Financial Aid Director - Higher Ed. jobs in District of Columbia

Whiteboard Advisors is a mission-driven communications, research, and consulting firm that supports organizations working to advance educational equity and economic mobility. Our clients include some of the respected and highest-impact companies, non-profit organizations, and social impact investors working at the intersection of education and workforce policy and practice.

We are looking for an experienced and entrepreneurial education professional to join our team as a Director who will play a critical role in supporting clients in our strategic communications and PR practice focused on the intersection of higher education, lifelong learning and economic mobility.

In this high-growth role, you’ll work side-by-side with senior executives to set strategy, execute effectively, and make an impact on behalf of our clients. Directors provide excellent project management, and intuitive client service, and are comfortable operating across all aspects of strategic communications and PR. Successful candidates will be strong writers, creative thinkers, and savvy students of the news cycle—with an eagerness to build and maintain strong relationships with reporters and influencers. Directors report directly to a senior leader at the firm who will prioritize your growth and seek opportunities to support your professional development and career advancement. 

Key Responsibilities

• Approach client engagements with creativity, including identifying new and innovative ways to engage clients, demonstrate value, and develop a sense of ongoing value for the client over time. 
  
• Navigate complex and challenging team and client needs with composure, including approaching all work with carefully crafted rationale, accepting feedback, and continuously improving. 
  
• Develop and execute communications strategies co-created with senior executives that result in strong outcomes.
• Provide outstanding client service.
• Bring a critical eye to work and strive to develop and deliver final products that exceed expectations.
• Create strong drafts of press releases, op-eds, event proposals, talking points, and other written materials.
• Conceptualize and develop story ideas that resonate with the media. 
• Identify strategic partnerships and speaking opportunities that accelerate our clients’ impact. 
• Manage regular client meetings, create agendas and client-facing materials, establish clear next steps, and ensure timely execution on action items. 

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of professional experience in education, including at least 2 years (preferably more) working in a consulting role managing multiple clients.
  
• Demonstrated success in media relations.
• Experience managing projects and engagements; strong project management skills with ability to successfully manage multiple tasks at once.
  
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills.
• Experience managing basic scheduling and administrative tasks.
• Willingness to learn new skills and develop subject matter expertise.
• Familiarity with education, workforce development, or social impact strongly preferred.

Note: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive at Whiteboard Advisors to apply for this role. 

As client engagement leaders within the organization, Directors typically support a portfolio of 7-10 clients by providing multi-dimensional approaches to understanding, framing, and solving client challenges, and  take responsibility for ensuring that client deliverables meet the Whiteboard standard of excellence. The ability to proactively recognize client needs and respond to them effectively is essential, as is the ability to balance multiple clients and competing deadlines. 

Responsibilities will grow in level of responsibility based upon each individual’s growth and development. Directors typically grow from leading projects to leading teams and practice areas over time.  Our team engages across the PK12-workforce spectrum, so an eagerness to develop expertise in adjacent sectors is expected.

About Whiteboard Advisors

Whiteboard Advisors is a multidisciplinary consulting and communications firm. We design creative strategies to help transformative businesses and organizations achieve their goals.  We conduct complex research and generate reports to inform the field.  We advocate for policy, and help startups to scale across complex, fragmented markets. We track and report on public policy developments that impact the work of practitioners across the education and workforce ecosystem.

We are a team that cares deeply about and works daily, to address issues of equity and access in education and the workforce. We aspire to be a place where every member of our team can bring their authentic, whole selves to work — and to bear on the work we do together.  We strive to create a workplace that is not only equitable and just, but fosters a sense of belonging. 

Like most organizations, we are far from perfect.  Translating our values and aspirations into action is hard, ongoing work.  We are working hard to ensure our values are reflected in the way we compensate and engage employees, and the choices we make about the clients we serve. We are striving to create a context where everyone is heard and individuals at every level of the organization can play a role in co-creating our future.  

We hope that this post attracts applicants who will join us in not only doing jobs in service of our clients, but the often hard and messy work of building a culture and practices that reflect our organization’s intent. 

Whiteboard Advisors provides equal employment opportunities to all employment applicants and prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.