Director of Communications

The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) are members of an international congregation of women religious founded in Bavaria in 1833. The first sisters arrived in North America in 1847. The School Sisters of Notre Dame now live and minister in 28 countries on five continents and have their congregational headquarters in Rome, Italy. Their foundational document says,

“Our Mission is to proclaim the good news as School Sisters of Notre Dame, directing our entire lives toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent. As He was sent to show the Father’s love to the world, we are sent to make Christ visible by our very being, by sharing our love, faith, and hope.”

-YOU ARE SENT, CONSTITUTION OF THE SCHOOL SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

The Position

Working in consultation with the provincial council, the Director of Communications fosters an understanding of the mission and spirit of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and generates support for the ministries of the province.

Among other responsibilities, the Director of Communications facilitates the development and implementation of the province communications strategy and counsels leadership on communications issues. S/he ensures effective coordination of internal communications intended to support the members of the province and leads outreach to the public to generate interest in SSND. S/he also collaborates internally and externally across the province and at the congregational/international levels to ensure that the SSND public image is accurately and consistently reflected.

This position is full-time, salaried/exempt, hybrid with a typical schedule of three days a week in the office. This position also requires some national and infrequent international travel to support provincial, collaborative or congregational activities.

Essential Position Responsibilities

• Support the province governance mechanisms, ensuring production of the Assembly newsletters and timely sharing of information to sisters and assembly delegates.
• Enhance relevance and accessibility of information shared through weekly internal news, updates, intranet.
• Produces collateral for jubilee, holidays, and other celebrations in collaboration with council or council delegate.
• Proactively captures and shares information and stories about sisters’ lives and ministries, associates, colleagues, sponsored ministries, and other partners in SSND mission.
• Ensures the production and timely dissemination of sisters’ obituaries.
• Coordinates with the council, province departments, and SSND-sponsored ministries to ensure compelling and cohesive messages for external audiences.
• Supports the Province with news releases and coordination of crisis communications, as appropriate.
• Supervises the development of content, including writing, editing, and design of electronic and print publications, the website, and social media postings, and ensures the use of consistent format, tone, and style for all print and electronic communications as well as appeals letters from the Development department.
• Oversees the content and design of ads purchased by the province to promote the public image of SSND.
• Supports the development of educational and formation materials in partnership with Associates, Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and Ministry Services departments.
• Participates on the Collaborative Communications Committee; attends monthly video conferences and in-person meetings of SSND communicators; ensures that the Atlantic-Midwest Province is represented with stories in collaborative publications.
• Participates on the Congregational Communications Technology Team, attends video conferences and international in-person meetings, contributes to the publication of In Mission and other elements of the team’s workload, and serves on work groups as needed.
• Implements the province, collaborative, and congregational plans in the context of a defined SSND public image and efforts to hold all in common.
• Supports province efforts to inform and engage sisters, associates, staff, and partners about congregation-wide communications through council and province assembly presentations, publications, and online presence.
• Develops and monitors department goals, tasks, and prioritization of efforts, ensuring quality and timely completion of projects.
• Prepares and monitors an annual budget for the communications department.
• Develops and implements plans and protocols to support coordination, review, and approval of content and copy.
• Participates in province meetings of department directors and staff.
• Maintains membership in appropriate professional organizations and keeps professionally updated.

Expected Qualities and Characteristics

• Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Communications, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience working for a congregation of religious, faith-based organization, or NPO preferred.
• 3- 5 or more years senior professional communications experience.
• An openness to embrace the mission and charism of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, continue to uphold its tradition and mission into the future.
• Ability to understand and articulate the SSND mission to internal and external audiences.
• Passionate and approachable professional who is creative and reflective.
• Experience managing a team of communications professionals and multiple priorities.
• Exceptional verbal, written, communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills with high attention to detail and time management.
• Experience and ability in dialogue with internal collaborators to create print and electronic materials.
• Demonstrated collaboration, relationship-building, and personal skills.
• Demonstrated ability as an editor and experience working with a designer of publications (print and electronic).
• Ability to function as a professional in meeting the external communications needs of the province.
• Basic understanding of what constitutes a good story and proven track record of successful news placement in various media.
• Excellent computer skills required.
• Ability to travel internationally to support province and occasionally, collaborative, or congregational activities.
• Photography skills are a plus.

Opportunities and Challenges

The next Director of Communications for the SSND Atlantic-Midwest Province will develop, implement, and regularly assess a communications outreach plan to engage current and new audiences in the SSND mission. The candidate selected will develop and execute a media relations plan, including news releases where appropriate, for special province events. The selected candidate will strategically utilize analytics to ensure effectiveness and continuously improve the outreach and communications plan.

The Director of Communications will lead and strengthen the SSND Atlantic-Midwest communications team by identifying, utilizing, and developing their skills and ensuring appropriate information flow among the team and collaborators. The selected candidate will also increase collaboration with other provinces and within the congregation, including at the international level and with other religious communities.

This is an immediate opportunity. Candidates are expected to be available to assume the responsibilities of the position as soon as practical.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90-98K plus benefits

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Baltimore, MD 21212

APPLY

To apply, please submit the following four documents, confidentially, and as separate PDF attachments to Shana at srossi@partnersinmission.com

• Cover letter that aligns your experiences and skill sets with the current needs of the organization as you understand them.
• Current resume with all appropriate dates included.
• Samples of your recent work such as writing, social media or website work, designs, marketing campaigns, and/ or other communiques.
• List of five references to include names, relationships, phone numbers, and email addresses (No references will be contacted without your knowledge and approval.)
• Please include “SSND the Director of Communications” in the subject field.