Public Affairs & External Relations Sr. Manager

Barilla Group • Northbrook, IL

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Public Affairs & External Relations Sr. Manager will be tasked with protecting and enhancing the group’s corporate reputation in the United States and in Region Americas. Reporting solidly to the Communications and External Relations function, he/she will proactively engage key local stakeholders, such as institutions, trade associations, consumer associations, media and NGOs to present Barilla, its position on relevant topics and issues and its corporate ESG activities, ensuring that the company has an established network of allies in case of need. He/she/they will also support activities from a corporate PR perspective and provide crisis management support to the local crisis team.
This is a hybrid role based out of Northbrook, IL.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, PR or Communication
• Minimum 6+ years of professional work experience in corporate communications management or public relationsfirm with expertise in the consumer products domain, specifically food
• Expertise in crisis management
• Experience within global organizations where team members are in multiple offices in multiple countries
• Ability to forge strong relationships, internally as well as externally
• Demonstrated strategic media and public relations capabilities, with proven expertise in contributing tosignificantly increasing brand awareness
• Experience working with external lobbying firms
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Able to work in a changing and challenging, fast-paced environment
• Proven change agent experience in a growing business environment with an increased level of demands and priorities
• Comfortable with an entrepreneurial culture
• Work independently, be a self-starter and have intellectual curiosity
• Proficient in MSOffice (Word/Excel/PowerPoint)
• Ability to travel up to 20% domestically as well as internationally

Responsibilities

• Engagement of key institutional stakeholders in Americas Region ( Washington D.C., Chicago, Ames, Avon, etc)
• Stakeholder map, list of essential contacts, organization of networking events.
• Work with external lobbying firms to:o Research: Analyze proposed legislation and regulationso Develop strategies: Create plans to influence policy and legislationo Build relationships: Form connections with government officials, staff, and other stakeholderso Educate: Explain the impact of legislation to lawmakers and the publico Present: Appear before legislative committees and hearings to advocate for clientso Report: Monitor legislative activities and policy changeso Participate in campaigns: Coordinate public relations campaignso Provide advice: Offer strategic advice to inform business strategy
• Management of trade associations: Participation in trade association meetings and support to the participationof business colleagues; effective representation of Barilla’s interests and position within the association.
• Sustainability communication: Participation in conferences and events to represent Barilla’s position andachievements in the field of sustainability; organization of the launch event for the sustainability report;organization of events, throughout the year, on sustainability topics relevant for Barilla US and Americas; ensuringeffective media coverage of Barilla global and local sustainability initiatives.
• Corporate communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Will be required to drafting anddeliver speeches, press releases, and write/deliver corporate presentations with NGO’s, Stakeholders, andregulators.
• Support to Corporate PR activities: Use of own network of contacts to support Company PR and reputationalinitiatives; successful coverage of business projects or to obtain industry recognition for activities/results.
• Crisis management: Support to the local crisis team. Drafting of statements, Q&As, comms materials whenneeded. Implementation of global and local crisis management strategies in partnership with Crisis Teams.

What This Job Offers

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