Vice President, External Communications

UKG · Weston, FL · Yesterday

Hybrid$210k–$298k/yrFull-time

Why UKG

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge.

What You’ll Do

Shape Reputation & Market Leadership
Set and lead UKG’s global external communications strategy to strengthen UKG’s reputation, differentiation, and leadership in Workforce Operations.
Translate UKG’s enterprise narrative into sustained external conversations that build belief in who UKG is, why we matter, and how we are different.
Shape market perception around the forces transforming work and business, including workforce operations, frontline work, AI, productivity, and the flow of work.
Move UKG from episodic visibility to sustained authority in the conversations we want to lead, using executives, research, customer outcomes, product innovation, and proprietary insight to reinforce a consistent story over time.
Lead a Modern External Communications Engine
Lead an integrated global organization across PR, Social, AI Discovery, Thought Leadership & Newsroom, Analyst Relations, and international communications—bringing specialized disciplines together around one narrative and shared reputation outcomes.
Create the external foundation for the broader customer journey: Communications builds belief and reputation; Marketing creates buyer relevance; Product and Sales provide proof and value.
Oversee the external dimension of reputation risk and crisis response, including media strategy, external stakeholder communications, social response, and reputation monitoring in close partnership with Corporate Communications.
Advise Executives & Shape the Market
Serve as a trusted senior counselor to the CEO, CCO, and executive team on reputation, media strategy, competitive narratives, industry positioning, and emerging external issues.
Bring an outside-in perspective to executive decision-making—identifying where UKG has whitespace, where perceptions need to shift, and where the company should lead.
Maintain strong relationships with influential business and technology media, analysts, industry voices, and other external stakeholders while empowering leaders across the team to own relationships and outcomes.
Create opportunities for credible leaders to shape the conversations UKG wants to lead.
Build a customer-powered reputation engine that uses credible customer voices and measurable outcomes to demonstrate UKG’s impact on workforce and business performance.
Partner closely with Marketing, Product, Sales, Customer Experience, and other teams so one UKG narrative travels through the customer journey without turning reputation, demand, and sales into the same work.
Establish a modern measurement framework focused on outcomes—including reputation, category association, share of voice, message penetration, analyst perception, executive influence, AI/search discoverability, customer advocacy, and contribution to strategic business priorities.
Transform and scale a modern External Communications function by assessing talent, upgrading capabilities, clarifying roles, and establishing new ways of working.
Build and develop an exceptional leadership team, create strong succession pipelines, and empower leaders to make decisions and own outcomes.
Break down silos across disciplines and functions, aligning the organization around a common narrative, shared priorities, and clear accountability.
Set a high performance bar and foster a culture that is externally curious, collaborative, fast-moving, data-informed, adaptable, and willing to challenge established ways of working.

Required Qualifications

15+ years of progressive experience in external communications, public relations, corporate communications, reputation, or related disciplines, including significant senior leadership experience.
Demonstrated success leading a complex, global external communications organization across multiple communications disciplines.
Proven track record building or transforming a modern communications function, including organizational design, talent assessment, capability building, and leadership development.
Deep expertise in reputation strategy, narrative development, media relations, executive counsel, issues management, and external storytelling.
Strong business judgment and demonstrated ability to connect reputation and communications strategy to growth, market positioning, customer priorities, and business outcomes.
Exceptional executive presence with the ability to advise CEOs and senior executives, influence enterprise decisions, and operate effectively in high-stakes environments.
Established credibility and relationships with top-tier business, technology, and/or industry media and other influential external stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams, develop leaders, and drive alignment across complex, highly matrixed organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

Significant leadership experience in enterprise B2B SaaS, technology, or another complex technology-driven business.
Experience overseeing product and technology PR, analyst relations, thought leadership, social, international communications, and emerging digital or AI-discovery capabilities.
Experience establishing category leadership or repositioning a large enterprise technology company in the market.
Strong understanding of how AI, search, social, and changing information-discovery behaviors are reshaping reputation and influence.

Basic Qualifications

15+ years of progressive experience in external communications, public relations, corporate communications, reputation, or related disciplines, including significant senior leadership experience.

Core Competencies

Narrative & Reputation Leadership
Turns enterprise strategy into a clear external narrative that builds belief, differentiation, and sustained market authority.
Executive Counsel & Influence
Advises senior leaders with an outside-in perspective and clear recommendations in moments of opportunity, change, and risk.
External Orientation
Stays deeply connected to customers, media, analysts, competitors, technology, and industry conversations and translates market signals into action.
Transformation & People Leadership
Buils high-performing organizations, develops leaders, raises standards, and creates clarity, accountability, and trust through change.
Business & Measurement Acumen
Connects reputation to customer and business outcomes and uses data to prioritize investment and demonstrate impact.

Company Overview

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories. View The EEO Know Your Rights poster

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email UKGCareers@ukg.com.

Pay Range

The pay range for this position is $210k to $298k. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location.