Sr. Director, Communications

ABC•Austin, TX

9d•Remote

About The Position

The Sr. Director, Communications builds and leads Action Behavior Centers’ proactive earned media and public relations strategy and strengthens the organization’s external reputation with families and teammates. The role shapes and amplifies stories that differentiate ABC, with the goal of moving communications from a reactive to a proactive posture. It is a hands-on leadership position that includes pitching media directly and overseeing a team of two. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Sr. Director partners with the CMO and executive leadership on reputation strategy and crisis communications, and works closely with Marketing, Recruiting, People Services, Clinical, Operations, and Legal. The role owns PR and earned media strategy, while partnering with Marketing’s existing content and creative teams to amplify earned media across owned, social, and paid channels. ABC’s external digital marketing agency leads SEO, AIO, and paid media performance. The position also owns the strategy for workplace reputation communications and advises on employer brand priorities. The Director of Internal Communications, who reports to this role, continues to lead execution of teammate-facing content, internal event communications, and employer review platform management, as well as day-to-day direction of the Video Production Specialist.

Requirements

12+ years of progressive experience in public relations, corporate communications, or reputation management.
Experience leading a communications team or owning a significant PR or reputation function.
Demonstrated ability and willingness to personally develop story angles, pitch media, secure earned media placements, and manage reporter relationships.
Experience advising senior executives on reputation strategy, thought leadership, and crisis communications.
Comfort operating in a highly scaled, multi-location, entrepreneurial environment.
Strong people leadership skills, including experience managing and developing a team.
Excellent judgment and discretion when handling sensitive internal and external communications.
Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or scaling a communications function.
Experience in healthcare or another regulated, reputation-sensitive industry.

Responsibilities

Define and evolve ABC’s external narrative, identifying stories, proof points, and thought leadership areas to establish within autism care and ABA therapy.
Build and lead proactive earned media strategy; develop and pitch stories that reinforce ABC’s differentiation and reputation.
Serve as ABC’s primary contact for press inquiries and media relationships.
Develop thought leadership opportunities, including speaking engagements, bylines, and media placements, especially for clinical leadership.
Identify human-interest stories from families and clinicians that support family-facing and employer-facing reputation goals.
Partner with Legal and executive leadership on messaging and communications related to payer dynamics, ownership structure, industry scrutiny, and other sensitive topics.
Partner with content and creative teams on press release drafting and distribution; day-to-day content production, webinars, e-books, and organic social content remain with Integrated Marketing and Creative Services.
Own the communications strategy for workplace reputation across Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Reddit, setting priorities and messaging for the Communications team to execute.
Partner with Recruiting and People Services to align employer brand strategy with recruiting and retention goals, using sentiment and recruiting funnel data.
Monitor and interpret online sentiment, review platform trends, and social listening data to identify reputation risks and opportunities.
Recommend ways to close gaps between ABC’s intended employer brand and its external perception and experience.
Partner with the CMO and executive leadership on reputation risk, crisis preparedness, and issue anticipation.
Develop and maintain a crisis communications framework and response protocols with Legal and executive leadership.
Lead communications responses during reputation-critical moments, coordinating with Legal, Clinical, Operations, and executive leadership as needed.
Directly manage and develop the Director, Internal Communications, and provide coaching and support to help the team work toward clear strategic goals.
Set shared strategic priorities for internal event communications, especially for events with reputation or media relevance, while the Director of Internal Communications leads execution and directs the Video Production Specialist’s contributions.
Represent the Communications function in marketing leadership planning and cross-functional initiatives.