Associate Director Communications and Brand - Global Food

Summary

We are looking for an experienced Associate Director of Communications and Brand to support the Global Food portion of our business which operates 17 food plants around the world, producing a variety of high-quality food products for retail and food service customers. 

The successful candidate must have a global mindset, superior relationship management skills and be an excellent communicator – someone who sees the big picture and also enjoys the details. They will report into the Senior Director of Global Communications and Brand for the Simplot Company, providing strategic communications support and helping to develop and execute the communication plans for their assigned stakeholders within the Company. The successful candidate will be an integral part of the Global Communications and Brand team, serving as a resource to enable better communications across the business and elevate the profile of Simplot to external audiences.

This position will have one direct report based in Melbourne, Australia, and will support the efforts of more than 8,000 employees throughout our North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions focused on products our customers and consumers love in more than 40 countries world-wide.  
 

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for all facets of communications, from internal to external. 
• Develops deep knowledge of the industry/business they’re aligned with.
• Creates and executes annual and ongoing strategic communications plans prioritized and aligned to the business unit strategy.
• Responsible for bringing a strategic approach to communication projects across all audiences and channels to ensure how we represent our work aligns with the broader goals of the business and Simplot Company Brand.   
• Builds stakeholder trust and rapport through strategic counsel.
• Sets the agenda, tone and communication framework for senior leaders within the Global Food portion of our business, in line with overall Company positioning. 
• Proactively manages public relations or communication needs as they arise. 
• Responsible for issue management, leveraging the Global Communications and Brand Reputation team for overall strategy and alignment. 
• Leads communication strategy and execution for merger and acquisition activities.
• Serves as the Brand expert and champion for the business unit, and liaison to the global Communications and Brand team, helping to ensure alignment with the Corporate Brand and the reputation of other areas of the business.
• Works closely with employee engagement and transformation roles embedded in the business unit to ensure continuity, alignment and proper positioning of messaging.
• Brings visibility to other organizational activities and interdependencies as well as external communication trends.
• Develops leadership communications that inspire, inform, motivate and rally employees around business priorities.
• Establishes a communication cadence, leveraging existing communication channels that provide team members with the confidence in knowing how, when and where they can engage with key business information.
• Creates opportunities to share the business unit’s impact on the broader Global business strategy and how this is advancing One Simplot activities, including delivering on our purpose and mission, culture & inclusion, sustainability and safety. 
• Feeds business-specific news and information back to the broader Global Communications & Brand team for Company-wide use. 
• Effectively measures and reports on the impact of the communication effort.

Typical Education

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or related field.

Relevant Experience

• 8-10 years of experience in senior Communication and Corporate Affairs roles leading and delivering contemporary organization communications strategy along with enhancing reputation of business.
• Familiarity with the food and agriculture industries.
• Experience with a large multi-national or global organization.
• Experience with managing others preferred. 
• Public and/or community relations experience preferred.
• Exceptional communications skills - both written and verbal with an orientation to simplicity, clarity and attention to detail.
• Ability to collaborate with key stakeholders to define and shape compelling communication strategies.
• Ability to apply industry knowledge and commercial acumen in communication outputs.
• Outstanding writing, storytelling and editing skills.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities and varying levels of complexity from simple tasks (writing communications) to building, driving and executing on the business units’ communication strategy.
• Ability to manage competing priorities without losing sight of the big picture. 
• Experience in directing project teams, managing, and coaching other professionals.
• Experience in varied communication mediums, including digital.
• Experience working collaboratively with others with proven ability to influence, engage and actively contribute to the achievement of common goals.
• Experience with the change management discipline.
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