12+ years in public relations or corporate communications, with leadership experience
Hands-on experience in developing story angles and pitching media
Advisory experience with senior executives on reputation and crisis communications
Preferred background in healthcare or regulated industries
Strong leadership skills with team management experience
Excellent judgment in handling sensitive communications
Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, or related field
Responsibilities
Define and evolve ABC's external narrative and thought leadership
Lead proactive earned media strategy and pitch stories
Serve as primary contact for press inquiries and media relationships
Develop thought leadership opportunities for clinical leadership
Identify human interest stories to support reputation goals
Collaborate with Legal on sensitive communications
Own workplace reputation communications strategy across platforms
Align employer brand strategy with recruiting and retention goals
Monitor online sentiment and identify reputation risks
Provide strategic recommendations to enhance employer brand
Partner with CMO on crisis preparedness and response
Develop crisis communications framework and protocols
Lead communications during reputation-critical moments
Manage the Director of Internal Communications and team priorities
Coach team to achieve strategic goals
Represent Communications in marketing leadership initiatives
Benefits
Remote work opportunity for candidates in approved states
Collaborative environment with executive leadership
Focus on proactive reputation management
Opportunity to shape and amplify impactful narratives
Engagement with diverse teams across the organization
Full Job Description
This is a remote position available to candidates residing in ABC-approved states.
HQ Location: Austin, TX
Role Overview
The Sr. Director, Communications is responsible for building and leading ABC's proactive earned media and public relations strategy, and for strengthening ABC's external reputation across two critical audiences: the families and their children in our care, and the teammates who provide that care. This role will help shape and amplify the stories that differentiate ABC, recognizing that positive family-facing coverage also builds trust and pride among current and prospective teammates.
Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, this role partners closely with the CMO and executive leadership on reputation strategy and crisis communications, bringing communications subject matter expertise and leading execution against a shared reputation strategy. This is a hands-on leadership role for an entrepreneurial communicator who has led a communications function or owned significant PR / reputation responsibilities, is comfortable pitching press directly, and can move ABC from a reactive to a proactive posture on reputation.
The role oversees a team of two and partners closely with Marketing leadership, Recruiting, People Services, Clinical, Operations, and Legal. ABC's external digital marketing agency leads SEO, AIO, and paid media performance. This role owns PR and earned media strategy directly, partnering with ABC's existing content and creative teams within Marketing to amplify earned media wins across owned, social, and paid channels.
Key Responsibilities
Earned Media & Public Relations:
Help define and continually evolve ABC's external narrative, identifying the stories, proof points, and areas of thought leadership ABC should own within autism care and ABA therapy
Build and lead ABC's proactive earned media strategy, identifying, developing, and pitching stories that reinforce ABC's differentiation and reputation
Serve as ABC's primary point of contact for press inquiries and media relationships
Develop and drive thought leadership opportunities, including speaking engagements, bylines, and media placements, with a particular focus on ABC's clinical leadership
Identify and develop human interest stories from families and clinicians that support both family-facing and employer-facing reputation goals
Partner with Legal and executive leadership to develop messaging and manage communications around payer dynamics, ownership structure, industry scrutiny, and other externally sensitive topics
Partner with ABC's existing content and creative teams on press release drafting and distribution; this role does not own day-to-day content production, webinars, e-books, or organic social content, which remain owned by Integrated Marketing and Creative Services
Own the communications strategy for ABC's workplace reputation across Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Reddit, setting priorities and messaging that the Communications team executes against
Partner with Recruiting and People Services to align employer brand strategy with recruiting and retention goals, informed by ongoing sentiment and recruiting funnel data
Monitor and interpret online sentiment, review platform trends, and social listening data to identify emerging reputation risks and opportunities
Provide strategic recommendations on how to close gaps between ABC's intended employer brand and how it is currently experienced and discussed externally
Reputation & Crisis Counsel:
Partner with the CMO and executive leadership on reputation risk, crisis preparedness, and issue anticipation
Develop and maintain a crisis communications framework and response protocols in partnership with Legal and executive leadership
Lead communications response during reputation-critical moments, coordinating across Legal, Clinical, Operations, and executive leadership as needed
Team Leadership:
Directly manage the Director, Internal Communications, who continues to lead execution of teammate-facing content, internal event communications, and employer review platform management, and who continues to manage and direct the Video Production Specialist day-to-day
Set shared strategic priorities for internal event communications, particularly for events with reputation or media relevance (e.g., ABCaba, Summit, Action Weeks), while the Director, Internal Communications leads execution and directs the Video Production Specialist's contributions
Provide coaching and support to help the team operate against clear strategic goals
Represent the Communications function in marketing leadership planning and cross-functional initiatives
Qualifications:
12+ years of progressive experience in public relations, corporate communications, or reputation management, including experience leading a communications team or owning a significant PR / reputation function; experience building or scaling a function is a plus
Demonstrated ability and willingness to operate hands-on, including personally developing story angles, pitching media, securing earned media placements and managing reporter relationships
Experience advising senior executives on reputation strategy, thought leadership, and crisis communications
Experience in healthcare or another regulated, reputation-sensitive industry preferred
Comfortable operating in a highly scaled, multi-location, entrepreneurial environment
Strong people leadership skills, with experience managing and developing a team
Excellent judgment and discretion when handling sensitive internal and external communications
Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field
Success Metrics:
Volume and quality of earned media placements, with emphasis on priority national, regional, and industry outlets
Growth in proactive vs. reactive earned media coverage
Message pull-through on ABC's core reputation narratives
Movement in employer review volume across Glassdoor and Indeed
Growth in LinkedIn engagement and followership on employer brand and thought leadership content
Movement in AI sentiment, including Reddit, tracked via Profound through our external agency
Executive and clinical leadership thought leadership placements secured
Speed and effectiveness of response to reputation-critical moments
