Director of Communications

Company Description

About KIPP Texas

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 57 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 34,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose - college, career, and beyond - so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Founded in Houston in 1994, and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in our classrooms, in our offices, and in the communities we serve is unwavering. We are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. Join our Team and Family and champion equity, chase excellence, persist with purpose, bring joy, and help us rise together.

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 280 schools, nearly 15,000 educators, and 175,000 students and alumni.

Job Description

Opportunity:

Division Purpose: Chief of Staff Division exists to ensure the strategic clarity, stakeholder engagement, and external visibility of KIPP Texas in service of our 54 schools, 31,000 students, and over 5,000 employees. Together, we serve as the connective tissue of the organization—aligning vision with execution, community with mission, and leadership with action—to advance and ensure educational excellence across the state of Texas.

Role Overview:

The Director of Communications will be a strategic leader responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing all internal and external communication strategies for KIPP Texas. This role is critical in shaping and maintaining the organization's public image, managing media relations, building brand awareness, and ensuring consistent and effective messaging across all platforms for diverse internal and external audiences. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned communications professional with a strong track record of success in both external brand stewardship and internal stakeholder engagement within a growing organization. The Director of Communications will report to the Managing Director of Communications and Community Partnerships. 

This position may be based out of the Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio offices. Some travel may be required.
 

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Communications Leadership & Planning:

  • Develop and execute comprehensive internal and external communication strategies aligned with KIPP Texas' yearly goals and milestones, organizational goals, and brand identity. 

  • Identify key messages and communication priorities for various internal and external stakeholders, including staff, parents, and students. 

  • Advise on internal communications to ensure timeliness, consistency, and scalability as KIPP’s employee population grows. 

  • Contribute to elevating and increasing brand awareness of KIPP Texas' high-performing public charter schools, student success, and commitment to its mission. 

• External Communications & Brand Management:

  • Steward KIPP’s brand locally, regionally, and nationally. 

  • Lead and manage the KIPP Texas external blog, including creating a yearly editorial calendar with a goal of publishing four blogs per month, managing editorial content for brand storytelling, and aiming for 1,000 monthly blog views. 

  • Drive KIPP Texas' social media efforts, including campaign creation and execution, setting yearly social media goals for channel growth (e.g., followership, engagement), and driving traffic and engagement to KIPP Texas pages. 

  • Lead social media reputation management, including daily monitoring of comments and messages, and proposing strategies to build and protect the brand. 

  • Provide guidance and resources to social media administrators across the network, including monthly newsletters and bi-weekly calls, to ensure content is optimized for communications objectives. 

• Media Relations & Public Relations:

  • Manage media relation efforts. 

  • Develop written materials such as press releases, media alerts, op-eds, and media pitches. 

  • Build relationships with key media contacts in assigned regions