Director of Development & Communications

Children’s Community School (CCS) seeks a resourceful, relational, and strategic professional to serve as its next Director of Development & Communications. Located in Van Nuys, California, CCS is a progressive TK–6 independent school distinguished not only by its approach to teaching and learning, but by the depth of its relationships and the strength of its community. Families choose CCS because they are seeking more than an education for their children; they are seeking a place where children are known, affirmed, and encouraged to grow with confidence and purpose. Partnership with families is foundational, and the life of the school is shaped as much by its culture of belonging as by its academic program.

As CCS looks toward the future, the school is entering an important moment of institutional reflection and opportunity. A cornerstone of this next chapter is CCS’s financial aid endowment of over $7 million, established to advance the school’s commitment to access and socioeconomic diversity. Annual support from the fund helps make a CCS education possible for a wide range of families, reinforcing the school’s mission in tangible ways. Building on this foundation, thoughtful stewardship and continued growth of the endowment will be central to the Director’s work in strengthening philanthropic partnership and ensuring long-term sustainability. Even with this strength, while CCS’s mission, program, and community are deeply compelling, the systems and structures that sustain enrollment, advancement, and long-term planning are still evolving. Like many small, progressive schools, CCS is working to balance its highly relational culture with the need for greater operational sustainability and strategic cohesion. In this context, the Director of Development & Communications will play a key role in building the infrastructure needed to support the school’s mission and future growth.

Reporting to the Head of School and partnering closely with senior leadership and trustees, the Director will lead fundraising strategy in service of the school’s long-term vitality. The Director will steward annual and leadership giving efforts, deepen donor cultivation and stewardship practices, and help build a culture of philanthropy that reflects CCS’s progressive values and community ethos. This work includes expanding participation, strengthening donor education, and aligning philanthropic engagement with the school’s commitment to access, equity, and whole-child education. The Director will also shape advancement storytelling by articulating the impact of giving, elevating the case for support, and helping donors understand how their partnership advances CCS’s programmatic vision and financial strength.

In parallel, the Director will guide CCS’s broader communications and storytelling strategy, overseeing messaging that engages current and prospective families, elevates the school’s visibility, and ensures a cohesive institutional voice across publications, digital platforms, and community engagement efforts. Because the Director’s responsibilities span philanthropy, institutional messaging, and community engagement, CCS seeks a leader with both high emotional intelligence and strong operational instincts. This individual builds trust easily while also bringing the discipline to formalize systems, processes, and communications infrastructure. Success will require a relationship-centered storyteller who is equally energized by cultivating donors, partnering with colleagues, and creating the structures that allow advancement and communications work to grow in clarity, consistency, and impact.

https://www.strategenius.org/opportunity-ccs-dir-dev-comms