Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CCO and senior executives on corporate reputation, sensitive issues, stakeholder implications, and consequential company decisions.
• Anticipate emerging reputation risks and opportunities, bringing an enterprise-wide perspective to how UKG prepares, responds, and communicates.
• Play a central leadership role in UKG’s crisis and issues communications framework, partnering with the External Communications VP and stakeholders across the company on readiness, scenarios, playbooks, escalation, and response.
• Provide communications frameworks and strategic expertise for M&A and other significant corporate events, flexing the operating model based on the needs and stakeholders of each situation.
• Set and lead UKG’s corporate responsibility communications strategy, connecting the company’s commitments and priorities to business strategy, stakeholder expectations, and reputation.
• Partner with leaders across UKG to help shape and prioritize corporate responsibility issues and commitments, bringing a communications and reputation perspective to enterprise decisions.
• Build a clear, credible corporate responsibility narrative that connects UKG’s commitments to meaningful action, measurable impact, and the broader UKG story.
• Ensure UKG communicates progress and impact with transparency and credibility, strengthening trust and long-term stakeholder value.
• Build and lead a Communications COE that raises the standard of communications across UKG through clear frameworks, governance, playbooks, tools, and best practices.
• Establish enterprise standards for narrative and messaging, communications planning, measurement, AI-enabled practices, and other foundational capabilities.

Requirements

• 12+ years of progressive experience in corporate communications, corporate affairs, reputation, crisis and issues management, corporate responsibility, or related disciplines, including significant leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success leading complex corporate communications programs and advising senior executives on high-stakes reputation and stakeholder matters.
• Deep expertise in corporate reputation, crisis/issues communications, executive counsel, and enterprise communications strategy.
• Proven experience building or transforming communications capabilities, including governance, standards, talent, tools, and ways of working.
• Strong business judgment and the ability to assess reputational and stakeholder implications of complex company decisions.
• Exceptional executive presence, written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders across a highly matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams, develop talent, and lead effectively through ambiguity and change.

Preferred

• Significant experience in enterprise B2B SaaS, technology, or another complex technology-driven business.
• Experience leading or partnering on corporate responsibility strategy, crisis readiness, M&A communications, and/or enterprise communications COEs.
• Experience developing reputation intelligence and communications measurement frameworks.
• Strong understanding of AI and emerging technologies and their implications for corporate reputation, communications practices, and stakeholder expectations.