Founded in 1864, The Peddie School is a thriving independent boarding and day school located in Hightstown, New Jersey. Known for its rigorous and innovative academics, exceptional faculty, and commitment to fostering intellectual adventure, Peddie offers a transformative educational experience to 540 students in grades 9 through 12 and a postgraduate year. The School's close-knit community and beautiful 280-acre campus — home to state-of-the-art science, arts, design, and athletics facilities — provide students with extraordinary opportunities for personal growth in a supportive environment.
Peddie's mission is anchored in the enduring wisdom of its motto, Finimus Pariter Renovamusque Labores: "We finish our labors to begin them anew." This principle, etched on the School's seal for more than 150 years, reflects Peddie's belief in constant renewal and growth. At the heart of Peddie's educational philosophy is a commitment to the intellectual, social, and moral development of each student — encouraging curiosity, passion, and character, and preparing graduates for lives of purpose and meaningful impact in a global society.
The Peddie School seeks an experienced, visionary leader to serve as its next Director of Strategic Communications at a pivotal and exciting moment in the School's history. Head of School Jim Hamilton joined the Peddie community in 2025, bringing a leadership philosophy centered on building strong relationships, encouraging innovation, and pursuing excellence in all aspects of the school experience. His arrival opens a rare and compelling opportunity: to partner closely with new institutional leadership, take a fresh and ambitious look at how Peddie tells its story, and ensure that the School's communications strategy, brand positioning, and community engagement reflect the full strength of this remarkable institution.
This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the Head of School, with responsibility for reshaping how Peddie presents itself to the world and how it engages the full range of its constituents — from prospective families and enrolled students to alumni, donors, and the broader educational community.
The Director will lead a talented team of seven professionals and serve as the School's chief storyteller, brand steward, and communications strategist. This individual will bring both the creative sensibility and the institutional acumen to elevate Peddie's profile, deepen community engagement, and ensure that the School's communications efforts are fully aligned with its strategic priorities.
The Director will help shape institutional strategy by bringing a market-informed perspective to leadership discussions. Through research, constituent insights, competitive analysis, and communications expertise, this leader will help the School better understand its audiences, identify emerging opportunities, and strengthen Peddie's position among the nation's leading boarding schools.
Principal Responsibilities
The Director of Strategic Communications will be responsible for developing and executing an integrated, institution-wide communications strategy that advances Peddie's mission, strengthens its brand, and deepens engagement with all key constituencies. Specific areas of leadership include:
Strategic Leadership and Brand Stewardship
- Partner with the Head of School to establish clear institutional messaging and positioning that reflects Peddie's mission, values, and competitive strengths. In doing so, the Director will serve as principal communications advisor to the Head of School, providing strategic counsel and developing speeches, presentations, publications, and leadership communications that articulate institutional vision.
- Lead a comprehensive assessment of the School's current communications ecosystem that includes brand identity, messaging frameworks, channels, and audience segmentation to identify opportunities for greater impact and consistency.
- Develop and champion Peddie's brand standards across all platforms and all internal and external communications, ensuring visual identity and voice are applied with discipline and creativity.
- Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior leadership on all matters related to communications, marketing, and reputation management, including crisis communications.
- Represent the Communications function on the School's senior leadership team, contributing a communications and community-engagement perspective to institutional decision-making.
Integrated Marketing and Communications
- Develop and implement a multi-year, multichannel marketing and communications plan aligned with the School's strategic priorities and enrollment and development goals.
- Oversee the strategic and creative direction of all key communications channels, including the School's website, social media platforms, email communications, video and multimedia content, and print publications.
- Provide strategic oversight and direction for the Peddie Chronicle, the School's flagship magazine, ensuring it reflects Peddie's brand, voice, and institutional priorities at the highest standard.
- Develop and maintain an integrated communications and editorial calendar that ensures timely, consistent, and coordinated messaging across all platforms and audiences.
- Develop systems to gather feedback from key constituent groups and use those insights to strengthen messaging, engagement, and strategic decision-making.
- Serve as a School spokesperson as needed; lead proactive public relations efforts and manage crisis communications in partnership with the Head of School.
- Lead the development of compelling, mission-aligned content that tells Peddie's story across a wide range of audiences and platforms — with consistency, authenticity, and creativity.
- Leverage data, analytics, and market research to evaluate program effectiveness, optimize strategy, and inform ongoing decision-making.
- Manage relationships with external creative partners, consultants, and vendors to supplement team capabilities as needed.
Campus Partnerships and Community Engagement
The Director will be visible and engaged in the campus community, serving as a strategic communications partner to leaders and programs across the Peddie community. Key collaborative relationships include:
- Enrollment: In partnership with the Director of Enrollment Management, develop marketing strategies, messaging, and materials — digital, print, and event-based — that support recruitment goals, generate inquiries in target markets, and ensure admissions-facing communications reflect the Peddie brand with clarity and warmth.
- Alumni Relations and Development: In partnership with the Assistant Head for Development, create communications that deepen alumni connection, support fundraising and campaign initiatives, and engage donors and friends of the School through compelling stewardship and outreach.
- School Leadership and Faculty: Serve as a creative partner and editorial resource to the Head of School, senior administrators, and faculty; write and edit letters, speeches, and communications to key audiences as needed.
- Athletics: In partnership with the Director of Athletics, create a program to tell the stories of Peddie's student-athletes and teams, celebrating their achievements and reinforcing the School's commitment to the philosophy of education through athletics.
- Summer Programs: Partner with the Summer Programs team to develop and oversee marketing and communications materials across print, digital, and social channels.
- Parent Community: Develop and maintain communications that keep current families informed, engaged, and connected to the life of the School.
Professional and Personal Profile
- Proven experience leading a comprehensive marketing and communications function within a complex, mission-driven organization; independent school or higher education experience is strongly preferred.
- Warm, approachable, and optimistic, with the judgment to know when gravity is required and the sense of humor to bring joy to the work when it is not. Enjoys being part of a vibrant school community and finds genuine satisfaction in celebrating the accomplishments of students, members of the professional community, and alumni.
- Superior strategic thinking and the ability to translate institutional priorities into compelling, cohesive communications.
- Deep expertise across integrated communications channels, including digital platforms, social media, video, print, and emerging media, along with a sophisticated understanding of how to deploy each for maximum impact.
- Keen creative and design sensibility combined with strategic acumen.
- Outstanding writing ability and editorial judgment, with a track record of crafting messages that resonate with diverse audiences.
- Experience in brand development, messaging frameworks, and visual identity stewardship across a complex, multi-constituency organization.
- Experience with admissions marketing, alumni engagement, and/or development communications
- Broad exposure to media relations, reputation management, and crisis communications.
- An engaged and visible member of the Peddie community who enjoys attending school events, building relationships across campus, and experiencing firsthand the moments that define a vibrant boarding school
- Fluency with AI-driven tools and emerging platforms, with an understanding of how to deploy them responsibly and effectively.
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
This is a full-time 12-month position that comes with a competitive salary ($160k-$170k) based on education and experience. The Peddie School offers comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance options, as well as life, short-term, and long-term disability programs, and a 403(b) retirement plan.
We are seeking to fill this position as soon as possible. At the same time, we are committed to finding the right person and will work with the successful candidate to establish a mutually agreeable start date.
Interested candidates should apply with a resume, cover letter, and a writing sample — a piece that best represents your work, such as a published article, magazine feature, or other example of your writing.
The Peddie School is an equal opportunity employer. The School is committed to a policy of non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
