Senior Executive Director (0998): Communications Department

Job Class: 0998 Senior Executive Director of Communications

Salary Range: $181,221.80 - $235,994.40/annually

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (what does this mean?)

Length of Appointment: Permanent Exempt, Full Time not to exceed three (3) years. This position is excluded by the Charter from competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointing officer.

Calendar: Full Time / Full Year

Who We Are

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is the seventh largest school district in California, serving more than 50,000 students who speak more than 44 documented languages across 121 schools in the city of San Francisco every year. We aim for every student who attends SFUSD schools to discover his or her spark, along with a strong sense of self and purpose, and that all students graduate from high school ready for college and career, and equipped with the skills, capacities and dispositions outlined in SFUSD’s Graduate Profile. Every day in our quest to achieve this mission we provide each and every student the quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century.

What It Means to Work Here

The SFUSD community is unified by our Core Values:

• Student-centered: We put students’ needs first
• Fearless: We persist through challenges
• United: We celebrate and build on each other’s strengths
• Social Justice: We stand with those most vulnerable in our community
• Diversity-driven: We respect and seek to understand each person

We are also inspired by Vision, Values and Guardrails which captures our aspirations and vision for the future of public education in San Francisco. Alongside the District’s strategic plan. SFUSD is reimagining how public education will change over the next decade to meet the dynamic future of San Francisco. As a CORE district, SFUSD is also a leader in critical systems change for more comprehensive school accountability and innovations that help strengthen the instructional core, which is the foundation of our strategic plan and goals.

Who We Want

We want talented people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are inspired by our mission, steeped in equity, and who are motivated to unleash our children’s potential. We want people who are strong collaborators, skilled communicators, and problem solvers who are comfortable in a community of continuous learning.

Essential Duties

The duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to the job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive or exhaustive list.

As the 0998 Senior Executive Director of Communications, you will:

• Oversee and provide strategic direction to the Communications Department, ensuring coherent alignment in service of the District’s priorities and goals across all platforms
• Advocate for the interests of SFUSD in public relations.
• Champion a “one-team” culture across the district, promoting connections across divisions and between central office and schools
• Proactively plan, develop, organize, and administer all aspects of the school District’s communication strategy, priorities, and day-to-day communications issues
• Ensure essential communications align with the District’s priorities and bring the District closer to its vision, including correspondence to SFUSD staff and families, proactive media placement, internal communications, websites, and support for the executive messaging
• Establish performance measures, monitor results, and partner with the Superintendent, Executive Leadership Team, and the SFUSD Board of Education to evaluate the effectiveness of SFUSD’s communications
• Partner across the District to lead the district-wide, strategic alignment of internal and external communications, exercising influence and positional authority to create coherence
• Build effective relationships with media representatives, serving as the District’s primary liaison to local, state and national media
• Exemplify and model the District’s core values, serving as an effective ambassador of the District to stakeholders and the public at large
• Supervise, evaluate and guide staff across divisions, building capacity and creating accountability towards meeting short and long-term goals

The strongest candidates will have:

• Experience leading communications and/or external affairs divisions of a public school district or other public entity
• The ability to create and drive organizational change that produces results
• Familiarity with San Francisco’s media landscape
• Knowledge and relationships with San Francisco’s educational, political, and school communities
• Personal and professional alignment with the mission and core values of SFUSD
• The ability to manage and synthesize information systems in large, complex, urban institutions for a diverse public audience
• Extraordinary commitment to measurable results and continuous improvement
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and oral (with individuals and groups, including large, high-stakes presentations)
• The ability to work effectively with racially and ethnically diverse staff, students, and communities, bringing groups together across differences towards common goals

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in mass communications, education, public administration, business administration or related field; AND/OR
• Five (5) years of successful experience in public affairs, government relations, media relations, development or similar work involving community relations; OR
• An equivalent combination of education and experience providing the required skill and knowledge for successful performance.

What We Offer

SFUSD offers a competitive salary of $181,221.80 - $235,994.40/annually commensurate with experience in a similar position. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan including dental and vision plans, a defined benefit pension plan, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options and vacation time. We also offer an inclusive and equity-centered environment where we encourage staff to bring their whole selves to work.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at

Note

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification from this and futurejobopportunities with the San Francisco Unified School District.

Nondiscrimination Statement and Grievance Procedures

San Francisco Unified School District prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, sexual harassment and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or lactation, including medical conditions or recovery, parental, marital, and family status, reproductive health decision making, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sex, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military or veteran status, or genetic information, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, or any other basis protected by law or regulation, in its educational program(s) or employment.

Any person may report discrimination, including sex discrimination, sexual harassment, or discrimination on the basis of a physical or mental disability (whether or not the reporting person is alleged to be the victim of the discriminatory conduct) in person, by mail, by telephone, or by email, using the contact information for the District's Title IX Coordinator.

District Title IX Coordinator

Eva Kellogg

Office of Equity

555 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA, 94102

View phone number on click.appcast.io or View email address on click.appcast.io

For more information and the District's nondiscrimination policy, please review Board Policy 4030. For more information about the District's Sexual Harassment policy, please review Board Policy 4034.