Director, NAM Public Relations & Crisis Communications

Schneider Electric•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Schneider Electric has a new opening for a Director, NAM Public Relations & Crisis Communications based in Boston, MA. This role is responsible for developing and implementing a cohesive public relations strategy to build, enhance, and protect Schneider Electric’s brand in North America. The focus is on positioning the company as a strategic energy technology partner through media relations and thought leadership efforts, supporting businesses and end markets aimed at targeted persona audiences. The Director will lead C-level and strategic media interactions, manage top journalist relationships, and continuously enhance and protect the brand. This role also includes oversight of the territory’s crisis communications efforts, with direct responsibility for the U.S. and indirect management of Canada and Mexico/Central America, in collaboration with global, European, and Asian counterparts. This position reports directly to the VP, NAM Brand & Communications and is considered a “practice owner” in Marketing, tasked with developing and enhancing the company’s public relations expertise over time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Communications, Marketing, or related discipline
Highly proficient in spoken and written English
5-7+ years of experience in Communications and/or Marketing in large companies or PR agencies.
5+ years of direct media relations experience, including journalist management & both proactive and reactive issues management with Tier 1/C-level business and financial media
Proven experience in public relations and external positioning, including earned and owned media coverage.
3+ years working in a matrix organization
Excellent communicator with experience implementing and advising on communication strategy in support of thought leadership and business objectives
Strong writing and presentation skills
Understanding of relevant market trends, technical products, and solutions
Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.
Ability to work in Schneider Electric’s Boston City Hub office at least three days a week in accordance with the company’s in-office policy.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a comprehensive media relations and thought leadership program for the U.S., including always-on storytelling aligned with news trends, proactive newsjacking, news announcements and media pitching, development of op-eds and bylined articles, and crafting compelling pitches for long-form stories or broadcast segments.
Build trust and credibility for executives by identifying and securing strategic speaking engagements to increase visibility and demonstrate thought leadership.
Enhance Schneider Electric’s brand awareness by designing and executing an awards program.
Support major industry or company-owned events by performing required media relations and executive speaking opportunity duties, such as producing press conferences, preparing news announcements and talking points, conducting media training, and managing journalist interviews.
Partner with paid media, social media, and internal communications teams to deliver a 360-degree approach that maximizes the visibility of news stories across multiple platforms and audiences.
Drive the NAM Issues/Crisis Management approach and lead coordination during crises, specifically in the U.S./NAM, alongside global, European, and Asian counterparts.
Ensure issue and crisis preparedness is aligned with Schneider Electric’s overall risk management work, feeds into enterprise heat map tracking, and is coordinated with local communications and Government Relations teams.
Engage on reputational issues and serve as a strategic counselor to business leaders, with a focus on the U.S./NAM, in partnership with global and local communications teams.
Act as the senior advisor in the U.S. time zone on global issues and crises.
Contribute actively to the crisis-handling management standard operating procedure, and create and manage crisis communications in partnership with global communications, businesses, functions, and operations teams, as appropriate.
Act as Operations lead for NAM Brand & Communications function, ensuring strong measurement & reporting of quarterly performance indicators is delivered in a strategic, contextual manner.