Communications Operations Manager

Friends Seminary educates students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, adhering to the values of the Religious Society of Friends. We strive to build a diverse school where students exercise their curiosity and imagination as they develop as scholars, artists and athletes. In a community that cultivates the practices of keen observation, unhurried reflection, critical thinking, and coherent expression, we listen for the single voice as we seek unity. The disciplines of silence, study, and service provide the matrix for growth: silence opens us to change; study helps us to know the world; service challenges us to put our values into practice. At Friends Seminary, education is rooted in the Quaker belief in the Inner Light – that of God in every person. Guided by the testimonies of integrity, peace, equality, and simplicity, we prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be.

Founded in 1786, Friends Seminary, the oldest continually operating coeducational, independent Quaker school in New York City, seeks applications for a Communications Operations Manager to join our Communications team. The Communications Office at Friends Seminary works to advance the School’s mission and institutional priorities through thoughtful, strategic, and engaging communications with the School community and broader public.

The Communications Operations Manager is a full-time member of the Communications Office, reporting to the Director of Communications and working closely with the Senior Associate Director of Communications and Multimedia Producer. This position serves as the operational center of the department, leading project management and overseeing the systems, calendars, production workflows, and resources that support the team’s work. The ideal candidate is highly organized, proactive, and collaborative with strong writing and digital skills, and practical project-management experience who anticipates needs, enjoys creating order, and can keep multiple projects and priorities moving forward.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate project management for the Communications Office, maintaining a centralized system for projects, timelines, responsibilities, deliverables, and deadlines.
• Develop and manage production schedules for major communications projects and publications, coordinating copy, photography, design, approvals, vendors, and other materials from project initiation through completion.
• Manage communications deliverables associated with major School events, including invitations, programs, signage, email communications, web content, and photography/video coverage, in collaboration with the team members responsible for editorial and creative work.
• Maintain a request-intake process and weekly status report; track production handoffs for Meetinghouse, Admissions and Advancement materials, and event communications. Flag missing assets, approval delays, and capacity conflicts for team decisions.
• Oversee and maintain the School’s institutional calendar in Blackbaud and manage the annual calendar planning and reconciliation process.
• Clerk and coordinate the School’s Calendar & Events Committee and serve as a liaison with New York Quarterly Meeting regarding scheduling and reservation of shared spaces.
• Maintain the School’s annual communications calendar, working with the Director and Senior Associate Director of Communications to provide visibility into major communications across audiences, offices, and channels.
• Coordinate day-to-day work with outside graphic design, video, print, and production vendors and contractors, including timelines, assets, proofs, revisions, deliverables, and related expenses.
• Serve as an operational steward of the Communications Office’s digital systems and platforms, including project management, web, calendar, email, and asset-management systems.
• Manage routine website maintenance and administration, including page and content updates, basic page creation, links, and other ongoing CMS needs.
• Maintain constituent distribution lists and email templates across the School’s communications platforms.
• Organize and maintain the Communications Office’s digital assets and archives, including logos, templates, photography, video, publications, and project files.
• Support the Multimedia Producer by organizing incoming and selected photo/video files, recording available dates and subject information, locating assets for colleagues, and preserving approved exports alongside source files. Follow School procedures for access and image-use permissions.
• Document recurring departmental workflows and processes to support consistency, efficiency, and continuity.
• Administer routine departmental financial and operational processes, including expense reconciliation, invoices, vendor and contractor expenses, expenditure tracking, and office purchases.
• Provide communications support as needed, including basic graphic design, social media posting, writing and editing, photography, and assistance with video production.
• Collaborate with Communications colleagues and partners across the School to anticipate needs, coordinate projects, and support institutional priorities.
• Participate in occasional evening and weekend work in support of School events and communications needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and related professional experience.
• Four or more years of relevant professional experience in communications, project management, creative operations, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Demonstrated project-management experience and exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, stakeholders, and priorities simultaneously.
• A proactive approach to work, with the ability to anticipate needs, identify potential challenges, and move projects forward with limited direction.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the confidence and diplomacy to establish timelines, follow up with colleagues, and hold collaborators accountable for deliverables.
• Excellent writing, editing, proofreading, and verbal communication skills; ability to apply School style, and prepare accurate community-facing communications.
• Strong digital skills, including shared-drive organization, document and spreadsheet tools, calendars, and reliable use of communications platforms; ability to learn and manage school-specific systems and document repeatable processes.
• Solid working knowledge of Trello, Asana, or a comparable project-management tool, including setting up workflows, assigning owners, tracking milestones and dependencies, and maintaining clear status reports.
• Familiarity with website content-management systems and email communications platforms.
• Experience organizing shared drives, digital assets, or publication archives, including folder structures, naming conventions, version control, and searchable records. Experience planning a phased organization project is preferred.
• Working knowledge of Canva or a comparable design tool; ability to adapt approved templates, prepare routine materials, and follow brand standards. Advanced design or layout experience is a plus.
• Photography and basic photo-editing skills are a plus, not required. Willingness to support campus coverage logistics and learn routine asset-handling procedures is required.
• Video recording or editing experience is a plus, not required. The role supports multimedia logistics and may assist with routine capture after training, according to demonstrated skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Sound judgment and discretion when working with sensitive or confidential information.
• Experience in an independent school, educational institution, nonprofit organization, or other mission-driven environment is preferred but not required. Relevant transferable experience is welcome.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $85,000–$120,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Benefits

Friends Seminary offers excellent benefits including paid time off, health, dental, vision, 403(b) with a School-paid match; wide-ranging opportunities for professional development, including tuition support and summer grants; and a talented and dedicated team of teaching colleagues and supportive administrators. Successful candidates will join a dynamic and forward-thinking teaching community of over 150 educators.

To apply, please submit the following:

1. Completed Friends Seminary employment application
2. Cover letter
3. Resume
4. Writing sample
5. Contact information for three personal references

When submitting your materials, kindly be sure to reference your first and last name, the position for which you are applying, and where you heard about the position in the subject line. i.e. [last name], [first name] - Communications Operations Manager - Friends Seminary website . You will receive a confirmation email when you submit your application. No phone calls, please.

Submit all materials to: View email address on click.appcast.io

Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates of color and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. We urge all applicants to identify and express their individuality and the ways in which they might enrich and diversify the School community.

Moreover, all successful applicants, whether for a faculty or administrative staff post, must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in their professional lives. Applicants for a faculty position should highlight ways their curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom culture may advance these goals. Applicants for an administrative staff position should highlight ways they seek to promote these goals in their office work, programming, or operational endeavors.