Director of Communications

About the role

This role leads enterprise-wide communications strategy with a primary focus on employee engagement and organizational culture, and a secondary focus on member communications that sustain trust, transparency, and member advocacy. This role reports to the CMO and leads a team that includes a manager and an individual contributor direct report. This is not a maintenance role. It's a build role. And the CMO is an active partner in that work.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal communications that build culture and drive engagement.
  • Design and execute an enterprise internal communications strategy that connects employees to UWCU's mission, direction, and values.
  • Bring UWCU's employee value proposition to life in ways employees recognize and feel, while partnering with HR and People leadership on engagement strategies and culture initiatives.
• Own enterprise change communications.
  • When UWCU transforms—new technology, new structure, new strategy—you co-create the communications architecture with executive sponsors and other change management experts before the change begins.
  • You understand readiness, sequencing, and the difference between informing people and actually bringing them along.
• Steward the member relationship through communications.
  • Lead external communications that deepen member trust and advocacy—the annual report, quarterly newsletter, financial results, disruption notifications, product and experience change communications, and member testimonial content.
  • It's the difference between members who trust us and ones who advocate on our behalf.
• Build communications capability across the organization.
  • Coach and advise executives and leaders. The goal is a more aligned, capable organization because this team is in it.
  • Lead reputation management and crisis communications. Own the organization's presence across platforms that AI systems use as sources ensuring our corporate narrative is consistently represented in the evolving information landscape.
  • Manage relationships with PR firms and external communications consultants.
  • Develop and maintain crisis communications plans, integrating with cross-functional response teams.
• Measurement & Analytics
  • Build a measurement framework that connects communications work to real outcomes—employee engagement, member sentiment, and advocacy.
  • Report regularly to the CMO and executive team in a way that's useful for decision-making.
• AI & Digital Fluency
  • Demonstrate working fluency in AI-powered communications tools.
  • Lead the team's adoption of AI solutions that improve content quality and workflow efficiency.
  • Establish governance guardrails for AI-generated content.
  • Monitor how UWCU is represented in generative AI responses and actively manage content that shapes those outputs.
• Team Leadership & Production Management
  • Lead and develop a high-performing Communications team.
  • Direct relationships with production partners including videographers and printers.
  • Manage the Communications budget with accountability for resource decisions and return on investment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, or a related field
• 10 years of progressive communications experience with 5+ years in strategic leadership
• Proven track record in corporate communications strategy that measurably improved employee engagement and organizational alignment
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
• Exceptional editorial skills
• Demonstrated experience leading communications through enterprise-wide organizational change
• Strong command of communications measurement and executive-level reporting
• Experience managing production partners and external communications consultants
• Financial services, fintech, or highly regulated industry experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated fluency in AI-powered communications tools and content governance