Chief of Public Affairs

Chief of Public Affairs

 

MCPSA's mission is to create and protect the conditions that will enable the charter public school sector to thrive, and advance the larger goal of ensuring all Massachusetts children and families have equitable access to high-quality schools.

 

The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA), a membership organization that serves as the voice of one of the nation’s highest-performing charter sectors, seeks a strategic and innovative leader to serve as the organization’s first permanent Chief of Public Affairs. Reporting directly to the executive director and serving as an integral member of the senior leadership team, the Chief of Public Affairs will be responsible for developing, integrating, and overseeing the execution of MCPSA’s advocacy and communications strategies—with the mission-critical goal of deepening and expanding public and political support for the charter movement and charter schools across the Commonwealth.

 

Founded in 2001, MCPSA has spent over 20 years defending and strengthening Massachusetts’ charter public schools in order to ensure that all children and families across the Commonwealth have equitable access to high-quality public schools. The Association’s ongoing efforts—including passionately advocating for and building capacity of charter schools and students, encouraging innovative approaches to improving public education, and championing the nationally- recognized quality of Massachusetts’s 70+ Commonwealth charter schools—have made a significant impact on the sector and on the educational opportunities for more students across the state. And there is more work to be done. The Association is committed to even broader impact and community and political engagement going forward, and seeks a driven, persuasive, and entrepreneurial leader to serve as its Chief of Public Affairs.

 

The successful candidate must be a compelling, effective advocate and a seasoned manager and builder of teams, who can develop and implement an integrated advocacy and communications strategy for the organization, and who will galvanize the Association’s membership and other educational leaders in its continued work to strengthen public education in Massachusetts. Internally, the Chief of Public Affairs will collaboratively develop and then operationalize a unifying vision and strategic objectives for the public affairs team. Key to this work will be the hiring, mentorship, and ongoing professional development of three direct reports who manage the communications, advocacy, and government relations operations of MCPSA. Externally, the Chief of Public Affairs will be a bold and unequivocal advocate for the charter public school sector and have the political savviness, diplomatic skill, and relationship-building strength to sustain and grow support for charters across the Commonwealth. The successful candidate will be comfortable operating within complicated political contexts, and recognize the value of strategic partnerships both within and beyond the charter school sector.

 

MCPSA has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this important recruitment. The target base salary for this role is $185,000 and commensurate with experience. The full compensation package will also include the potential for a bonus; health, dental, life, and disability insurance; retirement contributions, including a 4% match; and paid time off. MCPSA is a remote organization, and the Chief of Public Affairs will be expected to travel to Boston and throughout the state periodically. All confidential inquiries, nominations, and applications with cover letters should be directed to:

 

Katie Rockman and Rediat Mersha

Electronic submission of materials is encouraged via: www.imsearch.com/8543

 

The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. MCPSA does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.