Director of Communications, North America

Working closely with our Head of Marketing & Communications, USA, our regional Marketing & Communications Leads in the U.S. and Canada, Global Corporate Communications Director, senior leadership, and other Turner & Townsend colleagues, the Director of Communications will be responsible for strengthening Turner & Townsend’s brand profile by designing and implementing a proactive, multi-faceted communications platform for the North America business. This hands-on role will be pivotal in professionalizing Turner & Townsend’s communications function to help us amplify our voice and magnify our influence within North America. This role is based in our New York City office and will provide strategic guidance on our North America communication strategy.To be successful, the incumbent must be able to lead and guide the communications function for the region in a matrix reporting environment and demonstrate a sound understanding of communications strategy, how it fits with the marketing strategy and campaign management. This individual must think strategically, communicate clearly and be able to work with stakeholders to help formulate a viewpoint on complex issues, creating concise and well-written business narratives. The ideal candidate will develop effective approaches to communications challenges, demonstrate strong project management and team collaboration skills, and will nurture highly collaborative internal client relationships to drive an integrated approach to corporate communications.Specific responsibilities associated with the Director of Communications, North America role include:Strategic communications:Develop and execute comprehensive communication strategies for the North America region, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and business goals, and linked to the overall global marketing and comms plan.Serve as the senior advisor to the NAM senior leadership team on all matters related to media relations, internal communications, crisis communications, and messaging.External communicationsDevelop and manage media relations, working with the country communication leads, including building strong relationships with local journalists, influencers, and stakeholders in NAM.Coach the NAM senior leadership team in preparation if and when they talk to the media.Oversee the creation of press releases, media pitches, speaker opportunities and other external communication materials.Manage crisis communication efforts in region, aligned to the global crisis comms plan, responding quickly and strategically to potential reputation issues, and keeping the Global Communications Director aware of any issues that might have an impact globally.Monitor, analyze, and report on communication activities and media coverage to key stakeholders.Collaborate with the global communications team on global internal comms initiatives to be able to regionalize for NAM, e.g. M&A activity.Internal communicationsOversee the internal communications strategy, ensuring all NAM employees are informed, engaged and aligned with the company’s purpose, vision and values, and its key business initiatives.Work with the country comms leads on the development of content for internal newsletters, Townhalls and other comms channels in region.Foster a culture of transparency and collaboration through effective internal communications.Collaborate with the Global Internal Comms team on regionalizing global internal comms initiatives.Social media and digitalReview social media copy for NAM ensuring it aligns with corporate messaging and writing guidelinesEnsure Turner & Townsend’s messaging is consistent across all external and internal touchpoints, including digital platforms, events, media materials and social media. Reporting/Management: Put measurements and tracking in place to ensure and demonstrate the ROI of all communications activities.Produce and/or contribute to Board reports, performance reviews and summaries on a monthly and quarterly basis.Directly manage/supervise performance of the communications professionals within the U.S. and indirectly provide oversight to the communications professionals in Canada (currently two people); direct the work of external vendors, as required.  Stakeholder engagement: Manage relationships with key stakeholders, including business partners, and customers, through targeted communication efforts.Develop communication strategies for new business initiatives, regional reports, etc.