Los Angeles, CA

Director of Communications & Marketing, Green Dot Public Schools, California

The Organization

About Green Dot California

Green Dot Public Schools California is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help transform public education so ALL students graduate prepared for college, leadership and life. Unique in the nation for a major non-profit charter management organization, Green Dot is proving it can achieve better student outcomes with the same student population, lower per pupil funding than the district and a unionized workforce across our schools in Los Angeles.

Green Dot Public Schools was founded in 1999 in direct response to the poor state of public high schools in the Los Angeles area. Traditional high schools were not graduating over 50% of their students, and those that were making it through were rarely prepared for college. The vast majority of the students failing out of the system were children from low-income families. Green Dot had a vision of creating small, successful public schools and in doing so, demonstrating to the school district and the public-at-large that there was a more effective way to provide public education in low-income and historically underserved areas. The U.S. Department of Education has featured Green Dot as a national leader in school turnarounds. To learn more about Green Dot California please visit our website.

Position Overview

Offices are located on South Hill St in Los Angeles, CA.

Eligibility to Work

Eligibility to work at a Green Dot location is contingent upon proof of vaccination status.

About the Opportunity

As Director of Communications and Marketing, you are responsible for the overall communications strategy for Green Dot Public Schools California. You work closely with Green Dot California’s Leadership Team and Green Dot National’s Communications Team to direct internal and external communications efforts with the goals of increasing student enrollment, attracting high-quality talent, maintaining strong community ties and distinguishing Green Dot California’s as a leader in public education. You lead a team that is focused on ensuring our schools are equipped with the tools they need to tell their unique stories and execute their goals.

What You’ll Do

The Director of Communications and Marketing is responsible for the following in addition to any other projects as determined by their manager, the Chief of Staff:

Communications Marketing Strategy

  • Develop and implement Green Dot California and school-specific marketing plans in collaboration with Green Dot California’s Leadership Team and the Green Dot National Communications Team to support a variety of efforts: student recruitment and retention, teacher recruitment, stakeholder communications, fundraising, and the overall Green Dot CA brand.
  • Identify, evaluate, and execute opportunities that increase Green Dot CA’s visibility among key audiences.
  • Collaborate with Green Dot National on Green Dot CA’s online marketing strategy as it relates to the website, search engine monitoring, display ads, traditional advertising and inbound marketing, emails, and social media.

Assets & Materials

  • Oversee the development of engaging communications pieces consistent with Green Dot’s brand messaging such as newsletters, direct mail, advertising, as well as student and talent recruitment campaigns to attract attention and generate interest.
  • Further develop Green Dot CA’s brand identity and key message points to support strategic positioning in the Los Angeles area.
  • Develop Green Dot CA and individual school communications templates and other school-based communications as requested.
  • Copy edit a range of written programmatic and fundraising materials with a high attention to detail in order to ensure clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness.

Team Management & Strategic Planning

  • Manage Green Dot CA Communications Team; set overall marketing direction and priorities to support development initiatives and organizational impact.
  • Work cross-functionally across Green Dot CA and with Green Dot National to maximize communications efforts and understand the needs of the organization.
  • Drive the strategy for Green Dot CA’s social media, website traffic, and other emerging media based on current marketing trends and data.

Advocacy Support

  • Collaborate with the Chief of Staff to ensure relationships with elected officials maintain momentum. Monitor and promote engagement with elected officials.
  • Collaborate with the Chief of Staff in the development and tracking of advocacy-related communications.

Who You Are

  • You are values aligned. You truly believe that every student, whatever their circumstances, holds the innate potential to achieve their goals and succeed in college, leadership, and life.
  • You are a strategic storyteller. You have an uncanny ability to communicate through diverse media and have a strong portfolio of blogs, proposals, newsletters, press releases, bylines, etc. You are able to think and act strategically to enable each piece to fit together into the larger picture. Your communication skills and emotional intelligence allow you to connect authentically with a variety of audiences.
  • You are an outstanding writer. At your core, you love writing, and you possess a strong passion for the power of words. Your exemplary grammar and communication skills will be key, too. You are a strong writer with superb proofreading and editing skills; you’re extremely attentive to accuracy.
  • You are service-oriented. You have a service mindset. You have had experience with customer service in the past, whether in a professional setting or a volunteer capacity. You have built up a skill set in addressing people’s needs and asks, and managing expectations as well as timelines. You are known for your “can-do” attitude and for always being graciously helpful.
  • You are visually creative. You might not be a designer by training, but you have an eye for design and can effectively contribute to visual media. You can develop the message, including some of the aesthetics, to resonate with diverse, target audiences, and add the final polishing touches.
  • You are a strong, intentional relationship builder and collaborative teammate. ​You thrive on bringing different stakeholders together around a common goal. You seek to understand different contributors’ motivations and enjoy finding creative ways of meeting multiple objectives. You shape relationships with an ethos of reciprocity. You have time-tested strategies in your toolkit to support effective decision making processes related to communications, and have developed proven internal management systems that drive consistent results.

How You’ll be Measured

By the end of your first year you will have co-created a communications strategic plan with the senior leadership team with special focus on student enrollment and school-based recruitment as well as family engagement and advocacy efforts. In addition, you will have:

  • Identified and implemented best practices to ensure consistency and clarity of branding and messaging across all internal and external communications.
  • Developed the communications calendar and cycle, including producing a newsletter and blog posts, and coordinating speaking opportunities (e.g. for the Chief Executive Officer).
  • Developed (or redesigned as needed) and implemented the processes and approval protocols for copywriting, design, production, editing, and distribution of all marketing materials.

Additional Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, or other related area is required
  • 5+ years of strategic communications and/or writing-intensive marketing experience with demonstrated success in creating persuasive communications materials
  • Understanding of the Los Angeles education landscape and education reform preferred
  • Spanish language fluency – both written and verbal – preferred

Why Work with Us

Together with families and communities, we 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. Working at Green Dot means that you will have:

  • Access to health care when you need it most. Whether it be medical, vision, dental, disability or life insurance, we’ve got you covered and offer a bevy of benefits to ensure that you and your family are taken care of during these uncertain times.
  • Support to plan for your future. Team members have the option to participate in a 401K retirement plan.
  • A community of learners. We are a community of learners who are dedicated to reflection and continual improvement. We are passionate about our content, committed to refining our practice, and incorporate curiosity and a love for learning in our classrooms.
  • A competitive compensation package. The salary range for this position is between $115,000- $140,000 and is based on experience.

Of course, Green Dot is an equal opportunity employer providing for employment or advancement without discrimination because of race, color, religion creed, political association, ancestry, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, domestic violence or stalking victim status, national origin, citizenship, age, veteran status, pregnancy, handicap disability, genetic, genetic characteristics, or other protected status.

Location 

This is an onsite opportunity, serving as part of Green Dot California’s home office team. Offices are located on South Hill St in Los Angeles, CA.

Eligibility to Work

Eligibility to work at a Green Dot location is contingent upon proof of vaccination status.

How To Apply

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