Senior Director, External Communications

RWE Clean Energy, LLC, Austin, Chicago, Valhalla, San Francisco, San Diego, Tampa

Functional area: Communications 

Remuneration: Exempt

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, the Senior Director of External Communications is a demanding and high-profile senior-level position responsible for driving the team’s integrated communications strategy, along with the Senior Director of Internal Communications. In this role, you will manage the external communications function, oversee communications strategy and brand position, interact with reporters, work closely with company leadership, and lead crisis management. The position will also work closely with parent company representatives (RWE AG) headquartered in Essen, Germany. The main areas of responsibilities include developing and implementing communication plans to promote Renewables. The Senior Director will oversee approximately seven direct reports in Austin, California, New York, and Tampa, and external communications teams, consultants, and partners with key stakeholders to achieve timely execution of all programs/efforts.

Responsibilities: 

• Manage RWE’s external communications efforts in the Americas for our utility-scale renewable projects and distributed energy business
• Work with the Senior Director of Internal Communications on quarterly and annual corporate communications team strategic planning and reporting
• Develop a proactive media relations, content, and digital/social media strategy to raise awareness of RWE in the Americas and its transformational initiatives, its leadership team and their accomplishments, DEI initiatives, ESG promotion, and other business priorities
• Plan and execute quarterly team offsites in coordination with the Senior Director of Internal Communications including a detailed plan for team-building activities to strengthen team cohesion
• Work closely with direct reports on professional development to deepen their expertise and help them achieve their career goals in line with RWE’s objective of being an employer of choice
• Develop and implement process improvement that enables razor-sharp execution with clear, consistent, and repeatable procedures
• Establish measurable KPIs to ensure the effective use of resources and performance data to determine effectiveness of external communications strategy and implementation
• Monitor industry and discipline trends, tools, and technologies and implement innovative traditional, event, and social/online marketing initiatives
• Build and drive a structured and measurable executive communications program for the U.S. country chairperson. This includes establishing a narrative that demonstrates industry leadership and that advances priority business objectives as well as counseling leadership on high-impact opportunities
• Drive engagement through strategic thought leadership initiatives with key external partners and platforms, including but not limited to Reuters, S&P Global, American Clean Power, and SEIA
• Identify additional company spokespeople, evaluate and determine the needs narratives for each, and pursue thought leadership opportunities (speaking, media, social) accordingly, ultimately building awareness and increasing positive reputation for the brand
• Consult on internal engagements involving the core leadership bench and ensure consistency in messaging and preparation for leaders. Closely align with business on upcoming company and project milestones and announcements to ensure awareness and determine how/when to leverage executive voices
• Lead the team responsible for real-time media monitoring to ensure prompt delivery of RWE and industry-relevant news to the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams in the Americas
• Manage process for developing and distributing news digests to RWE employees in the Americas

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10 years of communications experience required
• Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Advertising, Marketing, or related field required, Master’s degree preferred
• Team player and builder – leads by example and creates an inclusive environment, managing people with a human touch to create a great place to work that inspires and motivates everyone
• Ability to work closely with leadership, development, operations, engineering, government relations, and human resources teams to craft a compelling narrative for our company, roadmap, and business
• Broad understanding of how strategy translates into concept, brand, and the importance of consistency in voice
• Possess strong media relations skills and a deep understanding of the media landscape. Proven ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with journalists, editors, and influencers, resulting in