Head of Financial Communications

Role Overview

The Head of Financial and Transaction Communications will be a senior leader responsible for:

• Building and leading our financial communications practice
• Serving as a primary advisor to CEOs, CFOs, General Counsel, Heads of IR, and Boards working in concert with their key advisors
• Diving new business and deepening relationships with existing clients to support issues and opportunities
• Leading teams through complex, high-stakes, timesensitive, and confidential situations

Key Responsibilities

Client Advisory & Strategy

• Serve as trusted counselor to senior executives on all aspects of financial and capital markets communications.
• Develop and oversee integrated communications strategies around:
• IR Advisory
• M&A
• IPOs and SPACs
• Activist Defense & Preparedness
• Restructuring
• Bankruptcy
• Executive Transitions
• Divestitures & Spins
• Investor and R&D Days
• Financial Media Relations & Storytelling
• Craft clear, compelling narratives that translate complex financial and strategic issues for investors, media, employees, regulators, and other stakeholders.
• Provide real-time strategic counsel in high pressure, confidential situations, often in partnership with legal and banking advisors.

Transaction/Event-driven Communications

• Lead communications workstreams for event-driven situations (to include but not limited to: M&A, IPOs/Spins/SPACs, activism, bankruptcies/restructurings, crisis (cyber, litigation and beyond), Board/management transitions.), including:
• Prospecting, relationship building with key advisors (bankers, lawyers, etc.) focused on HC sector.
• Leading transaction / event-driven work.
• Development of comms strategy, materials, media and social considerations. Support of the lead up to announcement, announcement day as well as integration support.
• Deal playbook and scenario planning to protect and preserve reputation and valuation throughout the deal process
• Development of strategy, scenario planning, communications playbook, etc. for lead up to, day of and post-announcement situation
• Drafting key materials (press releases, Q&As, investor decks, fact sheets, talking points, etc.)
• Coordinating with key advisors (lawyers, bankers, etc.) and ensure alignment with regulatory and disclosure requirements

IR Advisory & Related Services

• Develop and refine clients’ equity story/investor narrative
• Oversee creation and quality of investor facing collateral, including:
• Investor presentations
• Investor day/R&D day materials
• Infographics
• IR website alignment with collateral
• Earnings Advisory: Advise and support the development of earnings materials: to include press release, deck, scripts, Q&A prep
• Advise on engagement with sellside and buyside analysts in coordination with IR and legal teams.
• Annual reports as well as sustainability reports (in partnership with design/ESG teams as needed).
• Advise on integration of financial communications with broader corporate reputation, ESG, and public affairs strategies.

Financial Media & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead financial and business media strategy, cultivating relationships with key journalists and outlets.
• Prepare executives for highstakes media interviews, investor meetings, earnings calls, and roadshows.

Practice & People Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing financial communications team within the agency, including integration of legacy IR team, recruitment, training, and mentorship.
• Set practice standards, playbooks, and best-in-class approaches for transaction and capital markets mandates.
• Foster collaboration across practices (corporate, crisis, public affairs, digital, ESG, brand) to deliver integrated solutions.
• Contribute to firm leadership, culture, and DEI objectives.

Business Development

• Drive growth of the financial communications practice through:
• Identifying and pursuing new business opportunities
• Leading and contributing to pitch development and presentations across significant client base
• Build rapport and become a trusted, go-to referral partner for network among corporates, private equity, banks, law firms, and other advisors.
• Help shape the agency’s market profile via thought leadership (reports, opeds, conferences, webinars) on capital markets, M&A, activism, and related themes.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in financial communications, investor relations, investment banking, equity research, or related fields, with a strong advisory component.
• Proven track record working on complex, high-stakes situations such as:
• M&A (including crossborder, contested, and private equity-backed deals)
• IPOs and significant capital markets transactions
• Shareholder activism and governance/ESG-related campaigns
• Restructurings, turnarounds, and crisis situations with market impact.
• Experience in a leading strategic communications/PR firm (e.g., financial/transaction communications practice) or top-tier in-house corporate role strongly preferred.
• Experience working with healthcare clients a plus

Skills & Capabilities

• Deep understanding of capital markets and the needs of institutional investors and analysts.
• Exceptional writing skills: capable of producing clear, concise, and persuasive materials under tight deadlines.
• Strong judgment and discretion, with demonstrated ability to advise senior executives and boards in sensitive situations.
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, ambiguous, and time pressured environments; calm and solutions-oriented under stress.
• Strong project and team management skills; able to run multiple complex engagements simultaneously.
• Collaborative and low ego; able to integrate with cross-functional teams including legal, banking, IR, public affairs, digital, and creative.

Education & Other

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, JD, or related) a plus but not required.
• Understanding of US regulatory and disclosure frameworks; global regulatory expertise not required but helpful

Pay Range

$300,000 - $360,000

This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time