Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

M&T Bank•Wilmington, DE

About The Position

Overview: Responsible for directing the shaping, protecting, and advancing of the organization’s reputation, public positioning, policy influence, and stakeholder trust through Public Affairs, Government Relations, Corporate Communications, Public Relations, and Reputation Strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy, while navigating geopolitical shifts, enabling executive visibility, and managing reputation risk and stakeholder expectations. Primary Responsibilities: Serve as the organization’s chief reputation strategist, responsible for aligning communications, public affairs, and government relations with business and market strategy, ensuring cohesive messaging across all internal and external channels, leading policy, regulatory, and advocacy strategies that influence the operating environment, managing enterprise-level risk related to public perception and legislative change, and advancing executive visibility and thought leadership, which is a rising priority across corporate affairs functions. Lead the strategy for managing and strengthening the corporate reputation; oversee crisis communication and narrative management across media, regulators, policymakers, and public forums. Direct all Corporate Communications activities enterprise-wide including internal communications, cultural messaging, and enterprise storytelling, governing messaging architecture and ensuring alignment with business transformation goals, and overseeing editorial and content excellence, emphasizing an integrated editorial strategy as a core capability. Oversee Public Affairs and Government Relations activities including shaping advocacy, regulatory strategy, and legislative engagement and leading coalitions, trade association engagement, and policy positioning, while operating at the intersection of regulation and public perception, reflecting the trend of integrating government affairs into communications. Lead media, public relations, and external influencing through developing proactive media strategies and earned media visibility, guiding Public Relations teams in storytelling, and managing digital reputation, narrative intelligence, and crisis response. Manage stakeholder engagement and sustainability communications by ensuring the alignment of the narrative with global regulatory expectations and stakeholder values, overseeing community engagement, philanthropy, and trust building initiatives, and integrating sustainability messaging with Investor Relations, policy strategy, and external affairs. Lead teams responsible for public opinion research, media analytics, and AI (artificial intelligence)-enabled narrative monitoring; ensure the organization leverages AI, which is a top opportunity for communications transformation. Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management and terminations. Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management. Promote an environment that supports a culture of belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand. Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable. Complete other related duties as assigned. Scope of Responsibilities: The position manages enterprise-wide Public Affairs, Government Relations, Corporate Communications, Public Relations, and Reputation Strategy activities. Success in the role is defined by improved corporate reputation indices and stakeholder trust outcomes, increased executive visibility and thought leadership metrics, policy wins and enhanced government relationships, strength of crisis response and mitigation of reputation risk, employee engagement and internal communications health, stakeholder alignment and clarity, and media sentiment improvements and narrative control in key markets. The job holder works closely with executive leadership, as well as Investor Relations, Risk, Compliance, and Sustainability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 15 years’ relevant experience across corporate and media communications, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 19 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 15 years’ relevant experience across corporate and media communications
Minimum of 7 years’ managerial experience
Acute business and financial acumen
Exemplary leadership skills
Track record of high-level strategic counsel to executive leadership
Proven communications strategist and executor that has built a brand and managed the reputation of a large organization, inclusive of extensive experience in a primary role around issues and crisis management
Fluency in legislative processes, building strong government relations, regulatory frameworks, and compliance environments
Mastery of strategic narratives, executive communications, and enterprise storytelling
Experience leading cross-functional crisis teams
Experience developing a creative and thoughtful approach to communications and bringing forward innovative ideas backed by research and data
Well-developed network of media relationships
Solid understanding of current events and the news media industry
Drives outcomes leveraging highly tuned influencing skills
Leverages data and is adept in fast-paced decision-making skills
Strong skills in organizational, operational and financial planning skills with acute detail orientation

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree and/or MBA (Master’s in Business Administration)
Deep understanding of media analytics, narrative intelligence tools, and AI-driven communications workflows
Knowledge of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and emerging technologies shaping media visibility
Experience in Brand with a firm understanding of the importance of an organization’s unified voice with consistent brand amplification

Responsibilities

Serve as the organization’s chief reputation strategist, responsible for aligning communications, public affairs, and government relations with business and market strategy, ensuring cohesive messaging across all internal and external channels, leading policy, regulatory, and advocacy strategies that influence the operating environment, managing enterprise-level risk related to public perception and legislative change, and advancing executive visibility and thought leadership, which is a rising priority across corporate affairs functions.
Lead the strategy for managing and strengthening the corporate reputation; oversee crisis communication and narrative management across media, regulators, policymakers, and public forums.
Direct all Corporate Communications activities enterprise-wide including internal communications, cultural messaging, and enterprise storytelling, governing messaging architecture and ensuring alignment with business transformation goals, and overseeing editorial and content excellence, emphasizing an integrated editorial strategy as a core capability.
Oversee Public Affairs and Government Relations activities including shaping advocacy, regulatory strategy, and legislative engagement and leading coalitions, trade association engagement, and policy positioning, while operating at the intersection of regulation and public perception, reflecting the trend of integrating government affairs into communications.
Lead media, public relations, and external influencing through developing proactive media strategies and earned media visibility, guiding Public Relations teams in storytelling, and managing digital reputation, narrative intelligence, and crisis response.
Manage stakeholder engagement and sustainability communications by ensuring the alignment of the narrative with global regulatory expectations and stakeholder values, overseeing community engagement, philanthropy, and trust building initiatives, and integrating sustainability messaging with Investor Relations, policy strategy, and external affairs.
Lead teams responsible for public opinion research, media analytics, and AI (artificial intelligence)-enabled narrative monitoring; ensure the organization leverages AI, which is a top opportunity for communications transformation.
Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management and terminations.
Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite.
Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis.
Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
Promote an environment that supports a culture of belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
Complete other related duties as assigned.