La Scuola International School is a private, Preschool - Grade 8 independent school in San Francisco.  The school founded its preschool, La Piccola Scuola Italiana,  in 2002 and has earned awards and accolades for its work with Reggio Children in Italy as a leading example of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy in North America.  In 2012, the school expanded its curriculum through grade 8 and is the only school in San Francisco to offer the International Baccalaureate program for the elementary and middle school years as well as the only school in the world to offer a program that blends Reggio Emilia, the International Baccalaureate and Italian language immersion. 

The mission of the school is to inspire brave learners to shape the future. The school does this by believing steadfastly in children’s innate ability to learn and by challenging them academically, creatively and innovatively in an environment that is intentionally designed to elicit creativity and curiosity from those that work there. 

Its language immersion program helps children to develop cognitive skills as well as empathy and awareness of the world around them. The school’s  multicultural and diverse community esteems different perspectives and experiences and strives to educate the global citizens and leaders of tomorrow.

La Scuola International School is accredited by NAIS, CAIS, WASC and CIS and is one of two  Italian schools recognized by the Italian government in the United States.

We believe our community thrives through diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and realities. Only through a persistent drive to listen and learn from one another, create and promote equitable opportunities and to continue to reflect and evolve will we be able to establish systems which will address the needs of the one and the many.

La Scuola is seeking a Director of Marketing who will report to the Head of School, while working with the leadership team in Admissions and Advancement to design, direct and implement marketing and communications programs to help meet strategic goals. The Director of Marketing will drive efforts to build awareness of the school among prospective families to support enrollment goals; ensure that  brand guidelines and consistent messaging is used across all internal and external platforms; develop strategies to impact retention and parent satisfaction and support cultivation and communication with donors and external networks. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Rapidly acclimate to La Scuola’s community by learning the history, culture, and constituencies of the school.  Thorough brand and messaging guidelines are available. 
• Develop marketing and communications strategies and plans that drive increased engagement with prospective and current constituencies. 
• Collaborate with administrative departments in articulating their purpose and ongoing work. Specifically, the Head of School, Admissions, Advancement and Academic leadership.
• Ensure brand and messaging quality and consistency and establish a cadence to apply across communications in all departments, activities and events at the school and among professional and volunteer leadership.
• In collaboration with the Director of Admissions, develop and implement a strategic marketing plan to promote the school to prospective families and to support successful enrollment and re-enrollment of existing families
• In collaboration with the Director of Advancement, design strategies and implement plans to capitalize on increased visibility and clear branding of the school to drive increased philanthropy.
• Create and execute a public relations plan to support the school in local media and with potential partner organizations, especially in the Italian American community. 
• Plan and manage the department budget in order to maximize the effectiveness of all communications. This includes bidding out production of materials when appropriate to outside vendors and conducting analysis to change spend as needed. 
• Review, revise, and update as necessary the school’s crisis communication plan.
• Manage all aspects of the school’s print and electronic communications, ensuring adherence to the school’s brand and design guidelines. Oversee the work of graphic designers and print vendors in production of printed materials and web visuals.
• Engage actively in professional development in order to remain current in best practices related to independent school communications, emerging social media, and effective marketing and advertising strategies.
• Oversee website including, but not limited to: strategic  development, creation of content,  updating sections with relevant event updates management of SEO strategy and third party referral sites (Niche, Great Schools, Private School Review, etc) 
• Generate analytical reports regarding marketing campaigns to make ROI based decisions on budget  
• Oversee Communications Manager to create social media editorial calendar, including content creation, photo, video, blog posts, content derived from classrooms and blog for SEO
• Collaborate with the Parents Association and Admissions office to coordinate communications and events for  prospective families and for orientation/onboarding of new families. 
• Manage creation of digital and print collateral for the school (brochures, flyers), as well as, support in creation and execution of  interactive events and content for use by the school
• Create a donor communications vehicle (quarterly or bi-annual) 
• Collaborate with Business Office and CFO in production of the annual report 
• Report on strategic initiatives and results to the Board of Directors in collaboration with Head of School

Preferred Experience, Qualifications, and Attributes: 

•  A BA/BS degree from an accredited college or university in a field related to marketing and communications
• Five to seven years of leadership experience in marketing and communications, preferably in an independent school or other non-profit organization.
• Deep knowledge of marketing/communications with experience in brand, strategy and campaign design, managing to KPIs and using data to adapt and deliver results 
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, excellent communication and editing skills
• Demonstrated success in managing multiple projects with shifting priorities and competing deadlines with a strong adherence to budgets and KPIs
• Ability to create print materials using Photoshop, InDesign, or other software a plus
• Highly competent in the use of Microsoft Office and Google Suite of products
• Fluent in all digital marketing mediums and content creation 
• Comfort feeling uncomfortable, high degree of accountability 
• Joyful attitude , likes change and a dynamic environment
• Eager to learn new things and excited by new challenges
• Strong work ethic, adaptability and solid team player

Position receives excellent benefits, including medical, vision and dental coverage. The school also offers group life insurance, employer-matched retirement, long-term disability insurance and commuter benefits. Other fringe benefits include PTO, paid holidays, daily warm lunch and outstanding professional development.

To be considered for the position, please apply here with a letter of intent, a resume and a minimum of 3 references. More information about our school can be found here https://www.lascuolasf.org/. 

Non-Discrimination Policy

In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at La Scuola will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. La Scuola does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, marital status, veteran status, physical or mental disability (actual or perceived), medical condition, genetic characteristics, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by state, federal or local law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including hiring, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, layoff, promotion, transfer and access to benefits and training. If you feel you may have been discriminated against on the basis of sex or would like more information, please contact Dani Sollberger, Director of Administration, by email or 415-558-9006 or by mail at 728 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107.