Department
Crown UEI Senior Leadership
About The Department
As one of the first schools of social work in the United States, the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice has shaped the field for more than 100 years. As part of the University of Chicago, the Crown Family School shares the University's core values and distinctive intellectual culture. Crown Family School faculty, staff and students focus on identifying solutions to complex problems through the integration of research, training, and direct community engagement. Guided by an interdisciplinary tradition, Crown Family School scholars conduct innovative research to address interconnected social challenges such as educational inequality, health disparities, crime and violence, poverty, and child and family welfare—working at multiple scales, from individual to policy-level interventions.
More than 8,000 Crown Family School graduates in the US and globally hold leadership positions in academia, at nonprofits, and at governmental agencies. The Crown Family School is the home of several academic centers. These include the Susan and Richard Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development, the Urban Education Institute (UEI), the Center for Health Administration Studies, the Smart Decarceration Project, and the Employment Instability, Family Well-being, and Social Policy Network (EINet). More information may be found at https://crownschool.uchicago.edu/.
The University of Chicago Crown Family School is the academic home to the Urban Education Institute (UEI), an internationally and nationally renowned institute addressing educational inequality in urban communities by conducting rigorous research, informing evidence-based policies, and implementing innovative practices to promote educational equity and excellence. At the heart of UEI’s mission is a commitment to using rigorous research evidence and authentic community engagement to transform and promote best practices and policies in education. We approach this work through an equity lens, ensuring that all components of our research and partnerships are interconnected and focused on addressing systemic inequities. These principles guide all our projects and partnerships, creating cohesive and impactful initiatives.
Job Summary
Reporting to the UEI Senior Executive Director, this seasoned communications professional will develop and implement a high-impact communications strategy in support of the Urban Education Institute (UEI)’s mission. This role will assist the Faculty Director and Senior Executive Director with conceptualizing and communicating a compelling strategic vision that encapsulates UEI’s objectives and conveys the synergies among UEI’s five units, the Consortium on School Research, the Network for College Success, the To&Through Project, the University Teacher Education Program, and UChicago IMPACT.
The UEI Communications Lead is responsible for clearly and effectively presenting the key themes, findings, and impact of UEI’s work to external stakeholders across the full spectrum of communications channels and events. Working closely with the UEI leadership team and across all teams within the Institute, the UEI Communications Lead will craft stakeholder engagement events, media pitches, impact statements, newsletters, annual reports, and messaging to engage key audiences and translate the impact of UEI’s research and work with communities and practitioners to a broad set of stakeholders. The UEI Communications Lead will collaborate with and support UEI researchers and practitioners as they engage with and present to local, state and national education leaders, community partners, schools, school districts, non-profits, media, and funders. The Communications Lead will maintain strong working relationships with UEI unit leadership and individual researchers to remain abreast of research initiatives and coordinate communications activities across all functions.
The UEI Communications Lead will collaborate across UEI teams, some of whom have their own dedicated communications staff. Together with these content specialists, the Communication Lead will help to produce a variety of news stories, press releases, announcements, newsletters, and web content to promote education research and advance the communications and fundraising goals of UEI. The Communications Lead will also work closely with the Crown Family School Communications and Marketing team, to ensure cohesiveness and consistency in communications messaging and presentation. The Communications Lead will have a dotted line reporting relationship to the Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications and will align goals and objectives with the Crown’s School’s broader communications objectives.
The successful candidate must be able to perform a wide range of communications duties, including developing overall communications strategies across multiple channels, writing and editing content; drafting mass communications to external stakeholders; designing and planning events; managing projects for communications campaigns; maintaining email lists and distributing communications; writing and managing social media posts; and performing website updates. The ideal candidate will be a great collaborator and a proactive doer with communications experience in education research, policies and practices.
This job is grant funded. When the grant term expires, if funding continuance or additional funding isn’t identified, the position will end.
Responsibilities
- Work closely with the Faculty Director and Senior Executive Director to design and implement a compelling communications plan for UEI aimed at raising the visibility of the Institute and its research findings, the impact strategies of each unit, and the synergies across UEI teams and focus areas.
- Work in close collaboration with each of the UEI units to understand their research and practice priorities, partnerships, and new projects in their pipelines. Collaborate with them to design their communications strategies and priorities and to integrate these across the Institute.
- Collaborate with the Crown Family School’s Communication team to ensure UEI is effectively and proactively represented to external stakeholders and to enhance the institute's reputation as a national leader in urban education research.
- Prepare communications for external audiences, including promotional materials, social media, press releases, website content, annual reports, and newsletters.
- Collaborate with UEI leadership team to design and implement stakeholder engagement and research dissemination events.
- Provide communications support and thought partnership for the UEI fundraising strategy.
- Collaborate with and help to cohere the work of the communications professionals across UEI. Foster a supportive and inclusive organizational culture that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Interview faculty and staff and write press releases and feature stories about new publications and research programs.
- Source multimedia content such as photography or video to accompany stories.
- Post content on the website and maintain social media accounts.
- Prepare and develop the UEI annual report for internal and external dissemination to the dean, provost, community stakeholders, and funders.
- Ensure the events calendar and email/distribution lists are up to date.
- Acts as a strategist or project lead to plan, develop and disseminate information designed to keep the public informed of the organization's programs, accomplishments, or point of view.
- Makes high-level contributions to the media interface, including writing press releases, planning and organizing media coverage for major events, and crafting responses to sensitive or controversial issues.
- Solves complex and unique problems related to the writing, preparation, and/or delivery of information from or about the unit.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Education:
Minimum Qualifications
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Certifications:
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, writing, external relations, education practices/policy or a closely related field.
Experience:
- Previous communications experience in urban education and/or grant-funded research organizations. Previous experience leading cross-functional teams.
- Proven track record of working with multiple stakeholders to develop and execute successful communications plans, strongly preferred.
Preferred Competencies
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data in a simple and straightforward way for non-technical audiences.
- Team player with ability to build consensus and to work through others in achieving desired results and objectives.
- Strong project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to maintain positive relationships with various stakeholders.
- Strong time management skills with a proven ability to multitask and triage work to successfully complete projects on tight deadlines with little supervision.
- Excellent computer skills, including proficiency with Office 365, Smartsheet, Adobe Creative Suite, and newsletter and email list management tools.
- Familiarity with website and social media management, communications technologies and content management systems.
- Commitment to educational equity and social justice.
Working Conditions
- Hybrid work schedule possible, on-site at the Hyde Park campus in Chicago.
- Travel to external stakeholder sites as needed.
Application Documents
- Resume (required)
- Cover letter (required)
- References (preferred)
When applying, the document(s)
MUST be uploaded via the
My Experience page, in the section titled
Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Communications
Role Impact
Individual Contributor
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Pay Rate Type
Salary
FLSA Status
Exempt
Pay Range
$110,000.00 - $130,000.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.
