Managing Director of External Affairs & Engagement

Responsibilities 

External Affairs Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement 

• Develop and execute a comprehensive external affairs strategy that advances City Year Chicago's visibility, influence, and stakeholder engagement. 

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with civic, business, education, community, philanthropic, and government leaders. 

• Serve as a primary spokesperson and ambassador for City Year Chicago across external audiences. 

• Represent the organization at key convenings, coalitions, and community events. 

• Partner with the Executive Director and Executive Leadership Team to advance organizational priorities through strategic external engagement. 

Communications, Marketing & Brand Management 

• Lead City Year Chicago's communications, marketing, and brand strategy to ensure consistent messaging across all channels. 

• Oversee media relations, social media, website content, digital communications, and external storytelling efforts. 

• Develop messaging, presentations, talking points, reports, and communications for internal and external stakeholders. 

• Ensure organizational communications effectively elevate impact, drive engagement, and strengthen brand awareness. 

• Serve as the primary liaison with City Year Headquarters on communications and brand initiatives. 

Government & Community Affairs 

• Lead engagement with elected officials, government agencies, and public affairs stakeholders. 

• Monitor policy developments and advise leadership on issues impacting City Year Chicago's work and priorities. 

• Cultivate partnerships with community organizations and civic leaders that advance educational equity and organizational impact. 

• Support the organization's advocacy, public engagement, and civic visibility strategies. 

Signature Events & Strategic Engagement 

• Serve as the strategic and operational lead for the annual Ripples of Hope Gala and other key external engagement events. 

• Partner closely with the Managing Director of Development to align event execution with sponsorship and donor engagement objectives. 

• Lead cross-functional planning, stakeholder experience, communications, and event operations to ensure successful execution. 

• Develop strategies that leverage organizational events to strengthen relationships, elevate visibility, and deepen community engagement. 

Organizational Leadership 

• Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and contribute to the development and implementation of City Year Chicago's strategic priorities. 

• Partner across departments to align external affairs initiatives with organizational goals. 

• Represent and model City Year's culture and values internally and externally. 

• Support site-wide initiatives, events, and cross-functional projects as needed. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree strongly preferred. 

• Minimum of 7-10 years of professional experience in external affairs, communications, public affairs, community engagement, marketing, partnerships, event management, or nonprofit leadership. 

• Demonstrated experience building and managing relationships with elected officials, civic leaders, community organizations, media, philanthropic partners, and corporate stakeholders. 

• Strong communications, writing, public speaking, and presentation skills. 

• Experience leading marketing, communications, public relations, or brand management initiatives. 

• Demonstrated success managing complex stakeholder engagement efforts and high-profile events. 

• Strong project management, organizational, and strategic planning skills. 

• Ability to analyze information, navigate complex environments, and translate organizational priorities into action. 

• Knowledge of Chicago's civic, educational, philanthropic, business, and political landscape. 

• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and manage multiple priorities simultaneously. 

• Flexibility to attend evening and weekend events as needed. 

• Deep understanding of and commitment to City Year's values. 

Required Documents 

 A cover letter and resume must be submitted to be considered for this position. Preferred resume formats will depict not only a candidate’s responsibilities and job functions in previous work, but will include specific, quantitative results where applicable. Additional quantitative context around specific budget sizes, team sizes, or other work environment information will help City Year compare the scale of your work environment with our operations. 

Compensation and Benefits 

Full time employees are entitled to compensation commensurate with experience. Benefits for full time employees include health insurance with Flexible Spending Account, paid vacation, holidays, parental leave, 401K, and more. City Year is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse workforce.