Director of Communications and Annual Giving - Full-Time

The Gillen Brewer School, a special needs elementary school on the upper east side of Manhattan is currently seeking to hire a Director of Communications and Annual Giving to join our administration team. We are hoping to fill this position immediately with the right candidate.

Gillen Brewer offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive professional development program.

Summary

The Director of Communications and Annual Giving is responsible for leading and growing the Gillen Brewer School’s Annual Giving programs to achieve specific fundraising and engagement goals in parent leadership giving, parent participation, alumni participation, faculty and staff participation, and all donor constituencies. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Communications and Annual Giving collaborates with School Leadership in developing the strategic direction, management, and coordination for Gillen Brewer's internal and external events, communications, marketing, branding, and diverse fundraising efforts. This position will assist school leadership in conceptualizing, writing, managing, and proofing content for a diverse array of communications projects for the school, such newsletters, op-eds, internal briefings, reports, presentations, website design, and internal and external communications. This highly organized, flexible, creative, and innovative roll-up-your-sleeves executive must have excellent analytical, oral, and written communication skills, a track record in effective fundraising and event management, and a strong desire to understand and manage every aspect of the school's fundraising efforts from an administrative, programmatic, and fiscal perspective.

The Director of Communications and Annual Giving is a key member of the Institutional Advancement Team, raising unrestricted dollars for Gillen Brewer’s Annual Giving to meet the budgetary needs of the school. The Director works closely with School Leadership in developing a strategic and comprehensive fundraising and advancement plan that is integrated with the school's strategic plan and on point with the school's positioning and mission. This individual will liaise with the Director of Institutional Advancement and Major Gifts, School Leadership, and the Parents' Association (PA) to plan, coordinate, and execute all school fundraising and cultivating events, fundraising communications, annual report development and publication, as well as the research, data analysis, and reporting of all efforts related to fundraising, branding efforts, communications, marketing, and the cultivation of potential prospects.

The Director of Communications and Annual Giving is a highly visible, integral, and important leadership position that will play a key role in ensuring the continued success of the Gillen Brewer School. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the COO, Head of School, and Director of Institutional Advancement and Major Gifts and leadership team in determining annual giving goals and executing strategic plans for achieving these goals, both short- and long-term, for fundraising efforts including annual giving, events, special activities, and other school-related fundraising initiatives
• Collaborate in developing and executing strategic plans, both short- and long-term for branding, advancement, and communication efforts including new collateral, website management, newsletters, promotional videos, and social media
• He/she will manage all design projects. The incumbent will provide direction, execution, and supervision of all signature creative, collateral materials, branding, and quality control. The Director will manage the production of all print and non-print materials as well as project workflow
• Plan and run the school’s annual benefit from start to finish
• Create and distribute the annual report
• Collaborate with the Admissions Office on marketing, recruitment, and cultivation opportunities
• Collaborate with the academic Program Staff to best market the school by understanding the mission and vision and how they are reflected throughout the school community
• Collaborate with the Business Office to reconcile accounts and ensure integrity and consistency of the database and fundraising reporting
• Manage the school’s website, monthly communications and news, internal/external communications, and social media accounts
• Manage all internal and external public relations communications regarding the building expansion project, including community and neighborhood relations
• Develop a complex calendar of communication and segmented solicitation strategies involving email, direct mail, phone contact, social media efforts, and personal visitation
• Oversee the Parents’ Association (PA) and build the infrastructure for a more autonomous PA
• Work with PA Leadership to identify, recruit, and train parent volunteers to serve on the Parent Association and/or as Parent Volunteers
• Develop and manage an Alumni Relations Program to expand engagement of alumni in annual giving
• Plan cultivation and stewardship events for new families, returning families, major donor prospects, and volunteers
• Develop and manage the method of gift processing to acknowledge donors quickly and effectively with gift receipts, phone contact, and personal notes. Manage the pledge process with scheduled reminders to maximize pledge yields
• Oversee the planning and designing of annual giving solicitation, including all digital marketing (email, website, and social media)
• Work collaboratively with School Leadership and the Parents' Association in developing and executing the fundraising plans
• Work with consultants and the Development Assistant to upgrade, analyze, compare, document, and maintain historical fundraising and communication efforts through the DonorPerfect database, and then make a determination on migrating to a new system, based on the school’s expansion and capital campaign efforts
• Research, analyze, and recommend potential prospects for cultivation and solicitation
• Execute outreach strategies for existing donor relationships, both individual and institutional, as agreed to within the Institutional Advancement Department and with School Leadership
• Broaden the overall database of donors, manage data entry, and ensure the capture of donor and prospect files and gift acknowledgments
• Analyze the existing database for potential development opportunities; track and report on outcomes of fundraising initiatives
• Create office systems and processes to support and streamline all database, PA and School Events, and Development projects and operations
• Develop parent- and class-based fundraising efforts, targeting 100% class contribution within the Annual Fund
• Collaborate with School Leadership toward grant writing efforts
• Attend evening and weekend events, as needed, to support philanthropic goals

Professional Development

The school is a community of learners. In addition to staff development and training at Gillen Brewer, employees are encouraged to pursue educational goals through conferences and various workshops. Staff is required to attend all staff development workshops as well as staff, team, and supervision meetings. Staff is also encouraged to attend all school functions listed on the school calendar.

Supervision & Support

Staff Development and support will be provided and will include in-house and outside professional opportunities. The Chief Operating Officer will conduct two formal evaluations a year using this job description as a guide. Evidence of effectiveness will be collected through observations, discussions, and products.