Chief Communications Officer

Position Summary

The Chief Communications Officer at New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) provides executive leadership and strategic direction for the organization's Enterprise Communications and External Relations functions, strengthening NBU's reputation, relationships, transparency, and connection with the communities it serves. The Chief Communications Officer serves as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team and is responsible for ensuring that NBU communicates with clarity, consistency, transparency, and purpose across all audiences and channels.

The Chief Communications Officer leads NBU's enterprise-wide communications strategy, including internal and external communications, executive communications, media relations, digital communications, social media, video, creative content, brand management, communications platforms, and critical service and crisis communications. The role ensures NBU's voice and brand are cohesive across the organization and that employees, customers, community members, media, government officials, and other stakeholders have timely, accurate, and meaningful information.

In addition, the CCO provides executive leadership for NBU's External Relations function, cultivating strong and trusted relationships with community stakeholders, government officials and agencies, community organizations, and other external partners. This includes oversight of NBU's community engagement efforts, Government Relations, the Community Advisory Panel (CAP), the OneWater initiative, and Headwaters at the Comal. The CCO ensures these efforts are aligned with NBU's mission, values, public responsibilities, and long-term commitment to the communities and environment it serves.

As a member of the executive leadership team, the CCO brings a people-first leadership approach, builds organizational alignment, and creates an environment of trust, accountability, collaboration, creativity, and empowerment.

The CCO leads with a focus on strategic vision, enterprise alignment, and stakeholder impact, ensuring NBU's communications and external relationships reflect the organization's mission and core values.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Enterprise Communications

• Serves as the principal communications advisor to the CEO and executive leadership, and NBU leadership team on matters affecting the organization, its customers, employees, community, reputation, and public understanding.
• Establishes the vision, direction, and enterprise-wide framework for NBU's internal and external communications.
• Leads an integrated communications function encompassing internal communications, external communications, executive communications, media relations, social media, digital communications, video, creative content, communications platforms, and brand management.
• Develops and implements comprehensive communications strategies that strengthen NBU's reputation, enhance stakeholder understanding, and support organizational priorities.
• Oversees NBU's enterprise brand and ensures consistent, credible, and compelling representation across communications channels, platforms, and stakeholder experiences.
• Provides executive communications counsel and oversees the development of speeches, presentations, talking points, executive messaging, and other leadership communications.
• Oversees media relations and serves as a senior organizational resource for media engagement, news coverage, emerging issues, and matters that may affect NBU or the communities it serves.
• Leads communications related to critical services, significant projects, operational issues, emergencies, and other high-impact events.
• Directs crisis and issues communications, ensuring NBU is prepared to communicate rapidly, transparently, and effectively during emerging or critical situations.
• Oversees the development and delivery of content across NBU's communications ecosystem, including websites, social media, video, digital platforms, print materials, presentations, public service announcements, and other channels.
• Establishes an enterprise approach to internal communications that informs, engages, and connects employees to NBU's mission, priorities, culture, and organizational direction.
• Oversees NBU's social media strategy, presence, monitoring, and engagement across relevant platforms.
• Establishes and evaluates communications performance measures and key performance indicators to assess reach, engagement, effectiveness, and stakeholder impact.
• Ensures communications practices appropriately reflect the requirements and complexities of operating a multifaceted, regulated utility and public-service organization.
• Identifies emerging communications trends, technologies, platforms, and stakeholder expectations and recommends approaches that enhance NBU's effectiveness and relevance.
  
  External Relations
• Provides executive leadership and direction for NBU's External Relations function, strengthening relationships and building trust with communities, government entities, civic organizations, community leaders, and other external stakeholders.
• Serves as a senior advisor to the CEO and executive leadership regarding community, governmental, civic, and external stakeholder relationships.
• Oversees an integrated approach to community engagement that promotes transparency, meaningful dialogue, understanding, and trust.
• Manages NBU's Government Relations efforts and supports effective relationships with local, regional, state, and federal officials, agencies, and other governmental stakeholders.
• Provides executive oversight of the Community Advisory Panel (CAP), ensuring the organization benefits from meaningful community perspectives and maintains an effective forum for dialogue and engagement.
• Provides executive leadership and oversight for the OneWater initiative, ensuring communications, engagement, education, and external relationships support NBU's integrated approach to water resources and long-term community stewardship.
• Provides executive oversight and organizational leadership for Headwaters at the Comal, supporting its role as a community, environmental, educational, and stewardship asset.
• Builds and maintains relationships with community organizations, civic leaders, educational institutions, business and industry partners, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Develops and implements engagement approaches that build awareness and understanding of NBU's essential services, projects, initiatives, community investments, and public responsibilities.
• Anticipates emerging community and stakeholder issues and advises executive leadership on opportunities to strengthen relationships, address concerns, and enhance public understanding.
• Represents NBU as a senior organizational leader at community, governmental, civic, and industry events and forums.
• Strengthens NBU's reputation as a trusted, transparent, responsive, and engaged community partner.

