District Overview

Holyoke Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school district serving nearly 5,000 students, of whom 80 percent are Latino/Latina, in 13 schools. We employ nearly 1,300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We are committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality educators who believe all children can and will learn and who strive daily to make school a joyful place of discovery, support, and belonging.

Our Equity Commitments are pledges we are making to address systemic equity challenges.

We intentionally build a community that is anti-racist, inclusive, and culturally responsive .
We ensure that students, families, and staff get the support they need to be successful .
We seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted , with a commitment to include those who have been excluded in the past.
We promote access and inclusion for all students, staff, and families.
We respect, embrace, and honor the diversity of our students, families, staff, and community.
We reflect on our own behavior to minimize harm to others.
We create a culture of acceptance and empathy so that everyone feels valued and is able to contribute to our community’s success.

HPS was placed into receivership by the State of Massachusetts in Spring 2015 because of struggling performance. We have been implementing a Turnaround Plan that has led to expanded opportunities for students to explore the arts, sports, sciences, local and world cultures, early college and work-based learning. Learn more about Holyoke Public Schools’ strategic planning efforts on the district website.

Communications Department Overview

The Communications Department supports internal and external communications for Holyoke Public Schools and sets guidelines for all communications to consistently articulate the district’s mission and core values to families, staff, partners, and other stakeholders. The department provides access to transparent, up-to-date, and easy-to-understand information to all stakeholders through multiple communication channels in their preferred languages.

Priorities Include

Providing timely and accurate information to stakeholders, both internal and external, related to the mission, operations, programs, and initiatives of Holyoke Public Schools;
Fostering trusting relationships among and between all district stakeholders;
Connecting families to district, school, and community resources; and
Promoting and supporting a positive culture for learning and leadership.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Senior Communications Coordinator articulates the district’s vision, mission, core values, and accomplishments through social media posts and campaigns, website content, photography, and graphic design work. The Senior Communications Coordinator writes in a variety of styles for a range of formats, including news, conversational style, formal correspondence, informal and engaging social media posts, and technical and report writing.

Work Schedule: This is a full-time position (Monday-Friday) in a school-based worksite. Occasional night, early morning, or weekend hours are required for meetings, events, or to support emerging situations.

Responsibilities

Regularly create, post, curate, and monitor content on Facebook and Instagram to inform stakeholders about school and district initiatives, events, successes, etc. and promote the district’s vision, priorities, and programs; and to ensure effective two-way communication occurs between stakeholders and the district.
Take lead responsibility for maintenance of the district’s website—including routine updates, planning/implementing the annual update process, and writing and posting new content.
Serve as primary liaison with the district’s Family and Community Engagement team and other departments/schools to develop website and social media content.
Create and maintain the district’s website and social media editorial calendar, aligned with the HPS Communications Editorial Calendar and informed and adjusted by metrics analysis.
Take well-composed and well-lit candid and posed photographs at schools and at district/community events; and properly edit your own and contributed photos using Adobe Photoshop for use on social media, district website, marketing materials, and the archive library.
Create graphic designs for social media, the district website, flyers, posters, brochures, newsletters, etc. using Canva, Adobe InDesign and/or other similar software.
Write and edit letters, mass communication alerts, news content, website and social media content, press releases, flyers, brochures, and other communications pieces.
Prepare and send mass communication messages.
Compile and analyze monthly metrics reports for the district’s website, social media accounts, and Together for Holyoke e-newsletter. Use trend data from these reports to inform future content decisions for the website, social media, and e-newsletters and also to inform overall communications strategies. Share reports and analysis with the Director of Communications.
Train and support school and district staff on the use of Thrillshare software (the district’s integrated digital communications platform), as well as social media platforms.
Monitor all news coverage and social media mentions daily for HPS, its schools, staff, and students. Compile media mentions in the established log. Immediately alert the Director of Communications to all sensitive or urgent news stories, posts, or comments.
If the Senior Communications Coordinator is a trained translator: Assist with translation requests as time allows. Proofread translations done by others, update previous translations to reflect changes in the original text, and translate short pieces, generally not more than one page of text.
Serve as back-up to the Director of Communications and perform other duties as assigned.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS (Experience, skills, traits, and beliefs)

College degree or a minimum of three years of experience directly related to the specified responsibilities of this position, with experience in modern journalism, public relations, and/or strategic communications a significant plus;
Strong organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to juggle competing priorities;
Knowledgeable about the effective use of social media to build relationships and foster two-way communication with district stakeholders;
Computer literacy and experience using a variety of digital platforms;
Ability to learn and become proficient in professional communication software (Google Suite, Adobe Suite, Microsoft Office);
Strong verbal, customer service, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders;
The ability to write clear, compelling, accurate, and informative content;
Ability to work independently, be a self-starter, and take direction and constructive feedback;
Willing and able to travel to schools and other community locations to cover/photograph events;
A drive for continuous learning and developing skills as a school public relations professional;
Commitment to high-performance standards and belief in HPS values; and
A passion for work that contributes to strengthening the public’s understanding of and perceptions about public education.
Bilingual (Spanish/English) and connection to Holyoke and/or Puerto Rico are significant pluses.

Reports to: Director of Communications

Salary Range: $50,000-$60,000

Holyoke Public Schools

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Senior Communications Coordinator