Executive Director, Media Relations

Overview

The Executive Director, Media Relations, is a strategic communications leader within The Estée Lauder Companies, responsible for providing dedicated communications counsel and executional leadership in support of a senior leader of the organization. Reporting to the Vice President, Global Media Relations, this role is accountable for shaping, advancing, and safeguarding the leader’s public reputation, voice, and platform, in full alignment with The enterprise’s reputation, values, and business priorities.

This is a leader-centric role with end-to-end responsibility for developing and executing an integrated communications strategy that articulates the leader’s business success, leadership philosophy, and philanthropic impact. The position partners closely with the Global Communications team to ensure coherence, discretion, and strategic alignment across all internal and external touchpoints.

Description

Core Focus: Leadership Communications

Overview

Serve as the strategic architect and day-to-day driver of the leader’s communications platform, with responsibility for translating business performance, vision, and values into a clear, compelling public narrative. This includes leadership messaging, speechwriting, media and event preparation, images across all media, thought leadership, and long-term legacy initiatives spanning business, philanthropy, culture, and industry leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary strategic communications advisor to the leader, providing senior counsel on all internal and external communications, reputation management, and public positioning.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive leadership communications strategy that advances the leader’s business priorities, public reputation, and long-term legacy, integrating business leadership with philanthropic and cultural impact.
• Draft, edit, and oversee all written materials for the leader, including speeches, remarks, talking points, presentations, op-eds, and internal communications, ensuring consistency of voice and message.
• Prepare the leader for high-profile public-facing moments, including media interviews, business and industry conferences, internal leadership forums, and cultural or philanthropic engagements.
• Identify, shape, and manage selective, high-impact media opportunities across business, lifestyle, and thought leadership outlets, ensuring all engagements align with enterprise strategy and reinforce the leader’s positioning.
• Serve as the central liaison between the leader and internal company communications team stakeholders to ensure alignment, accuracy, and discretion across all communications efforts.
• Oversee all press and public-facing materials related to the leader, maintaining message discipline and consistency across platforms, markets, and channels.
• Draft and oversee all social media content for the leader
• Lead long-form and legacy storytelling initiatives connected to the leader, including book development, essays, documentaries, podcasts, oral histories, and heritage projects.
• Align communications with the leader’s philanthropic, cultural, and academic commitments, ensuring thoughtful, strategic representation across external organizations and institutions.
• Provide senior-level judgment and guidance on sensitive, confidential, or reputational matters involving leadership and family initiatives.
• Coordinate limited business travel and event logistics related to communications and public engagements (approximately 10%).

Enterprise Media Alignment

While the role is primarily focused on leadership communications, the Executive Director partners closely with the Vice President, Global Media Relations, and the broader Global Communications team to ensure the leader’s messaging and media presence are fully aligned with The Estée Lauder Companies’ enterprise narrative, reputation strategy, and business objectives.

Responsibilities include:

• Integrating