Job Description

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is currently seeking an Assistant Director, Communications & Advocacy to help strengthen our public relations, advocacy, and engagement efforts. This is a perfect opportunity for someone who is whip smart in communications strategy, adept in lucid writing, and an ace at efficiently managing multiple workstreams. The individual right for this role will have a strong commitment to advancing educational equity.

Organization Description

NCTQ believes every child deserves effective teachers and every teacher deserves the opportunity to be effective. We’re placing two big bets on the smartest, surest path to get there: 1) improving teacher preparation, and 2) improving teacher policies and practices to support the recruitment, development, and retention of effective teachers.

We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization deeply committed to strengthening and diversifying the teaching profession. As an equal opportunity employer, we seek to hire staff that bring diverse perspectives and experiences. Our work is dynamic and fast-paced, and our staff is passionate. This position is 100% remote—just like the entire NCTQ office. However, due to the fast-paced nature of communications work, the individual filling this role must be willing to work on an East Coast schedule (9am-5pm ET).

Job Summary

The Assistant Director, Communications & Advocacy will help drive and coordinate NCTQ’s advocacy communications, which includes communicating complex research concepts in compelling ways, building strategic relationships with major mainstream and industry media outlets to enhance NCTQ’s public outreach efforts, implementing campaigns with key stakeholders to encourage them to take action that will advance our mission and objectives, and sharing inspiring stories that illustrate NCTQ’s impact.

The Assistant Director will report directly to the Director of Strategic Communications.

Core Responsibilities

• Support planning and implementation of NCTQ’s communications, media, and advocacy strategies
  • Develop and drive communication and media strategies for various projects, ensuring we have the right mix of assets, channels, and tactics to reach NCTQ’s key stakeholders and achieve our advocacy objectives.
  • Track and use analytics to support the development of effective communication and media plans, which draw together NCTQ’s many workstreams. This includes managing a content calendar for the organization.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with press
  • Identify and develop key messages for major releases.
  • Draft press materials (press releases, interview talking points, pitch emails) and assist in press pitching.
  • Coordinate with staff to respond to press requests for information or interviews.
  • Conduct proactive outreach to press who write on NCTQ’s key issues to promote our research and resources.
  • Assist in crafting rapid and timely responses to emerging issues.
• Act as a key content creator
  • Write (from scratch) content to engage and educate audiences across various channels, including newsletters, email campaigns, blogs, graphics, website, and social media.
  • Oversee the development and maintenance of the NCTQ website, including using a data-driven strategic approach to updating website content to encourage audience engagement.
  • Develop and manage integrated email advocacy initiatives.
  • Manage NCTQ’s social media presence across multiple platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin), including synthesizing complex policy data and analysis into compelling bite-size pieces. This includes creating social toolkits for major releases and building reciprocal relationships with peer organizations on social platforms.
  • Proofread and coordinate production of advocacy materials across a range of media (print, social media, video, etc.).
• Support with communications administrative tasks
  • Manage press and advocacy contact lists, which includes proactively reaching out to reporters covering teacher quality issues to establish a relationship and share NCTQ’s resources
  • Assist with tracking and interpreting NCTQ’s media and communications analytics from press hits to email open rates and website traffic
  • Assist with tracking NCTQ’s impact in the field
• Undertake special projects and other duties as assigned

Qualifications and Attributes of a Successful Candidate

• Messaging skills: Excellent messaging and written communication skills are a necessity. Proven ability to synthesize a complicated message with complex data into a simple, compelling narrative across different audiences and communications channels (website, social media, e-newsletters, press releases). Superb storytelling skills.
• Education and Experience:
  • Bachelor’s degree in education, public policy, marketing, communications, or related field.
  • Minimum 4 years of substantial work experience in a communications/advocacy related role (experience in policy advocacy is desired).
• Communication strategy: Proven track record in advocacy communications, including content creation, campaign development, and press pitching. Demonstrated ability to effectively craft key messaging from policy research. Skill in tracking key performance indicators and making data-driven recommendations.
• Attitude/Approach: Committed to excellence, and eager to constantly learn and grow. Excellent organizational and project management skills with a high attention to detail. Highly motivated, results oriented, and able to complete tasks efficiently in a fast-paced environment. Ability to stay cool and collaborative under pressure. Belief in NCTQ’s mission.
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, and email service providers required. Experience in the following a plus: Airtable, Buffer, Canva, Google Ads, Google Analytics, MailChimp, and HTML and/or graphic design.

Salary

We offer competitive compensation commensurate with experience and an attractive benefits package including full health care coverage, paid vacation, and retirement matching contribution policy.

Our remote work environment is bolstered by virtual and in-person opportunities to connect. We hold bi-weekly staff meetings, monthly staff gatherings, and quarterly in-person retreats to keep our team connected and thriving. We offer stipends to assist with office supplies and cell/internet expenses.

NCTQ will share the salary range for this position when invited to move forward in the process.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: Advocacy, communications, Education, and Policy. Salaries: Not Disclosed.

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