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Associate Director - Communications Crisis and Reputation Management
Job Description
When you join Verizon
You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely — even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love — driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together — lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the V Team Life.
What you’ll be doing...
The mission of the Verizon Communications Associate Director is to drive excellence in managing crises as well as reputation management, brand protection and enhancement. The role will offer guidance and the direct handling of intervention with our internal partners and the media on a variety of crises, breaking news events, reputational issues, and more. An ideal candidate must have the ability and willingness to work and manage a variety of corporate reputational issues, and the will and skill to respond to any breaking or unexpected issues. In addition, this person must be able to make difficult decisions under pressure using critical-thinking skills, and demonstrate strong leadership and interpersonal skills to motivate and organize teams. In addition, with Verizon’s largest labor union contract set to expire in about 15 months, this person will need to assist in creating a campaign to handle the upcoming contract negotiation. In addition, this position will create campaign-style external and internal communications plans for special projects, planned and unforeseen events. This job demands an essential skill set in creating and maintaining message consistency, and the ideal candidate must possess the ability to deliver the company’s narrative on and off the record. The role also requires one having the ability to protect the Company’s reputation in very challenging situations. This person will work closely with C-suite executives and cross-company business leaders on a variety of subjects, as assigned.
The Associate Director must act like a journalist in their own right -- one who thrives and enjoys building and maintaining relationships with reporters, bloggers, influencers and others. This position demands a skill set and ability to respond to an issue with very little time or notice. They must have a desire to work on corporate reputational issues, political and policy issues, cyber and corporate security functions and more. This person also supports all business units in the U.S. and abroad. This role reports to the Senior Director of Communications or Crisis Communications and will be based in New Jersey.
Responsibilities will include:
Managing responses to crisis activations, including facilitating meetings.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with key media members, including broadcast and print reporters, editors, and other thought leaders/influencers; existing and extensive media relations experience required.
Having experience in corporate issues, reputation management, and C-Suite coaching and guidance
Developing crisis and executive messaging.
Developing social media guidance.
Having the knowledge and ability to partner with Legal and HR teams, including the Labor Relations team in anticipation of the 2025 Verizon East Contract expiration.
Building and designing campaigns: identify and bring together agencies and individual experts in a variety of backgrounds for short or long term brand protection initiatives.
Monitoring and evaluating competitive media intelligence, suggest counter strategies and opposition narratives.
Preparing corporate business leaders as spokespeople with comprehensive background materials and staff media interviews.
What we’re looking for…
You’ll need to have:
Eight or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.
Experience in corporate communications, public relations, cyber and corporate security, political campaign experience or crisis communications.
Flexibility in working non-traditional hours.
Experience working and communicating with C-suite and senior executive clients.
Willingness to travel on a regular basis (25-50% of time).
Ability to travel to Washington DC several times a month.
Even better if you have one or more of the following:
Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public relations, or advertising.
Job history or actual experience in working, creating and/or managing a political campaign on a State or Federal level.
Experience as a TV, radio or print journalist in a top 50 market.
Experience or having worked for a Federal or State regulatory or legislative body potentially including Congress, the FCC, a state legislature or a Governor’s office.
Experience in the Communications industry, technology or software.
Genuine talent, propensity, and enthusiasm for pitching and maintaining relationships with reporters.
Curated digital Rolodex of media contacts
Outstanding writing, editing, and verbal communications skills with attention to detail.
Mastery of news writing standards.
Experience utilizing digital and social media channels to reach a specific audience.
Significant experience managing multiple projects at once and seeing each to fruition with strong results.
Experience supporting a team of diverse executives and client teams.
Experience presenting in front of high-level executives.
A desire and willingness to run to a crisis.
If Verizon and this role sound like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every "even better" qualification listed above.
Where you’ll be working
In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes work from home and a minimum eight assigned office days per month that will be set by your manager.
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Equal Employment Opportunity
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer - and celebrate our employees’ differences, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and Veteran status. At Verizon, we know that diversity makes us stronger. We are committed to a collaborative, inclusive environment that encourages authenticity and fosters a sense of belonging. We strive for everyone to feel valued, connected, and empowered to reach their potential and contribute their best. Check out our diversity and inclusion page to learn more.
Company benefits
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