Internal & Executive Communications Manager

HGA•Minneapolis, MN

15h

About The Position

Join HGA as our Internal & Executive Communications Manager and help shape the voice of a national, multidisciplinary design firm. The Internal & Executive Communications Manager plays a key role within HGA’s Communications team. Reporting to the Director of Brand & Communications, this position shapes the firm’s internal voice—driving clarity, transparency, and alignment across a national, multidisciplinary organization. In this role, you will partner closely with the Executive Management Team, Board of Directors, and Central Business Services (HR, Technology, Finance), as well as other firmwide groups, to design and deliver communications that deepen engagement, reinforce culture, and strengthen organizational understanding. A key component of this role includes serving as the primary architect and writer for executive communications, including speeches, scripts, presentations, talking points, and sensitive leadership messaging. This position is ideal for a high-judgment communicator who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, and who can translate complex ideas into compelling, human-centered storytelling. In this role you will: Executive Communications Draft and refine speeches, remarks, talking points, video scripts, and presentations for the Executive Management Team and Board of Directors for town halls, leadership meetings, Shareholder meetings, internal videos, and firmwide updates. Coach and prepare executives for live presentations, video recordings, and internal engagements, support message discipline and delivery. Develop and maintain narrative frameworks and leadership voice guidelines that reinforce HGA’s values, strategy, and culture. Internal Communications Lead and manage the firmwide internal communications cadence in partnership with the Director of Brand & Communications, including ongoing campaigns, initiatives, announcements, and leadership messaging. Conceptualize, write, edit, and publish communications supporting regional and firmwide initiatives—ensuring clarity, alignment, and audience-focused storytelling. Partner with the Executive Management Team, Board of Directors, senior leaders, and Central Business Services to deliver communication programs that build connection and support a “one firm” culture. Manage internal storytelling content and develop serialized internal communications formats (e.g., Inside HGA or similar) that celebrate work, culture, and firmwide priorities. Serve as lead publisher, strategist, and editorial steward for HGA Intranet, ensuring internal campaigns, messaging, and updates are clear, engaging, and aligned with firmwide priorities. Partner with Operations and Technology teams on governance, enhancements, and content standards for HGA Intranet to ensure consistent and effective firmwide communication. Internal Meetings Cadence & Governance Evaluate and optimize the firmwide internal meetings cadence, including agenda development, message alignment, and communications workflows for key meetings such as the Monthly Firmwide Update, Quarterly Shareholder Meetings, National Practice meetings, and Town Halls. Project-manage content development and preparation for Quarterly Shareholder Meetings, partnering closely with executive leadership and the collateral team. Beginning in 2026, lead content curation, messaging alignment, and project management for the Monthly Firmwide Update Meeting using established processes and playbooks. Communication Systems, Tools & Processes Establish, document, and manage disciplined information cascade protocols to ensure that messages from the Executive Management Team are consistently communicated across offices, teams, sectors, and practice groups. Build accountability frameworks and provide tools and templates that enable leaders to cascade information effectively. Develop and maintain internal communications playbooks, templates, and standardized messaging processes that support consistent, high-quality communication across the firm. Assess and evolve the EMT Communications Calendar or equivalent tools to coordinate enterprise-wide messaging and executive communication priorities. Partner with Operations and Knowledge Management teams during the transition of HGA Intranet and related systems to ensure communications goals are supported and that the platform is effectively leveraged. Strategic & Crisis Communications Partner with Executive Management and Public Relations teams on crisis response, issues management, and change-management communications. Ensure timely, accurate, and transparent communication during periods of organizational change.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, or a related field.
Minimum 10 years of relevant communications experience, ideally within professional services, corporate communications, design/architecture/engineering, or other complex, matrixed environments.
Demonstrated experience developing executive-level communications, including speeches, presentations, messaging frameworks, and leadership announcements.
Exceptional writing, editing, storytelling, and editorial judgment, with a proven ability to tailor content to diverse audiences, formats, and communication objectives.
Strong interpersonal skills with confidence advising, coaching, and partnering directly with senior executives.
Proven experience managing internal communications programs, including culture-building initiatives, employee engagement, or serialized internal storytelling.
Experience developing or supporting governance models, information cascade frameworks, or firmwide communication structures.
Strong project management capabilities—able to lead multiple high-priority initiatives, manage approvals, and deliver on tight deadlines.
High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly PowerPoint; comfort with light graphic formatting.
Experience managing or publishing content within intranet platforms (Synthesis, SharePoint, etc.)
Skill and comfort with video storytelling, scriptwriting, messaging for live delivery, and light editing for internal video content.
Strong organizational skills, impeccable attention to detail, and the ability to work collaboratively across teams, offices, and stakeholder groups in a distributed environment.

Responsibilities

Draft and refine speeches, remarks, talking points, video scripts, and presentations for the Executive Management Team and Board of Directors for town halls, leadership meetings, Shareholder meetings, internal videos, and firmwide updates.
Coach and prepare executives for live presentations, video recordings, and internal engagements, support message discipline and delivery.
Develop and maintain narrative frameworks and leadership voice guidelines that reinforce HGA’s values, strategy, and culture.
Lead and manage the firmwide internal communications cadence in partnership with the Director of Brand & Communications, including ongoing campaigns, initiatives, announcements, and leadership messaging.
Conceptualize, write, edit, and publish communications supporting regional and firmwide initiatives—ensuring clarity, alignment, and audience-focused storytelling.
Partner with the Executive Management Team, Board of Directors, senior leaders, and Central Business Services to deliver communication programs that build connection and support a “one firm” culture.
Manage internal storytelling content and develop serialized internal communications formats (e.g., Inside HGA or similar) that celebrate work, culture, and firmwide priorities.
Serve as lead publisher, strategist, and editorial steward for HGA Intranet, ensuring internal campaigns, messaging, and updates are clear, engaging, and aligned with firmwide priorities.
Partner with Operations and Technology teams on governance, enhancements, and content standards for HGA Intranet to ensure consistent and effective firmwide communication.
Evaluate and optimize the firmwide internal meetings cadence, including agenda development, message alignment, and communications workflows for key meetings such as the Monthly Firmwide Update, Quarterly Shareholder Meetings, National Practice meetings, and Town Halls.
Project-manage content development and preparation for Quarterly Shareholder Meetings, partnering closely with executive leadership and the collateral team.
Beginning in 2026, lead content curation, messaging alignment, and project management for the Monthly Firmwide Update Meeting using established processes and playbooks.
Establish, document, and manage disciplined information cascade protocols to ensure that messages from the Executive Management Team are consistently communicated across offices, teams, sectors, and practice groups.
Build accountability frameworks and provide tools and templates that enable leaders to cascade information effectively.
Develop and maintain internal communications playbooks, templates, and standardized messaging processes that support consistent, high-quality communication across the firm.
Assess and evolve the EMT Communications Calendar or equivalent tools to coordinate enterprise-wide messaging and executive communication priorities.
Partner with Operations and Knowledge Management teams during the transition of HGA Intranet and related systems to ensure communications goals are supported and that the platform is effectively leveraged.
Partner with Executive Management and Public Relations teams on crisis response, issues management, and change-management communications.
Ensure timely, accurate, and transparent communication during periods of organizational change.