Chicago Jesuit Academy is hiring: Manager of Communications and Community Partne

Students who attend Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA) will be the next generation of leaders in the City of Chicago. Talented people who wish to be employed by Chicago Jesuit Academy must demonstrate a past and continued commitment to academic excellence, professional development and the Jesuit ideal of being people for others. Strong candidates are disciplined workers, compassionate listeners and tireless advocates for the children they serve. Most importantly, they recognize that Chicago Jesuit Academy will ask them to approach their work as a vocation and make substantial contributions of their time and talents in the service of the students, alumni and families of CJA.

Reporting to the Vice President of College & Career Persistence, the Manager of Communications and Community Partnerships serves as a member of the College & Career Persistence Team (CP) and the High School Bridge Team (HSB). The Manager of Communications and Community Partnerships builds and maintains relationships with employers and community-based organizations that support youth along the pipeline of the transition to high school through employment. The Manager of Communications and Community Partnerships also manages strategic communications with all of our constituents to ensure that the CP and HSB mission and services are effectively shared across all of our community partners, parents, students, and school leaders. A successful candidate will ensure that students and alumni have access to well-curated employment opportunities and a well-curated bank of community resources to support professional growth and help mitigate obstacles along the path to meaningful employment.

Essential functions:

• Create and maintain employment opportunities for alumni in the following categories: internships, hourly jobs, summer jobs and full-time employment.
• Develop and implement clear processes and templates for job applications and professional portfolios as well as clear benchmarks that guide alumni through the process, so they are well-prepared for employment opportunities.
• Manage community-based organization partnership processes ensuring that we have a process for vetting, evaluating and sustaining relationships with providers who support students along the pipeline of the transition to high school through employment.
• Manage the alumni and student-facing College & Career Persistence and High School Bridge webpages and social media presence.
• Manage the communication calendar for CP and HSB communications including the upkeep of mailing lists, branding guidelines, and streamlined content across constituencies.
• Create and solicit content for weekly newsletters for CP as well as manage the distribution lists.
• Support a caseload of students aged 14-25 by actively communicating and engaging with students, alumni and families and coordinating services and supports for various student/alumni issues through a trauma-informed lens.
• Update and maintain the confidentiality of students and alumni in the Salesforce database.
• Engage in continued learning through Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism and DEI work.
• Execute other duties as assigned.

The ideal candidate should:

• Have a bachelor’s degree and at least 3-5 years of experience in education, social work or non-profit including direct work with youth from disinvested communities.
• Have experience working with strategic communication, content creation and social media platforms.
• Have substantial experience and success with project management, specifically the ability to manage multiple tasks at one time.
• Have a sincere commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion with a belief that all children deserve equitable access to a high-quality education
• Possess strong relationship-building skills including the ability to navigate challenging conversations across lines of difference and to listen sincerely and effectively.
• Experience working with various stakeholders and building relationships with external partners and organizations.
• Be detail oriented with exceptional organizational skills.
• Be willing to admit a mistake, ask for help and receive feedback.
• Actively engage in the life of the school and community.

Chicago Jesuit Academy Mission Statement

Mission: Chicago Jesuit Academy is a loving and academically rigorous tuition-free Catholic elementary school for students and families from resilient communities impacted by historical disinvestment. We accompany our students and alumni from enrollment through the start of their careers as they develop their gifts and grow as men and women for others.

Means: Located in Austin on Chicago’s West Side, CJA admits students to all grades in our lower and middle school without regard for their race, ethnicity or religion, and CJA enrolls 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-grade students without regard for their past levels of academic achievement.

We use small class sizes, extended school days and an 11-month school year to give personal care to our students and help them develop as whole persons.

We accompany our alumni on their unique paths to meaningful employment and support them throughout high school, their post-secondary education and the start of their careers, always welcoming them back as leaders at CJA and in the broader community.

CJA students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, volunteers and benefactors listen to and learn from one another and make disciplined sacrifices to accomplish our shared mission.

We partner with other schools and the broader community to create access to better educational resources, confront systemic racism and remove obstacles to educational equity.

We call one another to find God in all things and be men and women for others who are open to growth, loving, religious, seeking intellectual excellence and committed to doing justice.

Chicago Jesuit Academy, in accordance with our Jesuit tradition, is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex , gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the CJA community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected identity.​​​