Specialist, Community Action Team Ward 5 & 6

Office:

Office of External Affairs

Date Posted:

7/1/2026

Salary Range:

1-5 / $87,024 - $98,195

NTE Date:

N/A

Position Overview

The mission of the Office of External Affairs is to improve outcomes for every student in DCPS by fostering strong connections between and among schools, families, the greater DC community, and other stakeholders. Through effective communication, meaningful family and community engagement, and collaborative partnerships, we shine a light on the inspiring stories of the students and schools within DCPS and work to ensure our district is an inclusive environment in which all voices are heard.

All our work is designed to accelerate student success by:

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Building and sustaining relationships between and among DCPS, families, communities, and partners that increase trust;

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Increasing transparency and access to information, resources, and DCPS leadership and staff;

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Building capacity in schools and Central Services to enhance communication and engagement with staff, families and communities to improve student outcomes; and

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Ensuring DCPS’s stakeholders are well-informed about our priorities and our successes and have context about our challenges.

Divisions/Teams

Strategic Communications:

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Builds and executes communications systems to ensure clear and informative messaging to stakeholders.

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Supports district-wide branding and marketing through photography, videography, graphic design, social media and newsletter engagement, website management, and more.

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Works cross-functionally to transform district initiatives into effective communications campaigns.

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Monitors progress of projects, based on changes in direction, priorities, and resources.

Operations Communications:

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Develops and leads overall school-based or district-level incident response communications strategy.

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Approves and writes operations communications on issues including facilities, building modernizations, health, school climate, and other crisis communications.

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Identifies keyways to turn crisis communications into opportunities to reverse existing narratives about DCPS.

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Works across several Central Office teams to manage crisis communications, often outside of the school day.

Press:

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Manages reactive and proactive engagement with local and national media stories to share the stories of DCPS’s students, staff, and schools.

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Devises media outreach strategies to support strategic communications objectives.

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Supports crisis communications work by ensuring media are accurately reporting on developments.

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Ensure that key messaging, talking points, and other media materials align with priorities and guidelines set by the Executive Office of the Mayor.

Family and Community Engagement:

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Aims to build the capacity of Central Services, school administrators, and educators to partner with families to drive student success.

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Listens to and engages our families and community at the district and school level to build trust, using stakeholder feedback to inform the work of DCPS.

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Builds and sustains strategic relationships with key stakeholders.

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Directly supports schools in their parent and community engagement efforts, including with Local School Advisory Teams (LSATs) and parent teacher organizations (PTOs).

Partnerships:

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Serves as the district’s central team for identifying and managing strategic partnerships that promote student achievement, build school capacity, and advance district priorities.

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Enhances the capacity of Central Services, school administrators, and teachers to maximize the impact of partnerships on key organizational goals.

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Develops and maintains systems and policies that ensure school-based and district-level partnerships are high-quality, compliant, and aligned with the strategic priority to ensure students feel connected to their schools.

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Aims to build the capacity of Central Services, school administrators, and educators to partner with families to drive student success.

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Listens to and engages our families and community at the district and school level to build trust, using stakeholder feedback to inform the work of DCPS.

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Builds and sustains strategic relationships with key stakeholders.

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Directly supports schools in their parent and community engagement efforts, including with Local School Advisory Teams (LSATs) and parent teacher organizations (PTOs).

The Specialist, Community Action Team (CAT) is responsible for building and sustaining strategic relationships with key family and community stakeholders in a way that engages people with DCPS in meaningful ways and facilitates the access to information and resources at DCPS. The Specialist will develop and maintain collaborative partnerships with a variety of agencies and organizations, serve in local and school-based committees and groups, communicate emerging needs and trends back to DCPS, and recommend related organizational changes. The Specialist also helps build the capacity of school staff within the clusters to whom they are assigned to enhance their school-level family and community engagement efforts. This is done by developing and helping to implement individualized strategies and by leveraging knowledge of best practices.

All our work is designed to accelerate student success by:

• Building and sustaining relationships between and among DCPS, families, communities, and partners that increase trust;

• Increasing transparency and access to information, resources, and DCPS leadership and staff;

• Building capacity in schools and Central Service to enhance communication with staff, families and communities to improve student outcomes; and

• Ensuring DCPS’s stakeholders are well-informed about our priorities and our successes, and have context about our challenges.

This position has been designated as Protection Sensitive. Pursuant to section 410 of Chapter 4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying protection sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Pre-employment drug and alcohol test; Traffic record check (as applicable); Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and Post-accident or incident drug and alcohol test.
The Specialist, Community Action Team Ward 5 & 6 will report to the Manager, Community Affairs and Engagement.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

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Applies deep knowledge and expertise of engagement practices in providing targeted capacity building, coaching, and support around transparent, timely, and authentic communications with families and community stakeholders.

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Collaborates with internal DCPS offices to support mobilization and execution of high impact projects that support collaboration between DCPS and the community.

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Designs and executes community-based events at schools for DCPS and city leadership, ensuring family and community representation and involvement.

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Supports the creation, planning, and operations of school-based Local School Advisory Teams (LSAT).

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Identifies and participates in key meetings in and outside of schools (e.g. parent teacher organizations (PTO/A), Education Councils, ANCs, etc.) to support consistent exchange of information between DCPS and its stakeholders, particularly around key DCPS priorities and initiatives.

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Acts as the main point of contact for stakeholders who have complex obstacles to raise at school and district levels. Facilitates the coordination of parties who are best positioned to address elevated concerns.

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Builds relationships and liaises with various internal and external departments, DC Government agencies, community-based organizations, and others to drive collaboration and success.

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Regularly communicates progress to and collects feedback from colleagues and stakeholders to determine opportunities for improvement, and develops detailed recommendations and implementation plans to resolve.

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Knowledge of neighborhood associations, civic groups, education councils, and faith-based spaces in communities like Brookland, Trinidad, Southwest Waterfront, and Capitol Hill.

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Deep understanding of the needs and interventions to support newcomer families and families in transition; synthesizes feedback; and helps manage the analysis and presentation of data, and progress of data-driven initiatives for senior leaders and external audiences.

• High level understanding of the resources available to students and families in a changing neighborhood landscape due to economic development.

• Ability to bridge the gap between stakeholders with diverse needs and perspectives.

• Due to the nature of these responsibilities, this position requires flexibility to work beyond traditional business hours as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of related work experience.

• Master's degree preferred.

• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.

• Experience developing traditional and non-traditional collaborative partnerships.

• Experience with community organizing in DC preferred.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a variety of audiences.

• Great interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport with diverse stakeholders.

• Engaging speaker with active listening skills.

• Project management skills and the ability to motivate peers across and among teams.

• DC residents encouraged to apply.

• Creative and tenacious problem solver in high stress situations.

• Comfortable mediating conflict in public-facing scenarios.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.

• COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.

• EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.

• EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.

• TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.

• JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact dcps.eeo-ada@k12.dc.gov.