Director of Strategic Communications - PWM

Baird • Milwaukee, WI

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

At Baird, communications is considered a strategic driver of business performance, alignment, and change. This role is for a Director of Strategic Communications within the Private Wealth Management (PWM) business, tasked with translating business strategy into clear, actionable, and measurable communications. The Director will act as a trusted advisor to PWM leadership, shaping communications for top business priorities, executive messaging, strategy development and cascade, major change efforts, and high-impact business moments. The position also involves leading the overall PWM strategic communications function, including setting direction, prioritization, governance, and team leadership. The company offers a hybrid work model, requiring team members to work onsite 4 days per week for collaboration and business needs, with 1 day per week of work-from-home flexibility.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of experience in strategic communications, executive communications or change management.
• Proven ability to counsel senior leaders and develop communications strategies tied to business priorities.
• Strong experience leading communications for complex, high-visibility or business-critical initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into clear messaging, practical plans and measurable outcomes.
• Excellent judgment, leader presence, and ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-stakes environments.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to influence across teams and functions.
• Experience leading teams, managing priorities and building scalable processes.
• Ability to use data, stakeholder feedback, and business context to guide decision-making and improve communications effectiveness.
• High attention to detail with a passion for precision in content and execution.
• Ability and willingness to flex and work during non-traditional hours when occasional time-sensitive projects arise.

Nice To Haves

• SIE and Series 7/66 licensing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic communications function for PWM – setting vision, priorities and standards aligned to business goals.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to PWM executives and senior leaders on high-impact communications, executive messaging and organizational priorities.
• Develop and oversee communications strategies for PWM’s most important initiatives, including large-scale change efforts, acquisitions, integration work and other business priorities.
• Support the development and cascade of business strategy, ensuring leaders and associates receive clear, connected and actionable communications.
• Oversee communications for high-visibility and high-sensitivity moments – including significant leadership announcements, issues escalation and urgent or unplanned business events.
• Establish direction for communications channels and governance, ensuring content is delivered through the right channels with consistency, discipline and effectiveness.
• Partner with key functions like Legal, Compliance, HR, Marketing, Operations, and other stakeholders to align messaging, improve coordination and advance shared priorities.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team responsible for strategic and business communications, along with analytics and insights.
• Guide resource allocation and team prioritization to balance long-term strategic work with urgent business needs.
• Foster a data-informed communications approach by leveraging channel analytics, adoption measures, and voice-of-branch insights to refine strategy and improve outcomes.

Benefits

• Hybrid work model, with team members working onsite 4 days per week along with 1 day per week of work‑from‑home flexibility.
• Employee-owned firm.
• Nationally recognized as a great place to work since 2004.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees