Sr. Director, Communications

Action Behavior Centers•Austin, TX

10d•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 among families and teammates. The role shapes and amplifies stories that differentiate ABC, recognizing that positive family-facing coverage can also build trust and pride among current and prospective teammates. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Sr. Director partners with the CMO and executive leadership on reputation strategy and crisis communications, providing communications expertise and leading execution against a shared strategy. This is a hands-on leadership role that owns PR and earned media strategy, including direct media pitching and reporter relationships. The role oversees a team of two and partners with Marketing, Recruiting, People Services, Clinical, Operations, and Legal. ABC's external digital marketing agency leads SEO, AIO, and paid media performance; the Sr. Director partners with existing content and creative teams to amplify earned media across owned, social, and paid channels. The role also owns communications strategy for workplace reputation, advises on crisis preparedness and response, and sets strategic priorities for the Communications team. The Director, Internal Communications continues to lead execution of teammate-facing content, internal event communications, and employer review platform management, and manages the Video Production Specialist day-to-day.

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.
Ability and willingness to work hands-on, including developing story angles, pitching media, securing earned media placements, and managing 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 and 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 within autism care and ABA therapy.
Build and lead a proactive earned media strategy, developing and pitching 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, particularly for clinical leadership.
Identify and develop 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 about payer dynamics, ownership structure, industry scrutiny, and other sensitive external 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.
Partner with Recruiting and People Services to align employer brand strategy with recruiting and retention goals, informed by 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 address gaps between ABC's intended employer brand and how it is experienced and discussed externally.
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 the Director, Internal Communications, who leads execution of teammate-facing content, internal event communications, and employer review platform management, and manages the Video Production Specialist day-to-day.
Set shared strategic priorities for internal event communications, especially for events with reputation or media relevance, while the Director, Internal Communications leads execution and directs the Video Production Specialist's contributions.
Coach and support the team in working toward clear strategic goals.
Represent the Communications function in marketing leadership planning and cross-functional initiatives.