Mississippi Charter School Association - Communications Director

ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION

The Mississippi Charter Schools Association (MCSA) is a membership organization and the statewide advocacy voice for Mississippi’s 10 public charter schools serving approximately 3500 students across the state. Established in 2013, the mission of the Mississippi Charter Schools Association is to equip all Mississippi charter schools for success at every phase of operation (planning, start-up, and fully operational schools)by providing sector-determined professional development, technical support, and advocacy support services. Our vision is that Mississippi will create and maintain a landscape of high-performing schools that offer a variety of school models that support excellent teaching, excellent parent/school relationships, whole-child and whole-family supports, and an emotionally safe environment for students, parents, and educators.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Communications Director reports directly to the Executive Director and is responsible for the development and execution of a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy to support MCSA’s awareness throughout the state of Mississippi. This includes creating the brand, voice, messaging, content and visual representation of the Mississippi Charter School Association across all media platforms to enhance the education and awareness of charter schools in the State. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Marketing and Communications

• Oversee all public relations functions and establish Mississippi Charter School Association’s public presence with key audiences .
• Write, design and produce or oversee  all publications including announcements, social media, collateral, videos, and reports and annual reports.

• Creation or oversight of MCSA’s  branding and brand story, tools, annual report, stakeholder communications 
• Partner with the Executive Director to enhance MCSA’s public profile, social media presence and deepen engagement with partners and high-level audiences. 
• Coordinate executive communications and ensure presentations, articles, press releases, and correspondence reflect MCSA’s vision, messaging, priorities, and standards.
• Prepare the ED for internal and external meetings, presentations, and events.

Awareness and Education 

• In partnership with the Executive Director,  you will create and lead the implementation of MCSA’s public communication strategy to drive continued education of public charter schools within the State of Mississippi. This will include developing content for and executing commercials, billboards, print media and presentations to better educate the public about charter schools
• Working with the Executive Director,  you will create a communications strategy and plan rooted in legislative policy and advocacy to support advocacy efforts.
• You will Increase the awareness of public education of charters schools to local constituents 

Services Support 

• Support member schools with communication strategies that promote transparency in parent communication, public awareness and  crisis management. 
• Develop communication tools and resources that can provide technical support of member charter schools to effectively create their own collateral. 
• Manage vendor contractors providing supplemental support for MCSA’s communication strategy including, but not limited to, management of web designer, graphic designer, social media support.

Requirements

WHO YOU ARE: 

 The best person for this role will: 

• Have an entrepreneurial mindset and look forward to creating something new.
• Be a self-starter who also loves to work collaboratively. 
• Demonstrate integrity, including being punctual, dependable and trustworthy.
• Possess experience in communicating effectively with all stakeholder levels. 
• Possess a spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm.

• Be comfortable making decisions, being adaptable, and multitasking.
• Understand or have familiarity with key issues in the field of K-12 education. 

Job Qualifications

• 5-8 years of demonstrated experience leading the creation and implementation of multi-faceted communications plans.
• Strong writing, editing, and communications skills, including substantial experience writing effectively for different formats and audiences. Experience with executive communications preferred.
• Experience identifying, setting up and managing a CRM with a high degree of proficiency.
• In-depth knowledge of best writing and messaging practices for marketing and social media.
• Project management skills with the ability to make decisions, work effici