External Communications Strategist

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• The External Communications Strategist III is tasked with spearheading earned media initiatives and narrative development to bolster PMI’s corporate reputation, thought leadership, and strategic objectives.

• Work in tandem with a PR agency to uncover story prospects and craft timely, engaging pitches that resonate with priority narrative themes for both B2B and consumer audiences.

• Enhance PR agency performance by refining briefs, challenging assumptions, and ensuring proactive, high-quality execution that aligns with PMI’s strategic communication goals.

• Collaborate with the wider Marketing team to identify suitable community or executive spokespeople; assess, prepare, and align them for earned media outreach and engagements.

• Leverage media intelligence and performance analytics to pinpoint narrative opportunities and gaps, refining story angles and pitching strategies accordingly.

• Develop earned media strategies that enhance PMI’s visibility and influence in search and AI-driven answer ecosystems.

• Independently or collaboratively identify and execute strategic earned media opportunities for PMI executives or community spokespeople to engage previously unaware or new audiences.

• Evaluate external opportunities for narrative alignment, audience value, and reputational implications; advise on go/no-go decisions and manage approved engagements from start to finish.

• Identify and develop thought leadership platforms that reinforce key narratives and highlight PMI’s unique perspective.

• Oversee the creation of defined corporate message houses, ensuring they adapt to changing business priorities and external contexts.

• Determine the components of narrative-specific enablement kits and proactively distribute these resources to internal stakeholders and executives.

• Collaborate closely with the Director of PR & Communications, Marketing, regional teams, and agency partners to maintain narrative consistency and execution excellence across all external interactions.

• Persuade senior stakeholders and cross-functional partners to achieve alignment on narrative, timing, and external positioning.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• 8-10+ years of experience in corporate communications, PR, or roles focused on earned media.

• Proven experience in partnering with and managing PR agencies to achieve earned media results.

• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing proactive earned media or external engagement strategies linked to corporate narratives.

• Experience operating with senior-level autonomy and judgment within complex, matrixed organizations.

• Strong instincts for earned media with the ability to translate narrative strategies into actionable story angles.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; capable of distilling complex subjects into clear, persuasive messages.

• High level of judgment and discretion; comfortable working in reputationally sensitive environments.

• Strong skills in stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.

• Highly organized and self-motivated, with strong prioritization and follow-through capabilities.

• Ability to anticipate needs, proactively identify opportunities, and execute tasks with minimal supervision.

• Stakeholder management is crucial; ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive consensus on narrative direction and recommendations.

• Strategic and analytical mindset with the capability to leverage insights and reporting to enhance external communication strategies and outcomes.

• Proficiency in the business language for PMI (English).

🏝️ Benefits

• Possible travel up to 5%