Overview

Summary: 

S’Cool Sounds (SCS) is seeking a dynamic Development & Communications Associate to support the Executive Director and ensure the optimal operation of all aspects of fundraising and communications.

The Development & Communications Associate will help to create and implement SCS’s communications strategy via online media (social media, website, and video creation), email newsletters, marketing collateral and general communications. Development support will include drafting donor letters, grant proposals, and impact reports; donation entry, reporting, and acknowledgement; funding research and grant follow up; and playing a pivotal role in event planning and execution of approximately two events per year.

Duties:

Communications

  • Implement upcoming organizational rebrand across marketing and communications content; applying new style and brand identity guidelines, create marketing materials (flyers, web pages, event invitations, etc)
  • Write, edit, and design biweekly newsletter sharing news of SCS activities and developments with supporters, funders, and community partners
  • Upload content and maintain website
  • Ensure SCS has a strong social media presence (FB and Instagram) highlighting local and international activities
  • Edit photos and video for website, social media, and promotional videos
  • Maintain and develop relationships with peer organizations

Development

  • Donor relationship management
    • Write, edit, and send donor acknowledgement letters and other donor communications
    • Coordinate special events and provide occasional online/in-person event support
    • Maintain and update database
  • Grant writing and research
    • Research grant opportunities, and maintain calendar of grant application and reporting deadlines
    • Write first drafts of impact reports and reports to funders; lightly design final drafts according SCS style guide
    • Collect and edit relevant program impact data for use in reporting
  • Other administrative/finance projects as assigned

Administration

  • Entry of some charges/payments into Quickbooks
  • Maintain invoicing calendar; create, send, and follow up on invoices
  • Learn payroll processing system in order to provide back-up if needed
  • Support IT/Google Drive management tasks and internal communications

Qualifications:

  • Excellent writing skills
  • Good eye for design and skilled with design applications such as Canva and Adobe suite
  • Familiarity with email platforms, such as ConstantContact
  • Fluency with Google Suite, MS Word/Excel, social media, budgets
  • Fluency with a website CMS, such as Squarespace
  • Experience editing digital photo/video media
  • Literacy with musical terms
  • Literacy with or willingness to learn Quickbooks for limited, basic tasks
  • The ability to work independently and switch gears frequently
  • Capacity to represent SCS in a friendly and professional way
  • Openness to collaborating with people from all walks of life
  • Detail-oriented

Compensation and Benefits:

  • Part-time salary, 20 hours/week, $25,000/year
  • Remote and flexible work schedule (with a preference for candidates based in or near New York City)
  • Benefits include prorated vacation and sick days, national holidays

To Apply:

Please email your cover letter, resume, and a writing sample as a single PDF to louisebrooks@scoolsounds.org.

SCS is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse community that reflects the rich diversity of our student population. SCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.

For more information about SCS, please visit https://www.scoolsounds.org

About S'Cool Sounds

The mission of SCS is to use the power of music to inspire, educate, and connect children and communities. We envision a world in which all people have access to the transformative experience of making music together.

SCS provides weekly music instruction to over 5,000 students at 30 NYC public schools. The core of the SCS teaching residency is weekly Teaching Artist-led recorder, percussion, ukulele, and violin instruction to classrooms of students and their teachers as well as the thematic exploration of musical styles from jazz to Arabic to Latin. Teaching materials focus on regional and world music, with elementary aged students learning to play Afro-Cuban rhythms, African children’s songs, or a Swedish midsummer festival song as part of an eclectic variety of pieces.

SCS replicates the benefits its programs have provided to students in NYC public schools by reaching out to other vulnerable populations. Partnering with a humanitarian organization, SCS developed and sustains music programs at four schools in the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. SCS fosters cross-cultural learning by connecting our local and international students through powerful, joint, virtual concerts and other exchanges.