Communications Specialist

Kent•Houston, TX

4h•Onsite

About The Position

Kent is looking for a Regional Communications Specialist to join our global Corporate Communications and Advocacy team. This is a newly created role, and a genuine opportunity to build a career at the heart of a specialist global communications function within a fast-moving, internationally active energy business. Based in Houston, TX, you will be an embedded member of the central global team, positioned in one of our most important markets. Your core purpose is to ensure that Kent’s global communications activity is genuinely informed by, and reflective of, the regions you represent. That means building relationships, gathering content, understanding local context and feeding the insight that allows the central team to plan and deliver communications that truly resonate in your market. Reporting into a Global Communications Director, you will be working alongside the central team to develop content, support campaign delivery, events, and media when needed. But the success of this work depends on you. You are the link between what is happening on the ground and what the global team puts out into the world. Local stories, regional context and in-market knowledge flow through you, and that makes this role central to the quality and credibility of everything we communicate about these markets. This is a role for someone who wants to build something, not just fill a position. You will join a high-calibre global team that will invest in your development, involve you in significant international communications activity and give you increasing responsibility as your confidence and capability grow. From M&A projects to major brand campaigns, you will have sight of – and a hand in – work that genuinely matters to the business.

Requirements

Minimum 5 years experience and bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations or a related field required.
Experience in a role that involved building relationships and influencing people, even outside a formal communications context.
Familiarity with social media platforms used in a professional or organizational context.
Any experience with content capture, photography, video or basic content creation tools.
Strong written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to summarize, contextualize and communicate information clearly and with good judgement.
A warm, confident and naturally personable communication style – you build rapport quickly and find it easy to connect with people across different levels and backgrounds.
Genuine curiosity about the energy sector and a desire to develop your knowledge of the industry, your regional market and the communications landscape within it.
A proactive, self-starting approach – you actively look for stories, opportunities and insights rather than waiting to be directed, and you bring energy and enthusiasm to your work.
Good organizational skills and the confidence to manage your own workload day-to-day, keeping the central team informed and asking for support when needed.
Comfort working with significant autonomy whilst remaining a committed, visible and collaborative member of a remote global team.
A genuine willingness to travel, both within your region and periodically, to the central team and other markets.

Nice To Haves

Previous exposure to the energy, engineering or industrial sectors preferred.
Speaking an additional language preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain relationships with local leaders, project teams and colleagues across your region to stay consistently close to what is happening within Kent on the ground.
Proactively identify stories, milestones, people and projects that have strategic relevance and communications value - for internal employee engagement or external brand activity - and bring these to the central team in a timely and well-contextualized way.
Gather and support the development of regional content to feed into globally planned campaigns and channels, including photography, video, quotes, project updates and background information, ensuring the central team has what it needs to represent your region well.
Develop a growing understanding of your regional energy market - including the digital platforms, industry forums, publications and events that matter most to professionals in the sector - and share that knowledge actively with the global team.
Serve as the central team’s first point of reference for regional context, ensuring that campaigns, content and messaging planned centrally are non-conflicting to the realities and nuances on the ground.
Monitor regional developments, issues or risks that could impact Kent’s reputation, and escalate these to the central communications team in a timely manner.
Support the central team with local context and coordination during issues or crisis communications situations.
Provide initial structuring or drafting of regional content where appropriate to support efficient development by central specialists.
Support the delivery of internal communications activity in your region, working to plans and frameworks set by the Internal Communications Director and central specialists.
Help ensure that global communications land effectively with employees in your region - identifying any local barriers, sensitivities or contextual factors that the central team should be aware of.
Contribute to employee engagement initiatives in your region, including listening activities, survey promotion and employee voice programmes.
Flag communications gaps, local concerns or employee feedback to the central internal comms team so they can inform future planning and channel strategy.
Play an active role in ensuring that your region features meaningfully across Kent’s global external channels – sourcing the local content, stories and insight that allow the central team to represent your market with authenticity and regularity.
Provide locally informed input into campaign planning, helping the central team make well-grounded decisions about how content is shaped, adapted and targeted for your region.
Support on-the-ground logistics for events and activations taking place in your region, working to plans directed by the central team.
Support the delivery of media activity in your region by providing local insight, background information and coordination on the ground, working closely with central media relations specialists.
Provide insight into regional audiences and how they engage with the external communications landscape in your market – including the channels, events and forums through which energy industry professionals engage – to help the central team identify the right opportunities to build Kent’s brand visibility.
Provide feedback on the effectiveness of campaigns and communications in your region, including qualitative insights from stakeholders and audiences.
Build genuine, trusted relationships with colleagues and leaders across your region, establishing yourself as a credible, approachable and professional representative of the communications function.
Act as a local point of contact for communications queries from colleagues in your region, connecting them to the right central team member and managing expectations clearly.
Help regional stakeholders understand how to work effectively with the global team, channelling requests and information in a way that supports rather than disrupts central planning and delivery.
Participate fully as a member of the global Communications and Advocacy team – joining regular team meetings, contributing ideas and keeping central colleagues well-informed of developments in your region.
Take on ad hoc projects and tasks as directed by the SVP or Directors, including support for global initiatives where your contribution would add value, with guidance and support provided.
Embrace the learning and development opportunities this role offers, working with the team to grow your communications knowledge and capability over time.
Apply flexible working patterns to enable effective collaboration with a globally distributed team across time zones, while maintaining a balanced and sustainable approach to workload.
Perform other ad-hoc tasks as needed or directed by the supervisor or management, within the reasonable scope of the employee's skills, capabilities, and role within the organization.