Director of Strategic Communications and Media

Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with the Senior Director to operationalize enterprise communications strategy across institutional initiatives, leadership priorities, and organizational communications efforts.
• Translate high-level communications direction into actionable messaging plans, communications initiatives, and coordinated execution strategies.
• Help ensure organizational messaging remains aligned, consistent, responsive, and strategically integrated across departments and stakeholder groups.
• Crisis Communications and Issues Management: Support execution of institutional crisis communications strategies and rapid response communications efforts. Develop statements, FAQs, talking points, stakeholder messaging, response frameworks, and supporting communications materials. Monitor emerging issues, reputational dynamics, and public narrative trends while helping coordinate institutional response efforts.
• Executive Communications Support: Draft, edit, and coordinate communications on behalf of executive leadership. Support executive visibility, thought leadership initiatives, speaking engagements, interviews, and stakeholder communications preparation. Help ensure executive messaging aligns with enterprise communications strategy and institutional priorities.
• Media Relations and Institutional Storytelling: Manage proactive media engagement efforts and support institutional visibility initiatives. Develop stories, pitches, messaging opportunities, and communications campaigns that elevate the BSO’s artistry, mission, civic role, educational work, and institutional priorities. Cultivate relationships with journalists, media contacts, and external communications partners.
• Internal Communications and Cross-functional Coordination: Help lead the organization’s internal communications strategy during periods of organizational change, institutional visibility, leadership transition, or reputational sensitivity. Partner with Human Resources and executive leadership to develop communications approaches that strengthen employee trust, organizational clarity, alignment, and transparency. Support development of internal messaging frameworks that reduce ambiguity, improve communication consistency, and reinforce organizational cohesion during complex institutional moments. Coordinate cross-functional communications planning to ensure alignment between internal stakeholder communications and external institutional messaging.
• Department Leadership and Operational Depth: Serve as deputy communications leader and acting departmental lead as needed. Help strengthen departmental processes, execution standards, communications workflows, and operational coordination. Mentor junior staff, interns, and operational team members while helping build long-term departmental capability. Provide additional strategic depth and leadership redundancy within the communications function.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of experience in communications, media relations, executive communications, or public relations.
• Experience supporting complex organizations or high-visibility leaders strongly preferred.
• Crisis communications experience preferred.
• Experience in arts and culture, nonprofit, higher education, media, or mission-driven organizations preferred.
• Exceptional writing and editorial skills.
• Strong strategic judgment and interpersonal maturity.
• Ability to manage sensitive communications with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong media relations and storytelling capability.
• Comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous, and high-pressure environments.