About TFS

INDIVIDUALS WHO REFLECT, CITIZENS WHO ACT

TFS is a leading independent educational institution that has been instrumental in the shaping of today’s Canada, as the first French immersion school in the country and pioneer of bilingualism. They are a diverse community that sets out to develop multilingual critical thinkers who celebrate difference, transcend borders and strive for the betterment of humankind. Throughout their history, TFS students have been characterized by their academic ambition as well as by their determination to acquire an international perspective on local and global affairs. In pursuit of this mission, TFS recruits excellent staff members who are deeply committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning, and who also share their passion for the all-round development of students as accomplished individuals and responsible citizens. Their staff members benefit from exceptional professional learning opportunities and a competitive compensation package. TFS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults, and all of their staff and volunteers are expected to undergo child protection screening. They recruit candidates who embrace the TFS values of integrity, discernment, respect, and engagement. For more information about the school, please visit their website: https://www.tfs.ca.

About TFS Foundation

In an innovative model, the TFS Foundation leads the outreach to engage TFS families, alumni, and friends to provide the support needed to advance the school’s mission. Their raison d’être is to strengthen school pride and connections with the school through engagement and giving.

The work of the Foundation includes leading the school’s fundraising program, encompassing annual giving, major and special gifts, donor recognition, and stewardship. In addition, the Foundation team leads programming to support engagement of alumni in the life of the school. Led by a volunteer Board of Directors actively engaged in fundraising, the team works collaboratively with its partners—Head's Council (the TFS leadership team), the TFS Alumni Association Executive, and the TFS Parents' Association—to engage their community, helping to nurture a culture of philanthropy and volunteering, which is critical to the school’s well-being.

The Foundation is currently in the early stages of a comprehensive campaign that will focus on capital renovations to its two campuses and on growing their current financial assistance program. To successfully achieve these key objectives, the Foundation seeks to hire a Development Communications Officer who will have a significant impact on their campaign and advancement successes. The Foundation is a fast-paced and professional team, working tirelessly and co-operatively to rapidly achieve its objectives. TFS Foundation’s main working language is English; the majority of volunteers and current parents are English speakers. TFS supports French language learning among staff by offering instruction to staff through Alliance Française.To learn more about TFS’s upcoming $40M campaign please click on the link below for more information. https://www.tfs.ca/our-community/master-campus-plan.

The Role

The Development Communications Officer is a key member of the foundation team and is an integral part of the

Foundation’s $40M capital campaign. Reporting to the Development Communications Manager, the Development Communications Officer is responsible for developing and creating engaging content, with a focus on digital content, to share with donors, alumni, parents and staff. They will work closely with the Foundation staff and the school’s Marketing and Communications team to help support copywriting, content creation, photojournalism, videography, graphic design, and editing. All communications will have a focus on fundraising, engagement, and stewardship. The Development Communications Officer will be responsible for ensuring written and visual materials, in both print and digital formats, have a consistent and professional look, sound and feel, while being inspiring, compelling, and consistent with the TFS brand and campaign brand. In addition, the Development Communications Officer will work closely with the President and Senior Director of Philanthropy on all campaign-related materials and initiatives. The Development Communications Officer works within the context of a fast-paced and interactive school environment and will be immersed in the daily school life at TFS, using those interactions to proactively seek out effective and interesting stories and content.

Key Responsibilities

Communications Planning (10%)

Work closely with the Manager of Development Communications and Director of Operations and Alumni Relations on yearly communication plans and schedules.
Maintain the Communications team’s content calendar.
Work with the school’s Marketing and Communications team to collaborate on school-wide communication initiatives.

Written Communication & Content (50%)

Work with the fundraising team to plan, write, edit, design, produce and distribute compelling and target driven annual fundraising appeals and campaigns for segmented audiences.
In collaboration with Development Communications Manager, source stories and content, including conducting interviews, to produce a TFS Foundation newsletter, including alumni and donor impact stories, on campus and off campus news, appeals and upcoming events.
Write personalized proposals for major gifts donors that are tailored to the individual donor’s interests and needs.
Work with Alumni Officer to produce alumni content for web, social media, print and other digital platforms.
Write speaking notes and materials for the President and Senior Director of Philanthropy and Head of School for all remarks related to philanthropy and campaign execution.
Write and produce well-crafted stewardship materials that are compelling and inspirational, highlighting the impact of donor commitments.
Seek out content opportunities within the TFS community and provide strategic input and creative focus that can be leveraged across all platforms.

