Director of Communications and Public Relations

Kents Hill School’s Director of Communications and Public Relations shapes and safeguards the story of Kents Hill School, ensuring that the school’s mission, vision, values, and strategic development are being communicated clearly, consistently, and compellingly across critical audiences. As a strategic partner to the Head of School and the school leadership team, the Director of Communications and Public Relations crafts and builds consistency within the school’s messaging in order to align staff, student, family, and alumni understanding of the school’s work. In addition to this strategic work, the Director of Communications and Public Relations plays a key role during school emergencies, ensuring the school communicates with clarity and compassion in critical moments

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of a comprehensive, school-wide communications strategy each year, crafting a coherent, compelling, and authentic story about Kents Hill that aligns with the school’s strategic vision and institutional priorities.
• Identify and elevate signature stories that advance institutional priorities and differentiate Kents Hill School through content creation for the school website, print publications, and other public-facing interfaces, including the identification of additional locations that can amplify the visibility of the school’s work.
• Oversee the school website as a key communications channel for the school.
• Design and manage internal communications systems and cadence to ensure clarity, transparency, and alignment across faculty, staff, students, families, and alumni.
• Develop and manage the school’s media relations and earned media strategy, including building relationships with local, regional, and national media to elevate the school’s visibility and thought leadership.
• Serve as the school’s primary point of contact for media inquiries, ensuring timely, accurate, and mission-aligned responses.
• Partner with the Director of Marketing to ensure consistent voice, look, and feel of the school’s image and communications, and to ensure strategic use of all communications platforms.
• Partner with the Advancement office to support donor communications, stewardship messaging, and campaign narratives.
• Partner with the Admissions Office to ensure messaging integration across recruitment and retention efforts.
• Partner with the Director of Athletics to develop a strategic communications plan for the school’s Athletics department.
• Provide guidance on content created by departments across the organization, ensuring alignment of the school’s messaging, and ensuring that such messaging builds trust, reflects who we are, and successfully guides members of the community.
• Establish metrics and feedback loops to assess the effectiveness of communications strategies and channels and to use data and community feedback to refine messaging, timing, and delivery methods.
• Serve as a member of the school’s Incident Command Team, preparing communications for external and internal audiences in instances of community emergency, including through partnership with the school’s crisis communications firm.
• Draft Head of School communications, as requested.
• Draft speeches for the Head of School and other key community leaders, as requested.
• Other duties as assigned by the Head of School, including potential teaching, advising, or coaching responsibilities.