Executive Director, Media Relations

Estée Lauder Companies • New York, NY

29d • $154,000 - $264,750

About The Position

The Executive Director, Media Relations, is a strategic communications leader within The Estée Lauder Companies, responsible for providing dedicated communications counsel and executional leadership in support of a senior leader of the organization. Reporting to the Vice President, Global Media Relations, this role is accountable for shaping, advancing, and safeguarding the leader’s public reputation, voice, and platform, in full alignment with The enterprise’s reputation, values, and business priorities.
This is a leader-centric role with end-to-end responsibility for developing and executing an integrated communications strategy that articulates the leader’s business success, leadership philosophy, and philanthropic impact. The position partners closely with the Global Communications team to ensure coherence, discretion, and strategic alignment across all internal and external touchpoints.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10–12 years of progressive experience in leadership communications, media relations, and corporate affairs, with significant exposure to C-suite leaders.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on high-stakes, high-visibility communications.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills, with a proven ability to develop and sustain an authentic leadership voice.
• Deep understanding of media landscapes, reputation management, and executive positioning across business and lifestyle platforms.
• Exceptional media relations experience, including a strong track record of developing, pitching, and landing impactful media placements.
• Established media relationships that can be leveraged in service of strategic communications goals.
• High emotional intelligence, discretion, and sound judgment in handling sensitive and confidential matters.
• Proven ability to manage complex, long-term initiatives while operating effectively in fast-moving, high-visibility environments.
• Experience working within matrixed, global organizations.

Nice To Haves

• Background in beauty, luxury, consumer goods, or adjacent industries preferred.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary strategic communications advisor to the leader, providing senior counsel on all internal and external communications, reputation management, and public positioning.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive leadership communications strategy that advances the leader’s business priorities, public reputation, and long-term legacy, integrating business leadership with philanthropic and cultural impact.
• Draft, edit, and oversee all written materials for the leader, including speeches, remarks, talking points, presentations, op-eds, and internal communications, ensuring consistency of voice and message.
• Prepare the leader for high-profile public-facing moments, including media interviews, business and industry conferences, internal leadership forums, and cultural or philanthropic engagements.
• Identify, shape, and manage selective, high-impact media opportunities across business, lifestyle, and thought leadership outlets, ensuring all engagements align with enterprise strategy and reinforce the leader’s positioning.
• Serve as the central liaison between the leader and internal company communications team stakeholders to ensure alignment, accuracy, and discretion across all communications efforts.
• Oversee all press and public-facing materials related to the leader, maintaining message discipline and consistency across platforms, markets, and channels.
• Draft and oversee all social media content for the leader
• Lead long-form and legacy storytelling initiatives connected to the leader, including book development, essays, documentaries, podcasts, oral histories, and heritage projects.
• Align communications with the leader’s philanthropic, cultural, and academic commitments, ensuring thoughtful, strategic representation across external organizations and institutions.
• Provide senior-level judgment and guidance on sensitive, confidential, or reputational matters involving leadership and family initiatives.
• Coordinate limited business travel and event logistics related to communications and public engagements (approximately 10%).
• Integrating leadership communications with overall corporate media strategy, leadership positioning, and enterprise priorities.
• Collaborating with Global Media Relations on select enterprise announcements, initiatives, or moments involving the leader.
• Advising on reputational considerations where the leader’s public profile intersects with corporate, investor, or broader public discourse.
• Supporting crisis and issues management as it relates specifically to leadership visibility and public positioning.

Benefits

• The Estée Lauder Companies offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees, including health insurance coverage, wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education-related programs, paid holidays and vacation time, and many others. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive