Director of Communications & PR

About The Role

Cleo has done the hard part. The product works. The numbers are real. The mission resonates. The step is to evolve to magnify our story in the obvious and not so obvious places. We've built one of the fastest-growing companies in the world -> $300M+ ARR, 500+ people, millions of Americans using Cleo every day. As we enter our next phase of growth, we’re investing intentionally in shaping how the company is understood by investors, media, and the broader tech ecosystems. We're looking for a PR and communications leader who understands that in fintech, reputation is a growth lever, and that the best PR doesn't look like PR at all.

• Own Cleo's investor-facing narrative
• Build and execute a PR strategy that shifts Cleo's coverage from consumer reviews to tier-1 business and investor press. Think: Bloomberg, FT, TechCrunch, Forbes, CNBC
• Position Cleo in the same conversation as industry leading companies, and even ahead of them where the story warrants it
• Ensure that when an investor or journalist searches Cleo, they find a compelling, consistent story that reflects our actual scale and ambition
• Build founder visibility and thought leadership
• Develop and execute a content and visibility strategy for our CEO across LinkedIn, podcasts, long-form essays, and speaking stages
• Secure appearances on investor and founder-facing platforms. Think along the lines of 20VC, Lenny's Podcast, Money20/20, TechCrunch Disrupt, Sifted Summit
• Help craft shareholder-style letters, category commentary, conviction pieces and other kinds of writing that make a founder a voice in the industry, not just a CEO with a product to sell
• Turn consumer traction into investor signal
• Work with Growth and Brand to surface Cleo's user data, financial health impact, and product momentum as proactive press stories
• Build and protect Cleo's reputation
• Establish Cleo as a named source for journalists covering AI in fintech, personal finance, and consumer technology - not just when we have news
• Develop crisis communications protocols appropriate for a regulated financial product at our scale
• Build and own proactive relationships with tier-1 journalists
• Lead and grow the comms function
• Define the team structure, agency relationships, and tooling needed to execute at this level
• Set clear goals tied to investor inbound quality, media tier, brand awareness among opinion elites, and founder visibility
• Make PR a company-wide habit: work cross-functionally with Growth, Product, Brand, and Leadership to keep the narrative consistent and compounding

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years in PR, communications, or a combination of both, with a track record of building investor and media reputation for a high-growth tech / fintech company is a must have
• Exposure to the US market is necessary for this role, UK and other locations a bonus
• Proven experience taking a company through a significant PR inflection point e.g. a fundraising narrative build, pre-IPO profile, or major category repositioning
• Experience working directly with a founder or CEO to build their personal brand and media presence
• Strong existing relationships with tier-1 business, tech, and fintech journalists
• Able to translate complex product and financial stories into narratives that land with both consumer and institutional audiences
• Strategic thinker who can set a multi-quarter narrative arc, not just react to news cycles
• Comfortable operating in a high-autonomy environment with limited process and high expectations
• Agency and in-house experience both welcome