Arkema is recruiting for a Media Relations and Executive Communications Manager

Arkema Group is a global specialty materials provider, with more than 21,000 employees operating in 55 countries, with global headquarters in Paris and North America headquarters in King of Prussia, Pa. The company has a large presence in the United States, which generates a significant share of the company’s revenues ($12.1 billion in 2022).

The Media Relations & Executive Communications Manager will lead the creation and implementation of executive communication and media relations strategies that drive internal alignment and engagement; position Arkema Group as an industry leader; increase brand awareness; support corporate and business goals; and raise the profile of the North America CEO. The individual in this role also will play a key role in crisis communications, will oversee and support media relations throughout the Americas, and will contribute to other communication programs as needed. This position reports directly to the Director, Communications & Crisis Preparedness, takes direction from North America CEO for executive communications, and works closely with Media Relations leader in France.

Responsibilities

Supervision (5%)
- Supervise one communications specialist, hiring and onboarding when needed, and providing direction, development opportunities and coaching to maximize the employee’s career growth and contributions in supporting company and function priorities.

Executive Communications (30%)
- Develop strategies to increase visibility of North America CEO in ways that support internal alignment and engagement, and increase brand awareness and desired company positioning. Develop presentations, speeches and other executive content, gaining alignment among key leaders on content and messaging needs, obtaining necessary information from across the company and creating content that achieves agreed-upon objectives.
- Manage the planning and execution of North America Town Halls, including the facilitation of the in-person/virtual events.
- Identify and secure speaking opportunities (paid/unpaid) for leadership around key corporate topics to drive thought leadership and brand awareness.
- Develop content strategy and oversee the management of Arkema Inc. CEO’s LinkedIn page to further amplify corporate topics on LinkedIn.

Media Relations (40%)
- Develop media relations plan to position Arkema as an industry leader, increase brand awareness, and raise the profile of North America CEO.
- Pitch national, industry and regional media; create or tailor messaging to support media outreach and develop briefs to prepare executives for these interactions.
- Manage response to media inquiries, recommending the approach for responding, obtaining input and approvals as needed, and preparing spokespeople for any interviews.
- Develop and issue news releases; identify and pitch story angles to reporters in support of key strategies; and draft statements, talking points and other materials to address specific incidents and topics.
- Serve as a media spokesperson on behalf of Arkema Inc. when appropriate, and provide media training to corporate spokespeople.
- Use Meltwater tool to manage media monitoring, create media lists, and distribute news releases.

Social Media (20%)
- Develop and implement updated content strategy for the Arkema Americas social media channels to highlight key corporate topics and achieve desired brand positioning.
- Oversee ongoing content development for the Americas Twitter and Facebook in collaboration with agency partner, and review analytics for content optimizations.

Crisis and Other Communication (5%)
- Serve as a member of the U.S. crisis team, and in a crisis or exercise situation, develop crisis communication strategies and messaging, and manage related interactions with media to protect Arkema’s reputation.
- Manage and/or support other communication projects as needed.

Travel required (domestic and international) – approximately 5-8% of time.

Experience Requirements

- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism or related subject.
- Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in corporate communications, preferably in the chemical manufacturing or related industries.
- Minimum of two years experience in roles that involved working independently to manage high stakes communications.
- Significant experience in creating presentations, speeches and other materials for senior executives.
- Significant experience in working with trade and national media, including creating and issuing news releases, managing media inquiries, serving as a spokesperson, and preparing spokespeople for media interviews.
- Experience in monitoring and reporting on media coverage, and in seeking corrections of inaccurate coverage.
- Experience in managing crisis communications, and communications on sensitive or controversial topics such as litigation, or health and environmental issues.

Competency Requirements

Interpersonal savvy and maturity:
- Builds a climate of trust and respect with team members and other colleagues.
- Comfortable and effective in working both independently and as part of a team.
- Able to quickly establish and maintain credibility with leaders, colleagues and reporters.
- Demonstrates maturity, good judgement, accountability, and an ability to seek, accept and incorporate feedback.
- Proven ability to work with cross-functional teams in a complex, highly matrixed organization.

Ethics and values:
- Maintains confidentiality in sensitive matters.
- Upholds company values, conducting work in accordance with all applicable rules and policies.
- Ensures communications are accurate and demonstrates empathy for stakeholder needs.

Strategic mindset and ability to manage complexity:
- Demonstrates broad organizational perspective, managing communication in a way that drives company success.
- Capable of formulating communication strategies based on an understanding of a range of relevant factors.
- Able to obtain, understand and work with input from colleagues in a range of disciplines.
- Sufficient business acumen to understand and communicate company strategies and financial information.
- Able to learn and communicate on complex topics, including those of a scientific or regulatory nature.
- Excellent judgement in making decisions about what information to include in sensitive communications.
- Proven ability to develop messaging that reflects company values and priorities, the legal and regulatory environment and competing stakeholder needs.

Communication abilities:
- Outstanding writing skills, including an ability to write quickly and to develop content that is clear, concise, compelling, and appropriate to the audience and communications channel.
- Able to create presentations that support a speaker’s messages in an engaging, visually appealing way.
- Excellent proofreading skills, with the ability to eliminate typographical, grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, particularly in critical communications to senior executives and news media.
- Strong verbal skills, including the ability to clearly articulate complex messages and to quickly formulate effective verbal responses.

Organization and productivity:
- Can effectively manage projects from planning to completion with minimal guidance and oversight from supervisor or other leaders.
- Able to multi-task, prioritize and problem-solve, driving for results in a fast-paced environment.

If interested, contact: Janet Smith, [email protected]