Responsibilities

• Establish strategic vision and best practices for the Media Relations and Social Media teams while overseeing the development and execution of integrated communications programs that directly advance business objectives and priorities.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, motivate and coach the team. Provide active, intentional leadership by offering timely and constructive feedback and fostering an environment of continuous learning with a heavy emphasis on writing and editing.
• Develop individuals’ expertise to position them as strategic business partners and trusted advisors.
• Identify public relations opportunities to build, protect and enhance Travelers’ reputation through clear, consistent and impactful external communications across all channels.
• Lead a team of media relations and social media professionals in developing and managing proactive and reactive external communications plans and programs across all media channels.
• Foster strong relationships with local, national, financial and trade media outlets.
• Partner with subject matter experts in the businesses to ensure that key business messages are integrated into communication strategies.
• Deliver the highest quality content, including press releases, media statements, key messages, social media posts and strategic plans.
• Monitor, measure, report and evaluate the effectiveness of news media coverage and social media through qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Develop and manage the annual budget.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, public relations, finance, or communications plus 15 or more years of experience in corporate communications or a related field.
• Insurance or financial services industry experience a plus.
• Demonstrated track record of effectively leading teams, with the ability to coach and develop team members and strategically align resources to accomplish objectives.
• Exceptional communications skills, with the ability to present, write, edit, and effectively adapt messaging to different audiences with acute attention to detail.
• Understanding of the media landscape and social media platforms and best practices. Extensive experience working with reporters.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and planning effective external communications strategies, with the ability to lead a team to implement those strategies.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build internal and external relationships. Ability to effectively navigate a large matrixed organization.
• Thorough knowledge of trends, emerging platforms, and new technologies in the social and digital marketing space, as well as innovative methods and techniques for communicating with multiple audiences.
• Strong business acumen, with the ability to problem-solve, think critically, and operate strategically across the company.
• Keen ability to construct and operate within project budgets.

Preferred