Vice President of Investor Relations

First Student•Cincinnati, OH

About The Position

The Vice President of Investor Relations leads the company’s engagement with the investment community, including institutional shareholders, prospective investors, sell-side analysts, and, in partnership with Treasury, debt investors. The role shapes and communicates the company’s equity story, helps the market understand its strategy and financial performance, and brings investor perspectives to senior management and the Board. The VP of IR serves as a trusted advisor to the CEO and CFO on market expectations, valuation, and shareholder sentiment. The position leads investor relations strategy, quarterly earnings communications, investor and analyst engagement, market intelligence, governance and ESG-related shareholder engagement, disclosure compliance, and communications for major corporate transactions. It also builds and develops the IR team and manages the IR budget and outside-vendor relationships.

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 IR 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 distill 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; job-related communications, training, safety communications, company policies, and employment documents must be conducted in English.

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 suited to the company’s profile.
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 with the CFO, Controller, FP&A, Legal, and Corporate Communications to ensure financial communications are accurate, consistent, and timely.
Manage financial guidance practices and help determine 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 one-on-one and group meetings.
Manage analyst models and consensus estimates and monitor analyst coverage.
Lead planning and execution of Investor Day events.
Monitor 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 for 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.
Maintain investor relations policies, quiet-period practices, and spokesperson guidelines.
Support communications for major corporate events, including M&A, divestitures, spin-offs, restructurings, capital returns, and leadership changes.
Develop investor messaging and Q&A for material announcements.
Build and develop a high-performing IR team.
Manage the IR budget and relationships with outside vendors, including IR website, webcast, perception-study, surveillance, and proxy-solicitation providers.