Development and Community Relations Director

Posting Date: 4/12/2024

Position Title: Development and Community Relations Director

Reports to: Superintendent

Service Area: Santa Fe, NM

Employment Term: 12 Months; Exempt

Salary/Wage Range: $79,410 – $127,723 Dependent on qualifications and experience

Deadline for Application: Open until filled

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Summary 

The Director is central to all activities of the Development & Community Relations Office and its primary function of increasing awareness and visibility while promoting the New Mexico School for the Deaf’s programs and statewide services. Duties include but are not limited to marketing; media relations; website and social media postings and maintenance; special event planning and implementation. The position requires interacting face-to-face, by e-mail and phone, with community stakeholders including civic groups, donors, legislators, VIPs, business owners, vendors, agencies (Commission for Deaf & Hard of Hearing, COPD, HLAA etc.), parents, alumni, and retirees. Additionally, this position includes a variety of Development (fundraising) activities and donor cultivation and stewardship efforts. This position also supports intra-school community development and collaboration. It is anticipated and expected that all functions of this position will be performed in a positive and respectful manner, with a strong focus on advancing the mission and vision of New Mexico School for the Deaf. The duties and competencies listed are comprehensive yet not all inclusive of this position.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (Other duties may be assigned

• Development (Fundraising)
• Research, write, coordinate, and manage all aspects of grants.
• Lead Capital Campaigns from conception to delivery.
• Oversee development and implementation of annual fundraising campaign.
• Develop, monitor, and adjust strategic and ongoing action plans for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors.
• Develop and strengthen partnerships with Foundations resulting in funding streams.
• Manage/track donor funds housed at NMSD and endowments housed at the Santa Fe Community Foundation.
• Coordinate and track all in-house funding requests that provide financial support to students, staff, and families.
• Provide guidance for other fundraising efforts originating from student groups and so forth.

• Community Relations: Develop and implement proactive community relations strategies keeping the community informed about NMSD’s Vision/Mission and its accomplishments. The director oversees the following departmental responsibilities which include but are not limited to:

• School Publications: including but not limited to the Annual Report, the NM Progress, Marketing Materials, and Greeting Cards
• Website & Social Media
• Media Relations: Promote and maintain relationships with media personnel and outlets including but not limited to the preparation and coordination of press releases, program coverage, and interviews.
• Civic & Community Groups: Maintain relationships with local Civic/Community Groups.
• Stakeholder Correspondence: Maintain stakeholder relationships by writing thank you notes, letters, sympathy messages, and so forth, on behalf of the school.
• General Obligation Bonds for Education: Serve as NMSD’s liaison on the Bond Committee and implement strategies to promote the Bond within the NMSD and greater community.
• Special Events: Assist with the planning and implementation of special school-community events (e.g., Senior Awards, appreciation events, and ribbon cuttings)
• Photographs & Digital Assets: This includes archives and current photographs and media of various events and individuals.
• NMSD Museum: Ensure the organization and maintenance of museum storage, files, artifacts, collections and displays.
• School-wide community development: Support ongoing efforts to maintain and expand upon NMSD’s deeply integrated sense of community and collaboration within the school’s programs.
• Superintendent’s Office Support: Assist with the scheduling of and preparation for speaking engagements and with various legislative efforts.

• Director-Specific Responsibilities
• Oversee and supervises all contracted and full-time employees within the department.
• Maintain all day-to-day operations and office organization
• Perform other duties as assigned

Competencies

• Possession of excellent planning, organizational and implementation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, set priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive, goal-oriented, and able to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Strong attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and adherence to data governance standards.
• Ability to work independently and effectively within the collaborative nature of a teamwork environment.
• Ability to deal effectively and pleasantly with the school, corporate, professional, and public communities exhibiting excellent interpersonal skills in person and on telephone.
• Excellent oral/signed and written communication skills, with diplomacy and good judgment with possession of professional writing and exceptional proof-reading and editing skills.
• Sense of humor, creativity, kindness, flexibility, and patience; understanding and recognition that this work is centered on building and cultivating relationships.
• High respect for confidential nature of all work.
• Ability and high level of skill in using various Microsoft Office and Multimedia Programs.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields: Communications, business, public relations, or marketing, from a four-year College or University; or non-related degree(s) required. Masters’ degree preferred. Administrative experience preferred. At least five years’ experience in a field related to Development and Community Relations or in a field related to Deaf Education required. Knowledge of Deaf education, Deaf culture, and community highly preferred.

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, and the general public. Conversational Spanish skills are helpful in this position but are not required.

Sign Language

The applicant must have fluency in American Sign Language or a willingness to acquire this fluency. Applicant will be required to demonstrate progressive sign language acquisition and, if needed, participate in sign language classes offered at NMSD.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form. Ability to think independently, problem solve and work with the whole team.

Computer Skills

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have a high level of working knowledge of: Microsoft Office programs. Adobe Creative Suites (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign); iMovie, Media Encoder, and Adobe Acrobat Pro. Knowledge of Dreamweaver, HTML & CSS a plus. Must be comfortable working on the PC platform.

Physical Demand

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and sit. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. The employee must be able to answer the phone and respond to callers. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and peripheral vision.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Salary : $79,410 - $127,723