Communications Manager Senior

USAA•San Antonio, NC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

USAA is seeking a Communications Manager Senior to lead and oversee strategic communications planning and implementation for CEO communications. This role involves developing and executing strategies that advance the CEO’s priorities, strengthen engagement with key audiences, and ensure a consistent and authentic executive voice. The position will counsel and support senior leadership with communications directives, executive positioning, and high-impact communications for employees, members, and external stakeholders. The role requires partnering horizontally across USAA to understand business priorities and member issues, translating complex information into clear and compelling communications, and identifying proactive opportunities for CEO engagement. The Communications Manager Senior will ensure communications plans, strategies, and/or tactics support business and USAA priorities, operating with exceptional judgment, discretion, speed, and accuracy in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment. This role is remote eligible in the continental U.S. with occasional business travel. However, individuals residing within a 60-mile radius of a USAA office will be expected to work on-site four days per week.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, or related field; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
6 or more years of progressively responsible experience in internal and/or external communications (including employee communications), preferably within the financial services industry.
Experience in media relations, including working with national, regional, and local media outlets, is preferred.
Experience developing communications on behalf of senior executives.

Nice To Haves

Exceptional executive writing and editing skills, with demonstrated experience writing on behalf of senior executives and the ability to capture and consistently apply an executive’s authentic voice across a range of audiences and communications.
Experience developing highly personalized communications, including responses to employees, customers or members, business leaders and other key stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to translate sensitive, nuanced and often complicated issues into clear, concise and empathetic communications that acknowledge concerns, demonstrate understanding and build trust.
Strong business acumen and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to quickly understand member issues, business processes and organizational context and identify the information needed to develop accurate and thoughtful responses.
Proven ability to build trusted relationships and work horizontally across an organization, partnering with business leaders, subject-matter experts and other stakeholders to gather information, navigate differing perspectives and deliver high-quality communications.
Exceptional judgment and discretion, with experience managing sensitive, confidential and high-visibility communications.
Demonstrated ability to operate with speed and accuracy in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work under tight and changing deadlines.
Ability to receive candid feedback, quickly adjust and consistently apply feedback and executive preferences to future work.
A proactive and strategic mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities for the CEO to engage directly with employees, members and other stakeholders through meaningful, personalized communications.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, including the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources, verify facts and ensure communications reflect the appropriate business and audience context.
U.S. military experience through military service or as a military spouse/domestic partner.

Responsibilities

Provides regular counsel and insight to senior management, subject-matter experts, and unit staff to develop complex, effective communication strategies and tactics in support of the CEO’s priorities and USAA strategic initiatives.
Prioritizes highly complex communication projects and ensures they support CEO priorities and USAA plans for employee, member, and public initiatives.
Serves as a key influencer and integrator of strategic objectives across USAA.
Creates strategies that employ communications tactics such as personalized CEO communications, executive messaging, internal and external social channels, leadership communications, publications, and other internal and external communication channels.
Assists in measuring the effectiveness of communications strategies to ensure objectives are met.
Develops and implements complex communications plans in support of business objectives and collaborates with colleagues and partners horizontally across USAA to support positive business outcomes, protect and enhance USAA's reputation, and engage the company's workforce, members, and other key stakeholders.
Develops, manages and executes effective messaging, collateral, processes and strategies in support of business initiatives; crafts clear, compelling and personalized communications on behalf of the CEO, including communications involving sensitive, nuanced and complex issues.
Partners with various teams within the Marketing & Communications Organization (e.g. Social Business, Content Strategy & Development) and with key USAA partners in the development of collateral to be used across all mediums, including print, web, email, video, and social media to help deliver the messages on the identified channels.
Maintains a command of USAA strategies and possesses in-depth knowledge of financial services industry issues and trends, and actively seeks to understand member issues, business processes and organizational context and link those issues to ongoing or emerging employee, member and/or public communications opportunities.
Builds trusted relationships and works horizontally with business leaders, subject-matter experts and other stakeholders to quickly gather and synthesize information, navigate differing perspectives and develop accurate, thoughtful and high-quality CEO communications.
Serves as a trusted steward of the CEO’s voice, consistently applying executive preferences and feedback across communications for a range of audiences and channels.
Identifies proactive opportunities for the CEO to engage directly with employees, members and other stakeholders through meaningful, personalized communications.
Operates with speed and accuracy, managing multiple priorities and delivering high-quality work under tight and changing deadlines.
Synthesizes information from multiple sources, verifies facts and ensures CEO communications reflect the appropriate business, member and audience context.
Mentors junior team members.
Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.