Development and Communications Associate

City Garden Montessori School (City Garden) is the only Montessori charter school in Missouri, and we are one of the highest-performing charter schools in the state. Our team possesses passion and determination to implement the Montessori approach to educating children in a diverse, public school environment. City Garden is committed to being an anti-biased, anti-racist community and seeks others who are passionate about these values. We are committed to continuous learning and growth for adults in the community, to foster excellence for all City Garden children.

Located in St. Louis, City Garden recently renewed its second 10 Year Charter with the state of Missouri. We began in 2008 with 53 students and now have 268 children in preschool through eighth grade. As we grow, we continue to seek individuals to join us who share our vision for academic excellence for all children and holistic Montessori education, rooted in equity and social justice.

Development and Communications Associate

City Garden seeks to hire a talented and ambitious individual who will assist programs and activities of our development department which results in significantly growing City Garden’s philanthropic support. The Development and Communications Associate will report directly to the Chief Development Officer.

Overall Responsibilities – Execute the annual development plan with specific areas of responsibility:

• Communications
• Development coordination, including database management
• Events

Communications Responsibilities:

• Develop strategic communications plan to promote City Garden to various constituencies including parents, donors, friends, and at-large community
• Manage City Garden’s presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other appropriate social networking sites
• Content editor and manager of the website
• Create, edit, and catalog graphics, photos, and other visual content
• Produce impact reports
• Develop and maintain consistent voice and messaging throughout all communication and media

Development Responsibilities:

• Assist the Chief Development Officer execute annual appeal by coordinating mailings, solicitations (direct mail, email and online) and print materials
• Serve as lead staff member for contact database data entry and maintenance
• Process donations and prepare acknowledgement letters, run queries and edit/update data
• Reconcile donation data with business office general ledger on a regularly scheduled basis
• Serve as the office liaison to a wide range of vendors
• Set up and maintain paper and electronic filing systems for records, correspondence, and other materials
• Coordinate and assist stewardship efforts
• Provide in-person, phone, and email support to respond to donor inquiries, accept gifts, fulfill information requests, and answer general questions

Event Responsibilities:

• Manage and execute development events
• Work with the development team to draft and send event invitations, maintain guest lists, prepare materials and supplies, coordinate catering, staff events, and coordinate post-event needs
• Create event materials for direct mail (printing and mailing), email, online, brochures, posters, etc.
• Responsible for planning and executing the annual Gala
• Assist recruit and train event volunteers
• Track solicitations, solicit sponsorships and auction items, and work on other efforts as needed

Qualifications – Required

• Bachelor’s degree from accredited university in development, communications, journalism, public policy or business administration
• Three years of progressively responsible relevant experience in a nonprofit setting
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
• Excellent communication and organizational skills
• Proficiency in utilization of social media platforms, blogs, search-engine tools, and other web-based resources
• Experience in website content administration
• Excellent writing skills
• The ability to work independently but also serve as an effective and productive team member
• Some night and weekend work required

Additional Skills and Requirements

• Experience using database management software
• Experience using event registration programs
• Experience with e-news publishing programs, i.e., Constant Contact
• Experience with print, graphics, and presentation programs, i.e., Publisher, PowerPoint, Adobe
• Requires ability to exercise independent judgment to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to problem resolution
• Requires a vehicle and a valid driver’s license

Additional Information: Position is full-time, 12-month, exempt position. Employee will be eligible for health, retirement and vacation benefits. This position requires some evening and weekend hours.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This position offers a salary range of $60,000 to $65,000 and robust benefits include medical, dental, retirement and generous personal time off. More details can be provided upon request.

What It’s Like to Work at City Garden

Our work is a calling. We are implementing a very unique, specialized approach to education. City Garden is also much more than a school–we have a deep commitment to do “whatever it takes” for our children and families, and we educate our children in the context of an active, vibrant, diverse community. All of this requires a special kind of commitment. Staff must also have a high level of cultural competence, and be committed to constant growth in this area.

Our work requires being coachable, an ongoing desire to learn and a sense of egoless-ness. Our work is not easy. Our guides (teachers) individualize curriculum for every student, and have mixed age groupings. We are constantly aligning Montessori with the Missouri Learning Standards, and we strive to implement the Montessori approach with fidelity while meeting the requirements of teaching in a public school. Administrative and support staff must be able to think “outside the box” and have a relentless commitment to creating new ways of doing things that lead to equity.

Our work requires flexibility, independence and initiative. We are a young organization; things change fast, and we are still developing programs, systems and structures. We are looking for people who are excited to create, innovate, and constantly learn new things!

Our work is profoundly rewarding!  Our children love to come to school. They are joyful, funny and engaged, and they love the adults at City Garden. We have an incredible community of support beyond our walls which includes parents, neighborhood residents, other organizations, businesses, foundations, corporations and many individuals who believe in us and our mission.

To Apply

Please apply by submitting your resume and cover letter to jobs@citygardenschool.org. For any questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Deb Flores at deb.flores@citygardenschool.org.

City Garden Montessori School is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity, equity and inclusion. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, gender identities, military or veteran status, or other statuses protected by law. All candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.