Vice President of Investor Relations

First Student•Cincinnati, OH

About The Position

The Vice President of Investor Relations leads engagement with institutional shareholders, prospective investors, sell-side analysts, and—working with Treasury—debt investors. The role shapes and communicates the company’s equity story, helps ensure the market understands its strategy and financial performance, and brings investor perspectives to senior management and the Board. The VP of IR advises the CEO and CFO on market expectations, valuation, and shareholder sentiment. The position leads the quarterly earnings process and financial communications; serves as the main contact for investors and analysts; monitors shareholder activity, market sentiment, and peer developments; and supports governance, ESG, compliance, and communications for major corporate events. It also builds and develops the IR team and manages the IR budget and relationships with external vendors.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
12–15+ years of experience in investor relations, equity research, corporate finance, investment banking, or buy-side investing, including significant investor relations leadership experience at a public company.
Strong understanding of financial statements, valuation methods, and capital markets.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to turn complex information into clear, compelling messages.
Executive presence and credibility with senior management, the Board, and the investment community.
Working knowledge of SEC rules, Regulation FD, and public company disclosure requirements.
English proficiency is required.

Nice To Haves

MBA and/or CFA.
Prior sell-side or buy-side experience, highly valued for credibility with investors.
Industry experience relevant to the company’s sector.
Experience with activist defense, Investor Days, M&A communications, or IPO/spin-off transactions.

Responsibilities

Develop and refine the company’s investment thesis and equity story in alignment with corporate strategy and capital allocation priorities.
Design and execute a proactive investor relations strategy, including targeting long-term institutional investors appropriate to the company.
Benchmark valuation, performance, and disclosure practices against peers and advise management on market perceptions.
Lead the quarterly earnings process, including the press release, earnings call script, presentation, and Q&A preparation.
Coordinate earnings communications with the CFO, Controller, FP&A, Legal, and Corporate Communications to ensure accuracy, consistency, and timely release.
Manage financial guidance practices and contribute to decisions about how guidance is set, communicated, and updated.
Contribute to investor-facing sections of the 10-K, 10-Q, proxy statement, and annual report.
Serve as the primary contact for institutional investors and sell-side analysts.
Plan and execute non-deal roadshows, investor conferences, site visits, and executive investor meetings.
Manage analyst models and consensus estimates, and monitor analyst coverage.
Lead planning and execution of Investor Day events.
Monitor the shareholder base, trading activity, ownership changes, short interest, and peer developments.
Report investor sentiment, perception studies, and market feedback to the CEO, CFO, and Board.
Assess activist investor risk and maintain an activism preparedness plan with Legal, the Corporate Secretary, and outside advisors.
Partner with the Corporate Secretary and Legal on proxy season outreach, shareholder proposals, and say-on-pay engagement.
Coordinate ESG and sustainability messaging to investors, including engagement with ESG rating agencies and asset-manager stewardship teams.
Ensure compliance with Regulation FD, SEC disclosure rules, insider trading policies, and stock exchange requirements.
Serve on or support the company’s Disclosure Committee and maintain IR policies, quiet-period practices, and spokesperson guidelines.
Support communications for M&A, divestitures, spin-offs, restructurings, capital returns, leadership changes, and other major corporate events.
Develop investor messaging and Q&A for material announcements.
Build and develop a high-performing investor relations team.
Manage the IR budget and relationships with outside vendors, including IR website, webcast, perception study, surveillance, and proxy solicitation providers.