Montclair, New Jersey
Posted: 17-Apr-25
Location: Montclair, New Jersey
Type: Full Time
Preferred Education:
Montclair Kimberley Academy, an innovative Pre-K-12 independent day school with a strong national reputation, located in Montclair, NJ. MKA is known for its innovative teaching practices, supportive community, and strong commitment to academic excellence and personal growth. As part of our ongoing commitment to engaging with our diverse school community and beyond, we seek a dynamic and strategic Associate Director of Communications and Marketing to join our team. This is a full-time (on-site) position reporting to the Director of Communications and Marketing.
Position Overview:
The Associate Director of Communications and Marketing will be a key member of the school’s communications and marketing team, responsible for supporting and executing the school’s communications strategies, promoting the school’s brand, and engaging key audiences, including prospective families, current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the local community. This individual will have a broad range of responsibilities, including content creation, media relations, digital marketing, event promotion, and messaging.
The ideal candidate will be a creative, resourceful, and collaborative professional with strong writing skills, experience in brand development, and a proven track record in marketing and communications. This position requires an understanding of the unique needs of an independent school, the ability to work across departments, and a passion for storytelling that resonates with a diverse audience.
Key Responsibilities:
Communications Strategy & Execution:
- Attention to the school’s strategic pillars and priorities, creating communications
- Assist in the development and execution of comprehensive communications and marketing strategies that support the school’s mission, strategic goals, and values.
- Collaborate with internal teams to ensure consistent, brand-aligned messaging and a unified voice across all communication channels.
Public Relations & Media Outreach:
- Develop and pitch compelling, external stories to local and regional media, focusing on key institutional initiatives that reflect MKA’s leadership in education.
- Partner with MKA’s Marketing writer to elevate MKA’s visibility and reputation through internal intentional storytelling, ensuring MKA’s innovative programs, alumni successes, and student accomplishments reach our parent audiences.
Event Promotion & Community Engagement:
- Oversee the positioning, promotion, and execution of key community events, such as the All-School Gathering, Hemmeter-McNeal Lecture, ensuring each event supports MKA’s advancement goals and serves as a platform to showcase institutional priorities.
- Manage all aspects of event communications, branding, and follow-up storytelling, ensuring cohesive integration into advancement campaigns and broader communications.
Advancement Marketing:
- Collaborate with the Development and Admissions offices to develop strategic and coordinated communications strategies — ensuring all materials reinforce MKA’s brand identity, reflect its mission, and amplify our messaging.
- Serve as the primary liaison to MKA’s digital marketing partner, ensuring data-driven decision-making for Admissions advertising and other digital campaigns.
- Partner closely with Development to conceptualize and produce high-impact philanthropy and alumni engagement materials — including stewardship pieces, Heritage Society brochures, newsletters, appeals, campaigns, and comprehensive branding packages.
- Collaborate with the Parents’ Association to streamline communication processes, ensuring their programming is supported and promoted effectively.
- Support parent communications strategy to impact satisfaction and retention.
Crisis Communication & Internal Communications:
- Assist in managing crisis communication efforts when necessary, ensuring accurate and timely dissemination of information to the community.
- Support internal communications to ensure staff, faculty, and students are kept informed of important school updates, policies, and events.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in communications, marketing, or public relations, preferably in an educational setting.
- Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills with an eye for detail and the ability to craft compelling narratives.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment. ? Experience in managing social media accounts and digital marketing campaigns.
- Proficiency with content management systems, email marketing platforms, and design tools (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite) is preferred.
- Strong knowledge of branding, marketing strategy, and media relations.
- Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with colleagues, parents, alumni, and external partners.
- High level of initiative, creativity, and flexibility.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working in an independent school or nonprofit environment.
- Experience with video production, photography, or multimedia content creation.
- Familiarity with SEO best practices and web analytics tools.
- Ability to manage budgets for marketing campaigns and materials.
- Experience in crisis communication and handling sensitive information.
How to Apply:
Please submit your resume and cover letter to ksaunders@mka.org.
It is MKA's policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or disability not related to the requirements for being a successful employee at MKA. We especially welcome applications from all individuals with the ability to contribute to MKA’s continuing commitment to social and cultural diversity, inclusiveness, and the transformative power of our differences.