Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 330,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

Job Summary:

Everyday, 340,000 students and 36,000 CPS employees come together to do amazing things in every CPS school. Reporting directly to the Director, Digital Communications, the Web and Digital Content Manager is responsible for management of the Communications Department’s overall digital program including strategy management and oversight of social media, as well as creating rich content focusing on District news, digital storytelling, monitoring the creation of social media posts across all platforms, video filming and editing. This position includes bringing strategic guidance to the district's existing digital programming and explores proactive future planning to improve the growth of the district’s diverse audience across all channels.

The Web and Digital Content Manager will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Lead projects and processes that will require collaboration with senior leadership and central office department heads to highlight and promote district initiatives, events and priorities.
• Assist in creating a robust set of Social Media policies and training materials, and create webinar/video content to help support schools and social media users throughout the district.
• Work in concert with the Director, Digital Communications to establish detailed planning for social media posts to align with the academic calendar and district initiatives, and assume ownership of this planning process.
• Oversee the Social Media Specialist(s), ensuring adherence to policies and branding guidelines.
• Monitor social media reports to ensure effectiveness of campaigns and strategies, and offer strategy for improvement
• Provide robust support to the Digital Media Specialist(s) and Social Media Specialist(s) to fill gaps in event coverage, content creation.
• Assist in video and photo editing, as needed.
• Help develop and grow the skill-set of the Social Media Specialist(s) through monitoring of work, weekly check-in sessions to both review the week and plan ahead. Provide guidance and direction to the Social Media Content Specialist on areas that can be improved with a plan toward achieving that growth.
• Develop and implement a plan to coordinate/market live and/or virtual events to schools and CPS departments
• Additional responsibilities and duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Web and Digital Content Manager must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required. Major in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or Digital Media preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience copywriting for and managing social media accounts for a mid-size brand(s), nonprofit(s), or company that has progressive growth toward building management skills
• Experience creating digital and social media strategies to align with an organization’s objectives and goals
• Leadership experience is preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to work independently and in a team setting with multiple contributors on projects
• Ability to multi-task projects, people and events to get the job done
• Ability to think strategically and create deliverables that align with communications goals accordingly
• Ability to capture and edit video, photos, and sound is required
• Excellent customer support and relationship management skills
• Proficient in social media management tools (e.g, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, etc.)
• Proficient in managing a CMS (e.g., WordPress, Epi)
• Demonstrated competency in Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Elements, Lightroom, Illustrator)
• Demonstrated competency in Apple products (Final Cut Pro, iMovie)
• Background in the technical production and delivery of Live Streaming, Webinar and Online meetings and event
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Sound decision-making
• Ability and willingness to work collaboratively with others

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters. Unvaccinated staff with an approved exemption must submit to weekly testing.