Senior Manager, External Communications

WM a Fortune 250 company is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. We are strongly committed to a foundation of operating excellence professionalism and financial strength. WM serves nearly 25 million customers in residential commercial industrial and municipal markets throughout North America through a network of collection operations transfer stations landfills recycling facilities and waste-based energy production projects.

I. Job Summary

This corporate Houston-based position is responsible for drafting and executing WMs external communications plans and strategy related to media relations and executive visibility. While not directly responsible its important to have the ability to think holistically across all channels and make recommendations for robust storytelling (e.g. earned owned social internal).

This position is part of a team responsible for translating the companys strategy into clear compelling communications. This team is accountable for the companys relationships with the media creation of messaging and maintaining brand reputation.

The role also requires an understanding of and ability to guide the process for development of content assets such as video and photography that strengthen and support WMs communications strategies.

In this role the Senior Manager of External Communications develops and executes storytelling that positions WM as a leader in technology and innovation highlights the people behind our work and showcases how we help customers solve their toughest challenges. This role ensures alignment across stakeholders and delivers targeted messages that elevate our brand purpose.

With the above storytelling objectives in mind this individual will create and execute comprehensive external communications plans to support WMs senior leadership team and other executives across the WM organization.

II. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty minor duties may be assigned.

Traditional External Communications Responsibilities:

• Leads and works alongside other communications team members external agencies for story mining within the organization to identify story opportunities that bolster WMs reputation as a leader and innovator in the environmental services industry and beyond.
• Responsible for creating comprehensive multi-channel communications strategies and campaigns to raise WMs profile with external audiences including employees media customers communities and shareholders.
• Liaises with team that oversees the strategy for Area communicators across North America ensuring consistent messaging is brought down to a local level as well as the delivery of relevant communications tools.
• Integrates overall reporting for quality and quantity of media coverage alongside any owned channels performance while using data to inform future strategies and tactics.
• Exceptional writer and copy editor.
• Creative results- and solutions-oriented thinker that can craft communications plans that garner results.
• Comfortable with proactive media relations outreach.
• Protect WMs reputation through creative storytelling strategic media relations and external communications planning.
• Assists with directing external agency relationships.

III. Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to perform the job.

A. Education and Experience

Education: Bachelors Degree (accredited) or equivalent experience in Communication Journalism or Public Relations.

Experience:

• 7-9 years of overall external communications experience (with a strong emphasis on media relations executive visibility and comprehensive communications plans) working for an agency or in an in-house Corporate Communications role at a Fortune 500 company.

• Possess a keen understanding of integrated communications and the ability to make recommendations for storytelling across all channels.

B. Other Knowledge Skills or Abilities

• Crisis communications experience preferred.
• Experience in advocacy communications/working with government relations teams preferred.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team but also be a self-starter with the ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.
• Ability to prioritize requests and leverage communications resources in a matrixed environment for business requests.
• Ability to craft impactful storytelling messages.
• Experience securing local and national press.
• Highly organized and able to prioritize under pressure.
• Comfort level working with external vendors/agencies.
• Ability to make recommendations and guide the process for visual assets that help guide communications planning.
• Familiarity with media databases and monitoring tools such as Cision Meltwater and MuckRack.

C. Certificates Licenses Registrations or Other Requirements

None required.

D. Travel Requirements

Position may require up to 10% travel.

IV. Work Environment

Listed below are key points regarding environmental demands and work environment of the job. Reasonable accommodations maybe made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Required to use motor coordination with finger dexterity (such as keyboarding machine operation etc.) most of the work day;
• Required to exert physical effort in handling objects less than 30 pounds part of the work day;
• Required to be exposed to physical occupational risks (such as cuts burns exposure to toxic chemicals etc.) rarely;
• Required to be exposed to physical environment which involves dirt odors noise weather extremes or similar elements sometimes
• Normal setting for this job is an office setting but could require travel to field locations

Benefits
At WM each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package including Medical Dental Vision Life Insurance and Short Term Disability. As well as a Stock Purchase Plan Company match on 401K and more! Our employees also receive Paid Vacation Holidays and Personal Days. Please note that benefits may vary by site.

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for please click Apply.