URBN Director of Communications & Community

URBN•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

URBN is seeking an experienced communications leader to oversee Corporate Communications. This position is responsible for executing the company’s corporate narrative, managing our reputation with priority internal and external audiences, and leading enterprise-wide reporting programs. As the primary enterprise-level communications lead, this role oversees external channels, including media relations, the company's social media presence, and charitable initiatives. The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and excellent writer who can partner with senior executives, build cross-functional relationships, and bring a genuine commitment to purpose-driven storytelling as an ambassador of the URBN culture.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in corporate communications, public relations, or a related field.
Proven track record managing crisis communications and navigating complex, multi-stakeholder situations with sound judgment.
Demonstrated success in leading large-scale cross-functional projects.
Strong media relationships and the ability to build new ones across national, regional, and trade press.
Demonstrated experience managing agency relationships and leading cross-functional teams.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to distill complex topics into clear, compelling narratives.
An enthusiastic representative and ambassador of the URBN portfolio of brands.
Comfort working in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing priorities and a high volume of inbound requests.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary corporate PR contact; manage inbound media requests and route to brand PR leads across all URBN brands.
Approve press releases, media kits, and executive bios for external publication; manage brand logo and identity usage for third-party press.
Serve as steward of URBN's corporate narrative; identify and execute proactive opportunities to write high-impact communications and amplify it externally across media, owned channels, and executive platforms.
Build trusted relationships with internal brand teams to ensure corporate and brand voices and responses align.
Lead crisis communications strategy, both proactively and reactively; advise brand teams on reputation escalations, sensitive customer situations, and social media incidents.
Oversee and direct URBN’s agency relationships and PR tools.
Serve as an advisor to company leadership on external public perception, reputational risk, and anticipated reactions to company activities and decisions, this includes sourcing and executing speaking and media opportunities that support the URBN corporate narrative.
Own URBN’s annual public Impact Report end-to-end: gather sustainability commitments from cross-functional teams, set benchmarks, and write/publish the report in collaboration with the Shared Services Creative Director.
Manage the URBN charitable giving program, coordinating centralized funding processes across brands to support external community organizations.
Lead and develop the Communications team, providing strategic direction and day-to-day guidance.
Be a trusted voice with brands, legal and senior leadership on sensitive external corporate communications, press statements, and public policy matters.