The Director of Community Relations is integral to the success of GDS’s advancement programs. The work of the Director of Community Relations will be achieved by developing and executing a strategy to build and maintain programs and activities that will support community within the school, promote a favorable image for Georgetown Day School in the external community, and attract prospective families and students to GDS. The Director will forge positive relationships with members of the School community, particularly volunteers, key faculty and staff, and other stakeholders across the school in order to represent the school to our internal and external communities. Also, the Director will create a volunteer environment that will offer opportunities for members of the community to fully engage with the school as they are able based on their resources of time, expertise, and financial support.
The incumbent will organize GDS community events, attend and participate in Tenleytown community meetings, and create programs for neighborhood community outreach The Director will also serve as the liaison with the Parent Service Association, providing oversight and support to both the PSA and other volunteer groups involved with engaging new parents and families. The Director will help create opportunities through events and volunteer activities to integrate new families earlier and more meaningfully into the existing GDS community.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Community Relations Programs Planning
Plan, organize, and manage activities that will support the external and internal relations strategic goals of Georgetown Day School.
Nurture relationships between the school and external organizations, and our local and virtual community.
Communications Management
Collaborate with the communications department in promoting event attendance.
Event Planning:
Plan, execute, engage attendance, and perform follow-up analysis of all GDS community wide events, including Country Market Day, an annual gala for the GDS community, and a biennial speaker series in addition to the annual Benjamin Cooper Memorial Lecture. Other GDS community events overseen by the Director include: graduation, Grandparents and Special Friends Day, Athletic Honorary events, and Sports Saturday.
Manage event logistics for departmental (fundraising, athletics) and ad hoc events, as determined by school leadership.
Volunteer Management:
Oversee recruitment, training, and management of volunteers for community events.
Work closely with the PSA to support its work and collaborate when appropriate on school wide projects.
Other Duties
This position will be required to fulfill the following in order to conduct and meet expectations. Such other duties may be assigned from time to time:
- Local travel within the community is required.
- Working outside of normal business hours, including evenings and weekends.
- Conduct presentations.
Qualification Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, required.
- Demonstrated progressive experience managing and overseeing community relations, event planning, and volunteer management in nonprofit organizations. Independent school experience is highly desirable.
- Polished communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work and communicate effectively and respectfully with diverse groups.
- Extremely organized, self-managed, attentive to detail, thrives in a time-sensitive and fluid environment.
- Flexible, creative, confident in ensuring flawless execution and management of GDS events.
Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and list of three references using our online application system. To apply and to find out more about the school, candidates should visit our website at www.gds.org.
Qualification Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, required.
- Demonstrated progressive experience managing and overseeing community relations, event planning, and volunteer management in nonprofit organizations. Independent school experience is highly desirable.
- Polished communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work and communicate effectively and respectfully with diverse groups.
- Extremely organized, self-managed, attentive to detail, thrives in a time-sensitive and fluid environment.
- Flexible, creative, confident in ensuring flawless execution and management of GDS events.