Director, Public Relations & Media – Americas, Products and R&D

Johnson Controls•Glendale, AZ

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

As Johnson Controls accelerates its leadership across thermal management, mission-critical environments, and energy-efficiency, this role will shape the narrative around how our technologies enable the AI economy, strengthen infrastructure resilience and deliver measurable outcomes for customers. This leader will translate complex topics into clear, differentiated stories that earn media attention, build credibility and position Johnson Controls as a leader in the industries we serve. Operating at both a strategic and executional level, you will set direction for regional media engagement while ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery in alignment with global priorities. Success in this role will be defined by stronger visibility in priority media, clear message differentiation from competitors, and increased recognition of Johnson Controls as a leader in critical infrastructure and next-generation technologies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Communications, Public Relations or Journalism, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in public relations, media relations or corporate communications.
Strong background in B2B, industrial, technology, energy or infrastructure sectors.
Proven ability to simplify complex topics into clear and compelling external narratives.
Demonstrated success developing and executing media strategies that drive measurable impact.
Experience advising senior executives and influencing external positioning.
Established relationships across business, technology and trade media.
Highly collaborative with the ability to influence across a matrixed global organization and align stakeholders behind a clear narrative.
Experience with media measurement tools and reporting earned media metrics
Exceptional writing, storytelling and editorial judgment
Experience managing agencies and leading cross-functional initiatives
Comfort using AI and emerging technologies to enhance storytelling, accelerate workflows and push creative boundaries, paired with strong editorial judgment.
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment

Nice To Haves

Ability to travel as required <15% annually

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the public relations and media strategy in the region, aligned to business priorities and growth objectives.
Define and evolve the regional narrative, ensuring consistency with global positioning while reflecting market dynamics across the Americas and within the Products and R&D organization.
Identify and activate high-impact news moments tied to business priorities, industry trends and cultural relevance.
Position the Americas segment leader and senior executives as visible, credible voices in priority media and industry conversations.
Serve as a trusted advisor on media strategy, messaging and external positioning.
Prepare executives for media engagement, ensuring clarity, confidence and consistency in messaging.
Lead proactive storytelling that highlights innovation, differentiation and real-world customer outcomes.
Translate complex technical topics into clear, differentiated and credible, media-ready narratives.
Identify and create news moments tied to key trends and events.
Develop high-impact content including media pitches, press releases, executive messaging, thought leadership.
Partner closely with business leaders, product teams, sustainability and marketing to surface differentiated stories and proof points.
Build and manage relationships with top-tier business, trade and technology media.
Work closely with global PR team members while setting standards, processes and ways of working across the global PR organization, includes supervising staff and managing agency resources.
Apply AI enabled tools to accelerate content creation, insight generation and media planning, while maintaining editorial rigor and brand integrity.
Monitor media coverage and industry trends to inform strategy and continuously refine messaging.
Help manage and evaluate PR agency support to ensure effective use of resources.
Support issues and crisis communications as needed, ensuring consistency with enterprise messaging.