Senior Public Affairs Specialist

NiSource • Merrillville, IN

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Public Affairs Specialist plays a key role in building understanding and trust between the state operating company and its communities. This position leads local public affairs and stakeholder engagement efforts, working closely with internal business partners and NiSource Corporate Communications to develop and execute integrated public affairs strategies. The role serves as a primary point of contact for community leaders, municipalities, and media, supporting major projects and ongoing operations through thoughtful communication, outreach, and relationship‑building. This role will serve as the public‑facing connector between major NIPSCO infrastructure projects and the municipalities they impact, representing the company in high‑visibility community settings. The ideal candidate is organized, collaborative, and comfortable working with ambiguity, with strong follow‑through and a service‑oriented mindset when partnering across internal teams and external groups.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Business Administration, Political Science or related field
• Travel locally approximately 1–2 days per week to engage directly with municipal partners and communities
• 3-5 years of communications, public relations or government/politics experience
• Experience working with media and contributing social media content for an organization
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software
• Ability to work with a subject matter expert to craft effective and clear content and messages, which create an emotional connection with intended audiences.
• Ability to speak with confidence and sensitivity, even on contentious topics.
• Ability to interpret data and information to understand stakeholder preferences and motivations.
• Ability to think critically and uncover root causes and obstacles.
• Ability to learn energy industry issues, regulations, trends, and NiSource’s role, vision and values.
• Ability to listen with empathy and seek to understand the intent of and assumptions behind others actions.
• Ability to anticipate likely stakeholder reactions to messages, as well as discern when a gap between communication and behavior is causing or preventing a desired outcome.
• Ability to develop schedules and budgets required for public affairs deliverables, as well as the ability to juggle work among several channels, team members and business partners.

Nice To Haves

• Utility or regulated industry experience

Responsibilities

• Serve as the company spokesperson for assigned area(s), leading local public affairs efforts
• Resolve customer and public issues in partnership with Operations, Construction, Engineering, and other business partners
• Work independently while maintaining close communication with the Manager, Public Affairs, and collaborating across the Public Affairs team
• Lead and facilitate stakeholder meetings and public forums with community leaders, local governments, chambers of commerce, school districts, and economic development organizations
• Plan and execute community outreach and “giving” events; proactively identify new opportunities to engage local communities
• Develop stakeholder communication materials such as newsletters, project summaries, talking points, videos, and presentations
• Track and document project requirements to support both internal and external customer needs
• Project‑manage operating company–wide initiatives and assigned public affairs programs
• Serve as the public face for NIPSCO in assigned areas and support outreach efforts across additional territories as needed
• Proactively identify and act on local opportunities that positively impact NIPSCO and the communities it serves
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to ensure commitments are met and messages are aligned
• Take the lead on resolving customer and municipal issues with support from internal partners
• Support additional local and broader public affairs initiatives as needed
• Build and maintain strong relationships with public officials, industry partners, company affiliates, and contractors
• Provide 24/7 support during crisis situations, as required

Benefits

• As a public utility, NiSource is required to provide continuous service to customers at all times. To ensure we fulfill that obligation, employees may be required to work outside their normal work hours and perform tasks outside of their normal responsibilities in support of emergency operations.

What This Job Offers

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