Posted On: August 29, 2016

Media-Related Job

Media Organization: Families for Excellent Schools

Company Description

Our mission is to ensure that every child attends an excellent school by building coalitions of families and their allies and running campaigns that change education policy.

With the commitment of parents and through public policy changes, we envision an America where schools, community organizations and government leaders work together to guarantee a great education for every child. Currently, we serve more than 50,000 families from over 90 schools in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Job Description

Manager, Development Communications
at Families for Excellent Schools (View all jobs)
New York, NY
ABOUT US

At Families for Excellent Schools, our employees are passionate about their belief that all children should have access to great schools and education. We have diverse professional and personal backgrounds, and we don’t simply accept them - we celebrate them, we support them, and we thrive on them for the benefit of our employees, organization and the communities with which we work. We are an active and energetic group, who like to roll up our sleeves and get things done, which reinforces our culture and organization's core values of Collaboration, Results, Grit, and Respect.

THE ROLE

Families for Excellent Schools seeks a Manager, Development Communications, responsible for creating content, mostly written, to communicate to the funder community about FES. The ideal candidate has a passion for writing, research, interviewing, and marketing. Success requires a journalistic mindset for seeking out information and asking questions, so that the strategy and impact of FES’s work can be conveyed to specific audiences in the most relevant and compelling way. Adaptability in writing for difference audiences is critical, as is writing that is concise, structured, and tailored to specific goals. Primary activities include preparing and managing funding proposals, creating reports and updates for specific audiences, researching new funding opportunities, and interacting with program teams to stay updated on news at FES. This role reports to the Managing Director, Development and works in collaboration with the Chief Growth Officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities of the Manager of Development Communications include but are not limited to:

Developing strategic narratives for grant proposals, reports, informal funding requests, donor correspondence and related supplementary materials (e.g., informational one-pagers, financial addenda, etc.)
Managing grants and engagement calendar for foundation and individual partners (e.g., reporting requirements, tax acknowledgements, regular updates, etc.) and creating the content needed to follow this calendar.
Supporting the execution of donor cultivation and stewardship strategies by compiling data for specialized pitches; drafting outreach/follow-up correspondence to donors, assisting with planning/executing development events; crafting language for stewardship communications.
Conducting ongoing research on foundation and individual giving landscape, nationally and in FES regions, to inform strategies for growing and diversifying the donor base.
Monitoring progress towards goals in collaboration with internal stakeholders.
Performing monthly and quarterly analysis of gap to benchmarks and year-end goals to inform priorities and strategies.
Assisting with other special projects as needed.
REQUIREMENTS

Candidates should enjoy working in a dynamic, results-oriented environment in which expectations are high for both the quality and speed of work and for living our core values. In addition, they should have the following:

Bachelor’s degree and at least 1-3 years of work experience; experience in grant writing or other professional writing; experience working at a nonprofit and/or a start-up organization is a plus;
Strong commitment to, and belief in, Families for Excellent Schools’ mission, vision and core values;
Excellent writing and communication skills;
Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office; PowerPoint, Word and Excel;
Detail-orientation and strong organization; demonstrated success in keeping track of many moving parts and following them through to completion in a demanding, strategic, fast-paced environment;
Experience in an education policy or other advocacy environment is a plus;
In keeping with the work, candidates must be able to travel and work offsite, and work moderately irregular hours when needed.
PAY & PERKS

We provide competitive salaries and a full slate of benefits including health coverage, an FSA, a 401K plan with 5% matching and pre-tax commuter benefits. We have a generous vacation policy, and our office is shut down for a week at the end of the calendar year. Perks include a shiny new MacBook on your first day and open and collaborative office space at our offices in NYC, Boston, and New Haven.

To Apply

APPLY on our website: http://grnh.se/3yohkw