Vice President, Marketing & Communications - Urban Teachers

About Urban Teachers:

Urban Teachers is a nationally recognized, non-profit, teacher development program that specifically prepares and supports novice teachers to meet the needs of public school students in urban settings, currently operating in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Dallas, and expanding to Philadelphia in 2021. Since 2009, Urban Teachers has developed over 1,200 highly effective educators impacting over 134,000 students.

Unlike most teacher preparation programs and professional development providers, Urban Teachers is uniquely focused on delivering a thorough, rigorous, and cohesive experience to future teachers, ensuring that they are prepared through clinically-based coursework and classroom experiences, placed in teaching positions within schools that will foster their growth, and then supported to remain in the classroom long term as highly effective teachers. Urban Teachers does this by recruiting outstanding candidates dedicated to serving urban populations, and then deeply investing in their development by providing an immersive 14-month residency that includes 80+ hours of one-on-one coaching; participants in the program receive a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins, as well as dual-teaching certification (including Special Education).

Over the last decade, Urban Teachers has had an intentional focus on attracting and retaining teachers of color to better reflect the students and communities they serve. In the last three years, Urban Teachers has evolved to build upon the strengths of its promising foundation and chart a new path towards impact, sustainability, and systems change. Learn more about Urban Teachers’ program and impact here.

Urban Teachers and COVID-19:

Urban Teachers is currently fully virtual for staff and faculty with few exceptions as needed. As new information arises from our district partners, we will continue to place the health of our students, teachers, and staff first as we navigate this unprecedented time. We currently do not plan to require people to come into central offices until COVID-19 numbers nationally and in our localities are much lower and will follow guidance provided by the CDC and local health departments.

About the Opportunity:

Urban Teachers’ first ever VP of Marketing and Communications will have the exciting opportunity to join us in our thoughtful and intentional multi-year growth plan, as we take our proven model and expand into new communities, while continuing to deepen our program’s considerable impact in our current cities. The VP will play a vital role in telling our stories of impact, and amplifying our brand as we strive to act not only as an agent of transformation in the communities we serve, but a pace setter in evolving a stagnant industry from a systemic level.

In this role, the VP will find innovative and meaningful ways to broadcast our many successes, amplify our results, and accelerate our ability to make an impact. The VP will elevate Urban Teachers’ visibility, both at the local and national level, in order to support the conditions for expansion, growth, and greater impact. To do this, the VP will envision, establish, and build both the strategy and the systems to drive and execute marketing, public relations, and communications for Urban Teachers while Urban Teachers grows in both program offerings and cohort size.

Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the VP will manage a small team, with the possibility of making additional hires as the organization continues to grow. Our ideal candidate is a seasoned marketing and communications professional who is an innovative, entrepreneurial, and proven builder of marketing and communications functions and teams.

Responsibilities include:

• Building the Brand: Lay the groundwork and then drive and execute a brand audit and refresh to establish the organization as an elite program in the market, ultimately elevating the Urban Teachers brand and communication as it relates to key external channels: applicants, school partners, emerging advocacy/policy work, and fundraising. Develop the tools and trainings to build the capacity of members of the organization to be brand ambassadors.
• PR & Media: Develop both local and national public relations and media strategy and build relationships with news and media outlets to keep Urban Teachers in the news as thought leaders. Tell the stories of the organization in a compelling way, across multiple channels, that lifts the voices of teachers and other stakeholders as they work to transform communities. Create narratives that work across audiences and are cohesive and values-aligned.
• Internal Communications: Audit existing internal communications and develop a strategic communications plan across sites, national, and program participants. Partner with talent leadership to develop a strong employer brand. Collaborate with other leaders in the organization to communicate change internally.
• Team Management & Leadership: Coach, support, and hold your direct reports accountable for their impact in their role and on culture, especially supporting them to lead their teams effectively. Recruit and select people for your team who align to our mission, values, and demonstrate relevant technical skill and experience. Foster an inclusive, positive, and equitable culture and model all of our values, especially “antiracism” and “value each other.” Work alongside and through other leaders in the organization, managing up, down, and across to collectively drive outcomes. Manage and own the budget for the marketing and communications team.
• System & Process Development: Define and execute service levels and supports for internal stakeholders, including the national team, vendors, and site-based staff. Develop and implement processes to streamline responses to requests, with an eye toward delivering both quality and efficiency in an environment with many competing priorities.
• Vendor Relationship Management: Develop an inventory of vetted and qualified vendors to support marketing/branding, collateral development, swag development, copy-writing, website management, market research and related needs. Manage relationships with chosen vendors, delegating relationship management when it makes sense; oversee large-scale vendor projects such as re-branding or website overhauls.

Qualifications:

• Mission & Vision Alignment: Demonstrated commitment to Urban Teachers’ mission and values; experience working in the nonprofit sector, and more specifically, the education sector, a strong plus.
• Marketing & Communications Expertise: At least 10 years of experience as a highly successful marketing and communications leader and practitioner, including branding, digital, media relations, development communications, and thought leadership. Track record of envisioning and operationalizing enterprise-level marketing and communications strategy. Experience leading in a nonprofit or mission driven environment preferred.
• Creativity & Vision: Outstanding storyteller with experience leading teams to develop compelling images, messages, and voice that make an organization stand out and amplify its impact.
• Antiracist Lens & Application: Experience leading, modeling, and embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist principles within a team, through marketing and communications work, and across an organization as a member of the senior leadership team.
• Executive & Team Leadership: Proven ability to manage and develop a team of professionals at various levels. Astute driver of strategy, including managing teams through strategic pivots and changes. Leadership experience must include effective change management, vision setting, and innovation, and setting clear priorities, goals, and road maps at the enterprise level and for teams.
• System & Process Development & Implementation: Experience leading the successful development of systems and processes to effectively and efficiently project manage competing marketing and communications priorities.