Correspondence Associate: Position Description
About StudentsFirst
The crisis in American education is unambiguous. The United States spends $600 billion every year on our public schools, which educate nearly 90% of the country’s children, but we are not getting results. Schools in the U.S. fail to create social mobility: on average, students’ life outcomes are still determined too much by their parents’ backgrounds. We also lag other countries: of 30 the industrialized countries regularly surveyed, U.S. schools rank near the bottom and are not getting better. This translates into an economic loss of over $2 trillion per year, and the problem is getting worse as other countries get better.
Whether we are a just and prosperous society in 20-30 years depends upon whether we have the courage and conviction necessary to make radical changes today.
We know that specific reforms that can turn around our schools. That is clear from the experience of other countries, which have turned around their schools. The evidence here in the US proves that great teachers, empowered parents, and responsible leadership can deliver great results for all children.
We also know that the time is ripe for change. The groundwork has been laid by the efforts of teachers, parents, and reformers all over the country. Many great organizations are pushing to turn around our schools, and there’s a national demand for change.
StudentsFirst will be a national, comprehensive, and uncompromising national movement to build upon, connect, and accelerate reforms that defend the interests of America’s students. Specifically, the organization will articulate a gold standard for education reform, based on the best evidence as to what works in teacher professionalism, student choice, and system-wide accountability. We will provide tools and services to local leaders who want to implement local change and we will build a membership movement with a national voice. We will deploy resources to defend students’ interests with litigation, mobilization, advocacy, and direct political activity. Fighters for reform will know that they are not fighting alone.
StudentsFirst’s organizational culture flows from a refusal to compromise on our commitment to students. We operate in a fast-paced environment with minimal overhead. We expect all of our professionals to thrive in conditions of uncertainty, frequent feedback, and rapid change. We focus on accountability for results, and therefore expect an orientation toward action. Our national scale requires us to work virtually and with diverse partners, but our shared mission builds deep loyalty and sense of team.
Our organization’s Founder and CEO is Michelle Rhee. Michelle began her began her career as a teacher in Baltimore’s public schools, and after a career in teaching and educational reform she was appointed in 2007 to serve as Chancellor of DC Public Schools. Under her leadership, the worst performing school district in the country became the only major city system to see double-digit growth in state reading and state math scores in seventh, eighth and tenth grades over three years. The graduation rate rose and enrollment increased for the first time in 40 years after steep declines. Michelle founded StudentsFirst in 2010 after stepping down as the DC Chancellor.
Position
StudentsFirst seeks an energetic and detail-oriented Correspondence Associate to support membership development and retention efforts. The Correspondence Associate serves as a liaison to existing members, assists in recruiting new members and provides technical assistance.
Key Responsibilities
The Correspondence Associate reports to the Membership Director and is responsible for the following:
1. Maintaining timely and effective communication with members
- Monitoring and tracking email and telephone inquiries, including developing a list of frequently asked questions and responses
- Responding to general email and telephone inquiries
- Routing specific questions to appropriate contact on the response team
2. Supporting membership identification and recruitment
- Contributing to the writing of member correspondence such as newsletters and email blasts.
- Assisting in the planning of online and offline member events and activities
- Helping develop and administer member welcome program
- Assisting with monitoring of member interests and satisfaction through administration of surveys and other strategies
3. Providing technical support to member services infrastructure
- Troubleshooting website and donor functions
- Updating membership database
Candidate Profile
StudentsFirst attracts employees with distinctive backgrounds and accomplishments and is committed to building and maintaining a team whose voices reflect the many communities with a stake in public education. Integrity, creativity, and intensity are key attributes of competitive candidates.
For this position, the following factors will strengthen an applicant’s candidacy:
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills
- Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
- Customer-service oriented
- Technology adept with an ability to learn new tools easily
StudentsFirst is an equal opportunity employer. Background and reference checks are conducted on all prospective new hires.
Compensation
Salary is competitive and commensurate with proven performance.
Application Process
The application process will include a resume review, phone interview, project and in-person interviews. To be considered for the position, please send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@studentsfirst.org, with cover letters addressed to Hiring Manager.