Executive & Organizational Leadership

• Serves as a strategic thought partner and trusted advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team on communications, reputation, external relationships, stakeholder engagement, and emerging issues.
• Connects communications and external relations across the organization to ensure a unified enterprise voice and coordinated stakeholder experience.
• Leads, develops, coaches, and empowers the Communications and External Relations teams, fostering a culture of trust, accountability, collaboration, creativity, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Establishes clear priorities, measures outcomes, and allocates resources to maximize organizational and stakeholder impact.
• Builds strong partnerships across NBU, encouraging leaders and employees to serve as effective ambassadors for the organization.
• Provides leadership during complex, high-profile, or sensitive organizational matters requiring coordinated internal and external engagement.
• Uses stakeholder insights, data, research, analytics, and emerging trends to inform communications and external relations strategies and recommendations.
• Ensures communications and external relations practices are aligned with NBU's mission, organizational priorities, policies, regulatory obligations, and core values.
• Develops and maintains strong relationships with NBU's Board of Trustees, executive leadership, employees, customers, community leaders, government officials, media, and other key stakeholders.

General Responsibilities

• Maintains regular attendance and manages leave schedules to ensure responsibilities, special projects, and critical assignments are effectively supported.
• Promotes employee engagement and organizational alignment through effective leadership, communication, and collaboration.
• Adheres to NBU safety guidelines and practices at all times and in all situations.
• Maintains a clean and safe work area, office, field site, and vehicle, as applicable.
• Provides executive oversight and support for NBU's community engagement, volunteer, and social responsibility efforts.
• Develops and maintains effective customer service and stakeholder relationship skills in interactions with employees, customers, community members, government officials, and the public.
• Maintains strict confidentiality of business, employee, customer, and other sensitive information and safeguards confidential documents and communications.
• Adheres to NBU policies and procedures.
• Exemplifies NBU's core values and leadership expectations.
• Participates in and supports initiatives that advance NBU's annual priorities and organizational objectives.

Certification and Licensures Requirements
• Must possess a valid Texas Driver's License and acceptable driving record is required.
• IABC's Communication Management Professional (CMP) or Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) certification, PRSA's Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) or, other similar professional accreditation is desirable but not required.

Other Software Knowledge
Proficient in utilizing current versions of computer software and hardware provided by NBU to produce memos, reports, special operating reports, graphs, spreadsheets, and other documents that are clear, accurate and grammatically correct.

Formal Education and Work Experience Requirements
Degree/Diploma Obtained: Bachelors
Work Experience Time Frame: Five Years or More

Field of Study: Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, or related field.

Other: Nine plus years' experience with a minimum of three years' supervisory experience may substitute for Bachelor's degree. Or, an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Other Minimum Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience in one or more of the following communications fields: internal and/or external communications, media relations, public speaking, marketing, strategic communications, public relations, journalism, or mass communications.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, public affairs, business administration, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Significant executive-level experience leading enterprise communications, corporate affairs, public affairs, external relations, government relations, community engagement, or related functions.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing integrated communications and external relations strategies in a complex organization.
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, media relations, and executive communication skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of public-sector leadership, municipal government, regulated utilities, or similarly complex and highly visible organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain trusted relationships with executives, elected officials, government agencies, community leaders, employees, customers, media, and other diverse stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, political and community awareness, emotional intelligence, and sound judgment.
• Exceptional interpersonal, relationship-building, coaching, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex, sensitive, and high-profile issues with discretion and sound judgment.
• Strong project management, organizational, prioritization, and decision-making skills.
• Knowledge and experience with digital communications, social media, communications platforms, content development, analytics, and emerging communications technologies.
• Ability to translate complex operational, technical, regulatory, and community issues into clear, accessible communications for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to establish meaningful performance measures and use data, research, analytics, and stakeholder insights to inform decisions and evaluate impact.
• Commitment to ethical leadership, transparency, public service, community stewardship, and organizational integrity.
• Residency within an NBU service territory is preferred for executive leadership positions.
• Knowledge of municipal government/public sector leadership, principles and practices, including budgeting and fiscal responsibility; operations, policies and procedures is a plus.
• Demonstrated people leadership and success in developing team members.
• Possesses strong competence in: servant leadership and collaboration; emotional intelligence and empathy; ethical stewardship and integrity; and strategic thinking.
• Outstanding interpersonal relationship building, coaching, conflict resolution skills, with an ability to bring people together to solve problems.
• Strong project management and organizational skills. Assessing and prioritizing multiple tasks, projects and demands.
• Knowledge and experience with social media channels required. Knowledge of social monitoring tools, such as Sprout Social a plus.
• Establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships with City employees, officials, and representatives from other local, state and Federal agencies.
• Monitoring and c