Duties
Reports To: Superintendent of Schools
Directly Supervises:
- Communications & Media Relations
- Family & Community Engagement
- Government & Community Partnerships
- Ombuds / Community Relations Office
- Digital Media & Graphic Services Team
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer serves as the district’s senior executive leader responsible for trust building, Board communications support, family engagement systems, crisis communications, media relations, and community partnerships.
This role ensures that the district communicates with clarity, transparency, and consistency while building authentic relationships with students, families, staff, and the community to support student success.
The Chief develops and implements a comprehensive communications and engagement strategy aligned to the district’s strategic priorities and serves as principal advisor to the Superintendent and Board on public messaging, internal communications and engagement.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Trust-Building Strategy
- Develops and implements a districtwide trust-building and engagement strategy.
- Establishes measurable public confidence and engagement metrics.
- Conducts community listening sessions and stakeholder forums.
- Builds transparent feedback loop systems to inform district decision-making
- Uses engagement data to refine outreach strategies.
2. Board Communications Support
- Serves as strategic communications advisor to the Superintendent and Board of Education.
- Oversees preparation of Board presentations, public reports, and messaging.
- Ensures consistency and alignment of Board and Superintendent communications.
- Provides strategic counsel during sensitive or high-profile matters.
- Supports policy communications and public understanding of Board actions.
3. Family Engagement Systems
- Designs and oversees a comprehensive family engagement framework.
- Develops authentic partnerships with families across diverse communities.
- Ensures multilingual, culturally responsive communication practices.
- Aligns engagement initiatives to student achievement priorities.
- Oversees ombuds and community resolution systems.
4. Crisis Communications
- Develops and maintains districtwide crisis communication protocols.
- Leads communication response during emergencies and high-impact events.
- Provides guidance and templates to school leaders during crisis situations.
- Ensures timely, accurate, and coordinated messaging.
- Maintains composure and clarity in high-pressure environments.
5. Media Relations & Public Messaging
- Serves as District spokesperson or designates appropriate spokesperson.
- Develops and maintains strong media relationships.
- Oversees press releases, media statements, and official communications.
- Manages digital presence, website, and social media strategy.
- Aligns branding and messaging to district priorities.
6. Community Partnerships & Government Relations
- Develops partnerships with municipal agencies, nonprofit organizations, higher education, and business leaders.
- Serves as liaison to civic and community organizations.
- Coordinates government relations strategy.
- Aligns community resources to support schools and students.
- Supports communications related to major initiatives, facilities projects, or referenda.
7. Strategic Planning & Performance Monitoring
- Aligns communications and engagement strategy with District Strategic Plan.
- Establishes engagement performance indicators and public trust metrics.
- Oversees publication of district performance and accountability reports.
- Uses data analytics to evaluate effectiveness of outreach efforts.
- Ensures continuous improvement of communication systems.
8. Internal Communications
- Establishes a strategy and guiding principles for internal communications with employees that build trust, confidence, and transparency in District actions
- Advises the Superintendent and Cabinet on mode, frequency, channels, and tone of internal communications.
- Utilizes employee sentiment data to evaluate and refine internal communication strategies.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
- Increase stakeholder trust and engagement metrics
- Improve family participation in district initiatives
- Strengthen positive media coverage and relationships
- Implement districtwide crisis communication protocols
- Establish a formal community partnership framework
- Improve responsiveness to stakeholder inquiries
- Enhance clarity and consistency of Board communications
Qualifications
Education
- Master’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Education, Public Administration, or related field preferred
- Bachelor’s degree required
Experience
- Minimum five (5) years of senior communications or engagement leadership experience
- Experience in crisis communications
- Experience working with boards and government entities
- Experience in public education or public sector preferred
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
The Chief must demonstrate:
- Strategic communications expertise
- Crisis leadership capability
- Political and organizational awareness
- Cultural responsiveness and community-centered engagement
- Strong interpersonal and public presentation skills
- Data-driven outreach and engagement strategy
- Executive-level judgment and discretion
GOVERNANCE & REPORTING
- Reports directly to the Superintendent
- Serves as a member of the Superintendent’s Cabinet
- Provides regular communications and engagement updates to the Board
- Evaluated annually based on trust-building, engagement outcomes, and communications effectiveness
Salary/Benefits
Expected salary range from $195,000 to $230,000, fringe benefits, and work year as established by the Board of Education.
Evaluation: Performance evaluated annually by the Superintendent.
FLSA Status: Exempt
Status: Revised February 2026
Additional Notes
JG Consulting has partnered with Champaign Unit 4 School District to facilitate the search for this role.
:PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL JOB DESCRIPTION:
Champaign Unit 4 School District is a large unit school district serving more than 10,000 students in grades pre-K through 12 in Champaign, Savoy, and Bondville, Illinois. Our 19 campuses employ more than 2,000 teachers, administrators, and support personnel, including some of the brightest educators in the region. Our District represents the diversity of our world, fosters positive learning environments to prepare students for college and careers, and our schools empower students to succeed on any path they choose.
Download Job Description: Click here
How to Apply
Please submit your resume through the application on our website.
Link to District/Third Party Online Application Web Page
https://jobs.jgconsulting.us/jobdetail/ZR_93_JOB