Job Title:  Director of Parent Relations and Communications

Reports to: Dean of Faculty & Academics

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

The Blue Ridge School is a college-preparatory boarding school for boys in grades 9-12 on a 750-acre campus nestled in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The School’s campus is naturally beautiful and inviting, and it rests roughly 20 miles northwest of downtown Charlottesville, Virginia.  More information about the School can be found online at www.blueridgeschool.com.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

In each student’s educational journey, few partnerships are as significant as that between home and school. Blue Ridge School seeks a Director of Parent Relations and Communications to lead our work in building an innovative, dynamic, and modern approach to strengthening the home-school partnership. The Director of Parent Relations and Communications will be a champion for our parents and will empower them with the information they need to feel confident that their son is growing and thriving at Blue Ridge School, and that he is making progress toward embodying the six critical traits that our curriculum is designed to impart.

As a school that is entirely boarding, and that is home to students from all around the United States and all over the world, parents can sometimes feel disconnected from their son’s experience because they are not on campus regularly, and they don’t see their son at the end of each day. While they know that they have made a tremendous, positive investment in their child’s future, they want to know more about his daily life and experience. At the same time, they don’t want to hover, and they don’t want to get in the way. Our parents frequently talk about how they “trust the process.” This reality can cause an occasionally frustrating “knowledge gap” for parents, however, and the successful Director of Parent Relations and Communications will be laser focused on closing this gap. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Be the School’s “Chief Storyteller” and create compelling narrative media pieces about the Blue Ridge School experience.
• Creatively highlight and showcase the tremendous value that Blue Ridge School’s curriculum and programs provide its students through mediums like video, podcasts, blogs, social media channels, and regular zoom calls. 
• Ensure regular, productive communication is taking place between parents and their student’s teachers, hall parent, coach and advisor.
• Become an invaluable resource to parents, and will be the main point of contact for parents when they have questions, or don’t know whom to contact about a particular issue at school. 
• Will imagine, design, and execute a series of parent education programs to proactively address common parent questions and concerns.
• Utilize the “Jobs to be Done” framework created by the National Association of Independent Schools to facilitate an ongoing conversation between Blue Ridge School’s parents and the School’s leadership about what parents need, want, and expect from a Blue Ridge education now and in the future. 
• Represent parent ideas in the school’s strategic planning process. 
• Play a significant role in retention efforts during the annual admissions and re-enrollment cycles, January - April.

Other

• Teach a section of a core academic subject.
• Coach or assist with one of our athletic or co-curricular programs.
• Serve as an advisor to a small group of students.
• Perform regular weeknight and weekend supervisory duties on campus.
• Demonstrate continued professional curiosity and growth.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned by supervisor.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:

The usual and customary methods of performing the job's functions require the following physical demands: occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; some climbing and balancing; frequent stooping and kneeling; and significant fine finger dexterity. Generally, the job requires 50% sitting, 25% walking, and 25% standing. The job is performed under minimal temperature variations and under conditions with some exposure to risk of injury and/or illness.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• Creative storytelling abilities
• Savvy user of social media and video
• Exude a joy for working with high school boys and their parents and guardians
• Desire to build positive working relationships with the parents and guardians of Blue Ridge School students
• A good listener who possesses empathy for the challenges faced by boarding school parents
• Posses flexibility, a sense of humor, and a willingness to try new approaches when it comes to solving problems and address challenges