IDEA Public Schools, Chief Communication Officer
Edgility Consulting, United States
Job Description
IDEA Public Schools believes in college for ALL and everyone in the organization is committed to ensuring that all IDEA students graduate from college. IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school to the fastest-growing network of tuition-free Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States sending 100% of our students to college. 50% of our students graduate from college in 6 years that’s 8 times the national rate for students in similar communities.
IDEA was founded in 2000 in the Rio Grande Valley and has been averaging ~20% growth per year for the past decade. The organization now serves over 65,000 students across Texas and Louisiana, with plans for continued growth in IDEA’s current regions and upcoming launches in Tampa Bay (2021), Jacksonville, FL (2022), and Cincinnati, OH (2022). In 2021-22, IDEA will have 137 schools and 9,500 staff members serving 76,000 students.
When you choose to work at IDEA, you are part of the IDEA Team and Family. You will work alongside team members who set and reach ambitious goals every day, are excited to continue to grow with IDEA, and work relentlessly to make college for all a reality.
To learn more about IDEA, visit ideapublicschools.org.
OPPORTUNITY
The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) is the senior leader responsible for stewarding IDEA’s brand locally and nationally, managing internal and external communications, driving our marketing, policy, and advocacy strategy. The CCO supports topline organizational goals including student and staff recruitment and retention and fundraising through marketing, creative services, and events.
Communications and Marketing have been part of the IDEA Operations team for the past dozen years, reporting to the COO. With IDEA’s growth, the importance of internal and external communication is greater than ever before. IDEA’s CEO JoAnn Gama has decided to elevate this scope of work to the Chiefs team, reporting directly to her. In 2021-22, the team will operate campaigns in thirteen regions in five states with a budget of ~$13M and over 30 Headquarters staff members. The CCO role is a tremendous opportunity for a senior leader who has previously overseen multiple markets and thrives in a fast-paced and high-growth environment.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The CCO will manage the Communications, Marketing, Creative Services, Events, and Policy amp; Advocacy teams at IDEA. The CCO’s primary responsibilities will be to:
Oversee internal communication, media relations, family communications, and external communications, to include the following strategic priorities:
- Organize the IDEA Story
- Develop and execute an internal communications strategy that builds allegiance and mission alignment among IDEA’s team amp; family
- Promote communications standards internally and externally
- Expand the IDEA Audience amp; Create IDEA Storytellers
- Engage in comprehensive outreach strategies to press and partners
- Focus internal communications on key messages and increase opportunities and incentives for staff, students, and families to engage
- Develop key communications resources
- Develop quarterly publications (IMPACT Magazine, Persistence/Enrollment Publications, IDEA’s Annual Report) that help to steward persistence and brand awareness at IDEA
- Create a crisis communications strategic plan and resources for IDEA campuses
- Make IDEA a thought leader nationally in education/education reform
- Promote IDEA leaders and programs as subject matter experts on key initiatives and objectives
- Play a key role in leveraging national media to drive broad public understanding of IDEA’s mission and impact and supported key organizational goals
Direct and manage all brand strategy initiatives to include brand identity, brand positioning and related campaign activities for four top-line organizational goals (enrollment, hiring, fundraising, and retention) across all regional media markets
- Act as the authority and lead promoter of the IDEA brand, ensuring consistent brand expression through all touch points
- Establish guidance for all creative marketing communications and collateral across all channels to ensure that materials consistently comply with brand standards and strategy
- Manage the overall health of the brand by leveraging data and analytics, and tracking key brand measurements
- Provide strategic and tactical brand and creative-services support for key organizational initiatives
- Oversee social media and public relations strategy to keep affiliation-building news top of mind for IDEA families and other stakeholders
Partner with IDEA’s Executive Directors and Advancement Team to successfully launch in new regions
- Develop and implement strategic plans, communi