Senior Director, Strategic Communications & Engagement

Entity:

Gas & Low Carbon Energy

Job Family Group:

Communications & External Affairs Group

Job Description:

This high-impact and high-visibility role will help represent bp in New York City, serving as a key on-the-ground leader with media and the financial community. The Director will help shape and execute an integrated U.S. financial communications strategy that clearly articulates the company’s performance, capital allocation and delivery against its global strategy for investor and financial audiences.

The Director’s core focus is developing and delivering high-quality, market-facing financial messaging and content. This includes translating complex financial and operational results into clear, consistent narratives, helping build relationships with key business and financial press, and ensuring communications activity is tightly aligned with investor priorities, bp’s global narrative and disclosure requirements.

Working closely with the Vice President and Head of U.S. Communications, and the Vice President and Deputy Head of Global Investor Relations, the Director will partner day-to-day with bp’s Global Communications, Investor Relations, Finance, Legal and U.S. business teams to ensure all external communications are accurate, timely, compliant, and aligned with the company’s financial reporting, disclosure standards and global narrative.

Key Responsibilities

1) Establish Communications Presence in New York City

• Act as a core member of the team representing bp in New York, helping establish a credible and influential presence within key business and financial circles

• Help build and embed the team’s financial communications footprint in New York by developing targeted relationships, finding opportunities for engagement and integrating the company into the local ecosystem

2) Financial Communications Execution

• Draft and continuously refine U.S. messaging and materials in partnership with C&EA, IR/Finance and Legal (e.g., earnings talking points, Q&A, press materials, executive briefs, investor conference prep) while maintaining partnership and strategic alignment with UK and Global Communications teams

• Translate business strategy and performance into clear, credible narratives for financial and business audiences

• Maintain tight version control and approvals; ensure alignment with disclosure standards and global messaging

3) Media Relations with Tier1 Business & Financial Press

• Working in alignment with global and US press teams, identify reporters, columnists, editors and outlets for company milestones; proactively support the briefing of media on strategy, performance context, leadership perspectives and operational progress

• Help cultivate strong relationships with targeted business and financial journalists, producers and editors

• Support development of tailored pitches, backgrounders, and exclusives / embargoes; coordinate with media relations leads and agencies to ensure message discipline and timing

• Prepare spokespeople with relationship-aware briefing materials, anticipating reporter interests and angles

4) Measurement & Audience Engagement

• Working with key agency partners, establish measurement metrics and continuously measure progress against this baseline through basic dashboards (message uptake, coverage quality, stakeholder feedback)

• Support agency in identifying and continually refining target audience – for both paid and earned media engagement. 

• Based on these impacts, outline recommendations to drive improvement.

• Build and manage project plans for announcements and cycles (timelines, owners, review gates, approvals).

5) Executive Support

• Support the development of concise executive briefs, talking points, and Q&A for external engagements, including investor forums and media interviews.

• Coordinate logistics and follow-ups; ensure leaders are prepared with data-backed, succinct messages.

6) Issues & Crisis Support

• Coordinate cross-functional drafting and clearances for market-sensitive or operational issues; maintain and update playbooks.

• Track decisioning, timing, and spokesperson readiness to enable accurate, compliant responses.

• Help scan horizon for potential issues and monitor sector and peer issues.

Qualifications & Experience

• 7-9+ years in financial communications / corporate communications (public company or agency experience strongly preferred).

• Strong understanding of fina