in fomenting and sustaining an educational ecosystem that steers resources toward effective schools, regardless of sector or type of school, so they can grow; increases equity of access to all school choices for families; and utilizes multiple measures of school performance to hold schools accountable for outcomes, thus ensuring support and—if necessary—intervention for struggling schools.

Position Summary
The Manager of Public Affairs will craft and implement communications and public-engagement strategies. The Manager will lead media relations and manage PSP’s websites and social-media presence. He or she will also support the internal and external communications needs of different teams within the organization, including the development (fundraising) and investment (making grants to schools) teams. The Manager will bring a commitment to expanding educational opportunity for urban youth; he or she will have the talents and skills outlined below. This position is for an experienced corporate, publishing or nonprofit communications professional, preferably with experience working in school reform, where policy and advocacy tensions often mean no good deed goes unpunished.

The Manager will report to the Executive Director and work closely with the entire PSP Team.

PSP is an equal-opportunity employer with good benefits and an entrepreneurial, results-oriented work culture.

Duties and Responsibilities
• Develop communications and media-relations strategies for six-year-old education nonprofit with staff of 20 and annual grants budget of approximately $15 million (key audiences include legislators, policy leaders, school administrators, philanthropists and foundations, business leaders and parents)
• Serve as primary writer for organization’s external communications: e-newsletter, website, press releases, research reports, annual report, occasional op/eds
• Analyze and compile data to support communications strategies and tactics
• Manage communications and web vendors
• Work with colleagues to develop strategies for more actively engaging urban parents in issues affecting K-12 education
• Serve as liaison to civic and community institutions representing businesses, parents and other stakeholders in Philadelphia
• Plan and lead internal communications to ensure knowledge-sharing among staff
• Manage design and production of printed materials and electronic assets: brochures, annual report, website and e-newsletters
• Create and manage mail and email lists for various stakeholder groups
• Plan and manage occasional events, including press announcements, school tours, receptions and more research-oriented affairs
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications
• Strong writing and strategic thinking skills
• Strong communication skills; comfortable representing the organization in meetings and larger venues
• Skilled communications strategist
• Experienced at interacting with media, especially beat reporters
• Must be familiar with social media tools in the context of corporate or nonprofit communications
• Must be creative and resourceful—capable of producing compelling marketing communications with limited budget
• Excellent interpersonal skills and desire to work as part of a team
• Ability to work independently, solve problems and be flexible
• Experience developing and leading projects that involve multiple stakeholders
• Willingness and desire to participate in unexpected projects

Education and Experience
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in public relations, media relations, journalism
• Experience in education reform communication preferred
• Experience with nuts and bolts of marketing communications: producing e-newsletters, managing events, maintaining and updating mailing lists

Physical Requirements
Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required such as:
• Traveling to schools – valid driver’s license and/or access to transportation when necessary
• Functioning in office space – reaching file cabinets, filing, faxing, scanning, coping, typing, mailing, making phone calls
• Must be able to sit for up to two hours looking at a computer monitor, using a keyboard/mouse and typing

Application Instructions
Email resume and cover letter to Molly Farley, Human Resources Consultant, at [email protected].

Salary commensurate with experience, along with excellent benefits.
A modest relocation package may also be available for out-of-state candidates.