Graphic Design (5%)

Ability to work with graphic designers and conceptualize graphic and visual images and templates for a variety of communication materials, including event promotion, proposals, and other campaign materials.

Social Media/Digital (30%)

Create social media content leveraging the right content and social media platforms to reach alumni and donors based on communication priorities.
Work with the Development Communications Manager in the creation and execution of a unified and engaging digital media action plan for the school.
Work with the Development Communications Manager in executing the Foundation’s digital communications, ensuring integration of all communications on site, online, and across multiple social media platforms.
Develop a strong awareness of the current digital media landscape, along with the capacity and willingness to seek out emerging trends and tools.

Video and Photography (5%)

Support the communications team with high-impact pictures and videos to be used in campaign-oriented materials.
Document school life through photos and video, vetting, sorting, and archiving images for current and future use.
Develop digital video content for use on social media and elsewhere. The Opportunity
The Communications Officer will be given the opportunity to work with a highly collaborative and supportive team. The Foundation team is small and mighty and staff contributions are appreciated at all levels.
It’s a chance to be part of a $40M capital campaign and to develop campaign communications experience within a well-established fundraising organization.
French language classes and professional development are supported at the school, as is discounted tuition for daycare and school attendance for staff with children who attend TFS.

Experience

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of experience writing and providing development communications support within the NFP sector, ideally working in a charity with campaign and major gift/philanthropy experience. It would be an asset if candidates have worked in an educational institution and understand the cyclical nature of working in a school setting and what makes a compelling story.

Candidates will have experience writing content and copy that appeals to donors, families, and alumni. They will understand the motivations of their stakeholders and be able to communicate that in written and visual formats. They will have a wide range of experience with written and visual/graphic assignments including proposals, donor meeting notes, stewardship reporting, alumni engagement, and campaign writing.

While the candidate will have experience with writing documentation, they will also have demonstrated experience with creating content for social and digital media. In their current communications role, they are responsible for the visual design of content, including video and photography.

Personal Attributes

The Development Communications Officer works well with a wide range of individuals and can function productively within a small and collaborative team. They take initiative, are self-starters, highly flexible and can work outside of their assigned responsibilities when they have capacity and team members need support, while also managing the expectations of their own portfolio.

They are extremely positive and come to the table with solutions rather than problems. Creating a culture of positivity comes from their own natural disposition. They are calm under pressure and stay focused and organized when juggling many different tasks. Open to feedback, the Development Communications Officer seeks to learn and grow as a professional and embraces opportunities to improve their skills. The Development Communications Officer has a keen eye for detail and a passion for ideating, executing, and tracking engaging social media and fundraising campaigns. Given the fast-paced nature of the school, the Development Communications Officer needs to be hard-working, energetic, and up for new challenges.

Core Competencies

Strong creative writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
Experience in digital content creation and the growth of social media presence.
Ability to manage competing priorities and multiple tasks while maintaining a strong attention to detail
and accuracy.
Experience drafting direct mail appeals, producing stewardship reports and fundraising collateral, creating powerpoint presentations/pitch decks.
Has superior proficiency with computer applications (Microsoft Office, GSuite, Blackbaud, or similar programs).
Postsecondary education, ideally in communications, marketing or related field.
Graphic design skills with an eye for compelling and professional visuals a plus.
Knowledge of and experience with design software (Adobe Suite, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Bridge,
Dreamweaver a plus).
A high level of proficiency with SLR photography and videography a plus.
Experience editing video with Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and/or Adobe After Effects or comparable software a plus.

Location

The main TFS campus is located at Lawrence and Bayview Avenues. To preserve TFS’s outstanding school culture and environment, all staff are expected to come to the office on a daily basis. There is some flexibility during the summer months to work out of the office, and TFS supports the needs of parents to attend family-oriented appointments.

Additional Information

A background check—criminal record and education—is required as a condition of employment. Finalist candidates will be asked to submit writing and video/graphic examples from their portfolio as well as a writing assessment that will be included as part of the interview process.
The salary range for this position is between $75,000 and $85,000.

Application deadline: We are accepting rolling applications until the position is filled.

Check the status of the search process here.

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