Manager – Issues and Crisis Communications

Manager – Issues and Crisis Communications

Requirements

• Strong grasp of current events and public policy, and how they impact business
• Exceptional judgement with respect to how PepsiCo’s messaging and activations will be perceived among key stakeholders; ability to counsel pros/cons to secure alignment
• Excellent communicator, comfortable engaging with members of the press and senior executives
• Ability to assess, operate quickly and effectively, and operate in a crisis situation
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to prioritize and multi-task
• Reporting capability, with an eye for drawing insights and conclusions from diverse data sources and inputs
• A genuine interest in, and understanding of, earned media and news
• Ability to embrace ambiguity and to be nimble given shifting priorities and challenging business landscape
• Exceptional time management, organizational and project management skills
• Strong decision-making and resourceful, problem-solving skills
• Highest-level of interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Executive presence and comfort around the most senior executives.

Responsibilities

• Interface directly with local and regional media deploying approved materials and templates
• Develop and update templates and tools for specific situations and work with relevant NA Communication business partners to cascade to relevant teams
• Maintain statement tracker in real time by working with broader Issues and Crisis COE team, legal and Comms Business Partners
• Maintain Hot Topics document with responsibility for quarterly updates
• Serve as point of contact for North America Regional comms leads and Frontline Communications COE, especially on templated employee or facility-level incidents
• The role involves interfacing with senior executives, agency teams, cross-functional partners, and the broader Comms organization

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience working in a fast-paced, news-driven environment within a large global company or PR agency
• Deep understanding of the media landscape and interconnectivity between paid, earned, social and owned approaches
• Ability to maintain a network that maintains regular connection and cadence of information sharing
• Hands-on experience managing trackers and leveraging templates, tool kits
• An understanding of the PepsiCo business, and how it is perceived by internal and external audiences (media, NGOs, employees, investors, local communities and government entities)