Who we are?
Ethical Culture Fieldston School is a progressive Pre-K–12 independent school that has been serving students from throughout New York City and the surrounding suburbs since 1878. ECFS offers a rich curriculum in the arts, sciences, and humanities. A co-ed, nonsectarian school, it serves a diverse community of about 1,700 students on two campuses — one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and the other in Manhattan.
What is essential about working at our school?
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School has a long history of equity and inclusion deeply rooted in our mission and the educational philosophy of our founder, Felix Adler. We embrace diversity of ancestry, family, identity, culture, and belief and seek a student body and faculty that reflect the pluralism and socioeconomic diversity of metropolitan New York. We affirm both our differences and commonalities and strive to balance individuality and community. In keeping with our progressive tradition, we are dedicated to increasing our students’ cultural literacy to help them understand multiple perspectives and see the world beyond the self.
We expect members of our community to engage in open dialogue about living and learning in a diverse environment inside and outside the classroom. We see this work, with its creative tensions, as a catalyst for individual and collective growth. On a daily basis, we are committed to making this vision of a democratic, pluralistic, and progressive school a reality.
Scope of Work
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS) is a vibrant and exciting educational community and one of the nation’s leading progressive schools. We are looking for a Communications Manager to craft new stories — and new ways of telling stories — as part of a next-generation Communications Office.
Our work in the Communications Office makes an ECFS experience more enriching for current students and families, more accessible for prospective students, and more inspiring for alumni. We also care for the school’s reputation and brand. By telling the stories of our community in modern, fun, and engaging ways, we connect our families more strongly to our mission and to each other.
As Communications Manager, you’ll be a member of a five-person Communications Office dedicated to working with the school’s Advancement Office (alumni, fundraising, events). This means that you will communicate often with parents, board members, and alumni. Communications is inherently collaborative, so while we each have clearly delineated responsibilities, our team will work closely together both on the strategic level and the day-to-day.
Specific Responsibilities
You will assist the Advancement Office in telling stories about the impact of philanthropy throughout the ECFS community. Communications support includes, but is not limited to, helping write/shape messages using communications best practices and your knowledge of the development landscape, adapting stories and images to fit specific platforms and audiences, and then posting/distributing content. Deliverables may include emails, social media, promotional event materials, annual appeals, and collateral.
You will also be an involved member of our school community. You will work closely with faculty, staff, parents, students, and alumni, helping to balance their needs and expectations and teaching them about best practices for communications. Your work will fall somewhere in the region of partner-promoter-mentor-service provider. As a member of the school community, occasional evenings and weekend event work is required.
This role is flexible, and we will fit some of the responsibilities to you and your talents, but these are the main components of the job as we see it:
- Advancement/Development knowledge: We are looking for someone with experience in fundraising, sales, or volunteer engagement. This knowledge is crucial to supporting the Advancement team. Experience working at a school is a plus.
- Writing/Editing: Whatever else this role is, you’ll need to express yourself in words at all times. You can craft a sensitive email with as much panache as a celebratory feature. You read critically. You are a keen editor as we are the final eye on things before they see the outside world — you will edit for clarity, style (must be accustomed to learning a style guide), and for copy edits.
- Project Management: We act as relationship managers, and you’ll need to be detail-oriented in order to shepherd the various moving parts of a project.
- People Skills: We work with a wide cross-section of our community every day, so having a positive, customer-service-oriented attitude is essential.
- Graphic Design: This is not a design role, but there will be some production involved.
- Technology: This role (alongside other members of the communications team) will be responsible for sharing content through our various digital channels, so you’ll need fluency with various social platforms, email, and website technologies.
- Photo/Video/Audio: Not really necessary for the role as we imagine it, but if you have skills producing more advanced forms of media, there’s always room for creativity and magic.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- 3–5 years of marketing, communications, media, or journalism experience; preference given to candidates with direct experience in development, fundraising, volunteer engagement, or nonprofit experience
- Ability to write quickly and in a range of styles for different audiences
- Excellent editing and proofreading skills
- Creative thinking and problem-solving skills
- Familiarity with web content management systems and web/design technologies a plus (e.g., Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Adobe Creative Cloud)
- Demonstrated interest in youth education a plus
- Ability to work efficiently and independently, and with a broad range of constituencies
How to Apply
To be considered for the position, please send a letter of interest, a resume, and contact information for three references. Please include a sample of your writing — as well as any design or other creative efforts you’d like to share with us. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the position will remain open until filled. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Do not contact the school, please.
EEO Info
ECFS is an equal opportunity employer. Our goal is to be a diverse community of professionals who broadly reflects the people of the metropolitan New York City area, our students, and families. We aim to align our hiring process with our mission and institutional goals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion or religious practices, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, age, ability status, military status, unemployment status or any other category protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. ECFS takes affirmative action in support of its policy to employ and advance all qualified candidates.
