Director of Communications

About the role

The Director of Communications is a senior organizational leader responsible for the clarity, credibility, and strategic alignment of communications across Christensen Farms with a primary focus on internal communications effectiveness and leadership enablement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a comprehensive enterprise communications strategy aligned with organizational priorities and values.
• Establish and maintain company-wide messaging standards to ensure clarity, consistency, and credibility.
• Own communications channels and publishing cadence across internal and external audiences.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Leadership Council on communications, change readiness, and organizational alignment.
• Develop proactive annual communications plans and prioritize resources toward the most critical business initiatives.
• Lead internal communications supporting day-to-day operations, strategic initiatives, and organizational change.
• Translate leadership decisions, operational priorities, and business performance into clear, relevant, and actionable communications.
• Enable effective execution by ensuring employees and contract partners understand expectations, priorities, and changes.
• Own end-to-end execution of key communication initiatives (e.g., town halls, major rollouts), not just content development.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a communications team of 2–3 professionals.
• Establish clear expectations, accountability, and development pathways for team members including elevating the team beyond execution into more strategic partnership roles.
• Provide direct coaching and performance management as needed, given the relative inexperience of the current team.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Model sound judgment, credibility, and professionalism.
• Own stakeholder sentiment across employees, contract partners, and other key internal and external audiences.
• Establish listening mechanisms to assess understanding, engagement, and emerging concerns.
• Use insight to influence leadership decisions and continuously refine communication strategy and execution.
• Serve as an organizational “early warning system” for misalignment, confusion, or risk.
• Lead communication strategy for organizational change initiatives, ensuring clarity, alignment, and adoption.
• Partner closely with business and PMO teams to support major initiatives (e.g., ERP implementation).
• Bring practical, experience-based change leadership (not dependent on formal methodologies).
• Potential to expand scope to include change management leadership over time.
• Maintain a visible presence in the organization and local community.
• Lead planning and execution of company events, engagement activities, and community presence efforts.
• Oversee philanthropic giving and community involvement to ensure alignment with organizational values and priorities.
• Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of engagement and event activities; drive continuous improvement.
• Bring experience navigating high-stakes or ambiguous situations (e.g., operational disruptions, reputation challenges).
• Own the company’s crisis communications strategy and crisis response plan, including preparation and readiness.
• Monitor external events, issues, and trends that could create internal risk or require organizational response.
• Lead communications during crises or sensitive situations, coordinating closely with leadership, HR, operations, and legal.
• Serve as the final authority on communications strategy and execution during crisis situations.
• Serve as an active, proactive member of the Leadership Council.
• Support enterprise-wide initiatives through disciplined communication planning and execution.
• Ensure communications directly enable execution, reduce risk, and strengthen organizational trust.
• Contribute to long-term organizational effectiveness, engagement, and reputation.
• Oversee external communications, including social media and community-facing messaging.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community partners and industry organizations.
• Ensure the organization’s external voice is authentic, accurate, and aligned with internal realities.
• Support recruitment and partnership efforts through credible and consistent communications.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field required.
• 10+ years of progressive communications experience, with a strong emphasis on internal communications.
• Demonstrated expertise in internal communications, change communications, and stakeholder engagement.
• Proven experience leading crisis communications and issue management.
• Experience in agriculture, manufacturing, operations-heavy, or asset-intensive environments preferred.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and professionalism consistent with a closely held enterprise.
• Proven ability to lead and develop teams in lean, hands-on environments.
• Strong business and operational acumen with the ability to connect communication to execution.
• Demonstrated ownership mindset with a bias toward action and execution.
• Comfort partnering with senior leaders and operating with autonomy and accountability.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence across functions and levels.
• High integrity, credibility, and sound judgment.
• Ability to operate both strategically and tactically without relying on large support teams.