Senior Customer Communications Manager

GitLab is an open core software company that develops the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, used by more than 100,000 organizations. Our mission is to enable everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that powers our world. When everyone can contribute, consumers become contributors, significantly accelerating the rate of human progress. This mission is integral to our culture, influencing how we hire, build products, and lead our industry. We make this possible at GitLab by running our operations on our product and staying aligned with our values. Learn more about Life at GitLab.

Thanks to products like Duo Enterprise, and Duo Workflow, customers get the benefit of AI at every stage of the SDLC. The same principles built into our products are reflected in how our team works: we embrace AI as a core productivity multiplier. All team members are encouraged and expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows to drive efficiency, innovation, and impact across our global organisation.

Overview of the role: 

We are seeking a Senior Customer Communications Manager to take ownership of customer-facing communication efforts and ensure our customers receive timely, clear, and valuable updates on product developments, incidents, and key company initiatives. This role requires close collaboration with many teams, including Customer Success, Product, Marketing, Engineering, and Legal, to ensure messaging is accurate, consistent, and aligned with our brand tone and corporate goals. The Communications Manager will play a critical role in maintaining a high level of transparency and trust with our customer base.

The successful candidate will be a skilled communicator, capable of managing both proactive and reactive communications, while continuously seeking ways to enhance the customer experience.

What You’ll Do

• Product and Feature Updates: Partner with the Product Marketing team to develop and implement communication plans to keep customers informed about product updates, new features, and enhancements. Ensure messaging is clear, relevant, and accessible to different customer segments.
• Incident Communications: Lead global customer communications during service interruptions, outages, or other critical incidents, recognizing that incidents may occur outside of normal work hours. Collaborate closely with internal teams to ensure real-time updates and post-incident summaries are delivered effectively, thoughtfully, and in a timely manner, regardless of time zone. Play a key role in maintaining playbooks for incident communication to ensure rapid deployment when needed.
• Customer Engagement: Collaborate with the Customer Success, Marketing, and Legal teams to distribute customer newsletters, updates, and engagement materials, tailored to different customer journeys and segments.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Serve as a key liaison between customer-facing teams and internal departments (including Product, Marketing, Engineering, and Legal) to ensure all customer communications are accurate, timely, and aligned with the latest product and service developments.
• Content Creation: Draft, review, and edit customer-facing communications, including emails, in-app messages, blog posts, and knowledge base articles, ensuring alignment with GitLab’s tone and style.
• Feedback and Continuous Improvement: Regularly gather feedback from customers and internal stakeholders to refine communication strategies and ensure relevance and clarity.
• Crisis Management: Execute established communication plans for potential service disruptions or crises, owning communications to current customers. 
• Metrics and Performance: Track the effectiveness of communication efforts using key metrics such as open rates, engagement levels, and customer feedback. Present insights and recommendations to improve future communication strategies.

What You’ll Bring 

• Experience in customer communications, customer success, or a related role within a high-growth SaaS or tech environment.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical information into user-friendly content.
• Experience with incident management communications and crisis response.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps, or related technologies is