Senior Manager, Strategic Communications & Global Events

Area: CEO Water Mandate / Communications and Outreach

Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week)

Location: Remote: Location flexible globally with interest in position being available during agreed hours in PT time zone.

Directly reports to: Director of Communications and Outreach

Salary range: US base average $87,000-102,000 per year commensurate with qualifications, geographic location, and includes a competitive benefits package.

Travel: International business travel required, including overnight stays, up to approximately 10%.

Start Date: Available immediately

About Us

The Pacific Institute is a global water think tank that combines science-based thought leadership with active outreach to influence local, national, and international efforts in sustainable water management. Our vision is to create a world in which society, the economy, and the environment have the water they need to thrive now and in the future. Since 1987 we have worked with groups ranging from Fortune 500 companies to frontline communities with a mission of creating and advancing solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges.

The Pacific Institute, in partnership with the UN Global Compact, co-manages the CEO Water Mandate. The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, with more than 18,000 participating companies in more than 160 countries and 62 Local Networks around the world.

Position Description

The Senior Manager of Strategic Communications & Global Events will provide vision for and lead the implementation of the global integrated communications and events strategy for the CEO Water Mandate and its major initiatives, including the Water Resilience Coalition. This role will report to the Pacific Institute Director of Communications and Outreach, have a dotted line to the Deputy Head of the CEO Water Mandate, and serve as a key member of the CEO Water Mandate leadership team. Collaborating widely across the CEO Water Mandate team, endorsing companies, and partner organizations, this position will drive an integrated strategy to position the program, elevate thought leadership, and scale solutions.

• Thought leadership elevation: Through strategic communications and events, contribute to the elevation of water resilience as an investment and action priority on corporate agendas. Contribute to the elevation of corporate water stewardship and water resilience on the global agenda and among key stakeholder groups and identified levers of change.
• Program positioning: Through strategic communications and events, position the CEO Water Mandate and its initiatives as the preeminent global thought leader on corporate water stewardship. Elevate the CEO Water Mandate and initiative reputation and brand among target audiences, ultimately supporting long-term initiative funding and growth, company/partner recruitment, and achievement of initiative goals.
• Solutions scaling: Through strategic communications and events, contribute to the uptake and scaling of CEO Water Mandate innovative water resilience solutions, including multi-sector collective action, reports/assessments, digital tools, and frameworks.

Responsibilities

Strategy, Planning, and Leadership

• Lead internal advocacy towards strategic view of the portfolio. Advance the view that strategic communications and global events critically enable reaching broader organizational and programmatic goals related to thought leadership uptake and scaling, policy shifts, fundraising, and recruitment.
• Lead, supervise, and coach staff in alignment with Pacific Institute values, policies, and procedures. As the CEO Water Mandate grows and funding allows, build a cohesive team, ensuring consistent alignment of staffing to agreed work plans and goal expectations.
• Taking a data-driven approach, leverage analytics and metrics in planning and evaluating strategies, goals, and tactics.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues at the Pacific Institute, UN Global Compact, and endorsing companies, as well as a diverse array of internal and external partners and stakeholders in the global sustainability/resilience and ESG space, to build strong partnerships, build support for strategies, and achieve desired outcomes and impacts.
• Develop and lead implementation of the strategic communications and events plan (short and long term) for the CEO Water Mandate and its major initiatives. Ensure plans are aligned and feasible with available budget, timeframes, and resources.
• Present strategies, tactics, and outcomes at high-level internal meetings, including but not limited to monthly Water Resilience Coalition Working Group meetings.
• Manage relationships with vendors, consultants, and/or communications/events agencies to achieve on-budget and on-time goals and outcomes.
• Propose and manage the budget for the strategic communications and global events plan for the CEO Water Mandate and initiatives. Collaborate with development staff occasionally to support fundraising related to the Strategic Communications and Global Events strategy.
• As a staff member of the Pacific Institute and a key member of the Pacific Institute’s Communications and Outreach Team, contribute to the work plan outcomes for the overall team and organization.

Strategic Communications

• Serve as chief brand ambassador for the CEO Water Mandate and its initiatives to ensure consistent use of brand guidelines.
• Collaborate with the CEO Water Mandate’s engagement team to oversee the development and implementation of an internal/corporate communications plan to strategically and consistently communicate with CEO Water Mandate endorsing companies and Water Resilience Coalition member companies and partners to contribute to achieving recruitment, retention, and participation goals.
• Collaborate with CEO Water Mandate technical team to develop calendar for and ensure on-time and on-budget publishing of reports and other thought leadership pieces.
• Plan and lead implementation of the CEO Water Mandate’s content strategy for owned, paid, and earned digital channels, including but not limited to websites, newsletters, emails, and social media. Drive series of campaigns.
• Serve as chief messaging developer for CEO Water Mandate and its initiatives to ensure powerful and consistent messaging across channels. Write, ghostwrite, and/or oversee writing of concise and compelling scripts, speeches, press releases, blogs, and other deliverables.
• Lead implementation of executive communications plan to build thought leadership visibility for key executives across channels.
• Working collaboratively with thought leaders, C-suite, agencies, and partners at the UN Global Compact, drive proactive media relations plan that quantifiably elevates the thought leadership visibility of the CEO Water Mandate and its initiatives in top tier media outlets. Lead plans for press availabilities, exclusive high-level interviews, and other media relations functions.
• Lead on-time and on-budget delivery of the CEO Water Mandate, Water Resilience Coalition, and WASH4Work annual impact reports and related impact communications campaigns.

Global Events

• Develop content, budgets, timelines, and resourcing plans to ensure on-time and on-budget involvement at selected events.
• Identify and amplify synergies between events strategy and communications strategy to ensure cohesive messaging and positioning.
• Prepare staff to provide high-level presentations at global events.
• Plan and lead implementation of global events strategy for the CEO Water Mandate and its initiatives. Events include, but are not limited to, high-level Water Resilience Coalition CEO Circle meetings, Stockholm World Water Week sessions, events associated with the UN General Assembly, UN Global Compact events, UN Climate COP, and World Economic Forum Annual Meeting/Davos.
• Present at meetings and events, as well as acting as point-of-contact for communications and events related partnerships.

Required Qualifications

• Strong attention to detail. Experience managing competing deadlines, and strength responding rapidly to emerging and/or crisis communications needs.
• Proven experience to strategize, plan, and implement high-level events presence.
• Exceptional writing skills and proven experience managing other writers to develop op-eds, press releases, speeches, and other corporate communications. Strength shown in messaging development and discipline.
• 7 + years of experience developing and managing global strategic communications and events plans in a corporate and/or sustainability-related space.
• Deep understanding of social media and content strategies. Experience with website management.
• Proven experience leading, managing, and coaching staff to reach their fullest potential contributions toward goals.
• Proven experience successfully managing budgets, timelines, agency partners, and external partnerships.
• Strong ability to negotiate and collaborate with diverse stakeholders demonstrating cultural competence.
• Strong verbal communication skills and proven strength in communicating complex ideas in clear and compelling ways.
• Strategic orientation combined with interest in and willingness to work on implementation.
• Fluent in English, other languages desired.
• Proven experience placing earned media in top-tier media such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, and/or The Economist.

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with ESG space and sustainability reporting frameworks.
• Deep passion for water, climate, and/or resilience issues. Knowledge of issues related to corporate water risk, water quality challenges, and WASH.
• Experience working directly with C-suite of Fortune 500 Companies.
• Familiarity with multi-sector collective action.
• Advanced degree in related field.
• Experience working with and/or familiarity with the United Nations system and/or international conservation/sustainability-related NGOs.

To apply, visit our website for more information.