Director, Communications

Intro

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

Why you'll love this job

The Director of Operations Communications is part of Global Engagement, a dynamic and collaborative team that helps shape the company's actions, along with its engagement with internal and external stakeholders, to help build and protect the American Airlines brand and its reputation. This role creates and maintains relationships between team members and American Airlines leadership, influences the evolving corporate culture, advances the business strategy — both internally and externally — and works closely with members of the media. This position will report into Global Engagement, but will have strong dotted line ties to senior leaders who lead the daily operation of the airline. The right person for this job must be able to work in a high-pressure environment with tight deadlines for real-time issues management. This individual must be able to tailor communications to different audiences in the ways that matter most to our team members, customers, media and the general public. Importantly, this individual should have experience with and a passion for leading teams.

Specifically, this individual will work closely with the Chief Operating Officer and leaders in Inflight, Safety, Security, Operations Planning & Performance and the airline’s Integrated Operations Center.

What you'll do

As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced.  Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.

• Lead a team to develop and execute communications strategies around highly volatile and fast-moving issues with tight deadlines. This includes working on real-time operational issues with American Airlines leadership.
• Quarterback the department’s crisis response, including coordinating with communicators, marketers and digital content teams that are part of Global Engagement.
• Lead a team through rapid communications response throughout the airline, including creating and developing internal and external communication plans.
• Provide strategic leadership support of the Inflight Communications team which is charged with executing and driving various strategic communications efforts that inform, educate, engage and align more than 28,000 flight attendants and the leaders who support them.
• Support the communications team responsible for supporting American’s Integrated Operations Center — the nerve center of the airline — where more than 1,700 team members across 20 functions coordinate American’s daily operation.
• Drive compelling business education campaigns that help all team members and the general public — along with the media — understand important operational business decisions.
• Develop and execute creative plans for educating and engaging team members about key corporate initiatives, focusing on how these initiatives affect them and their day-to-day job. For example, Safety and Security projects and initiatives.
• Work with the media to educate them on American Airlines operations, keeping all key stakeholders informed and updated. This includes developing and maintaining important relationships with key aviation reporters, handling media on site at events and acting as an on-the-record spokesperson.
• Work closely with senior leaders and departments throughout the airline to provide strategic counsel and quickly mitigate issues.
• Uphold the integrity of the Global Engagement division by developing and maintaining strong relationships between Global Engagement and operational leaders across the system, as well as with other workgroups within the organization.
• Identify proactive external media opportunities for the airline and assume media “on call” duties.
• Lead a team of other operational communicators who are charged with telling American's operational story and fiercely defending its reputation.

All you'll need for success

Minimum Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• Bachelor's degree in communications or relevant field, or equivalent experience/training
• 10+ years relevant work experience in commu