Corporate Reputation & Crisis Communications, Senior Manager

Corporate Reputation & Crisis Communications, Senior Manager

Okta is seeking a Senior Manager of Corporate Reputation and Crisis Communications to join our team. In this role, you will play a pivotal role in protecting and shaping Okta's reputation during times of crisis or uncertainty. You will serve as a key representative of the Communications team, collaborating across functions to manage incidents and issues with thoughtfulness, clarity, and confidence.

To accomplish this, you are both a cross-functional leader who can facilitate a team and a hands-on comms pro who develops content and executes with precision. The core of this role is to help Okta be prepared for adverse events, understand issues by engaging the right experts, and help determine the best path forward, taking into consideration all stakeholders.

You have significant experience planning for and managing communications for a wide variety of issues, including but not limited to cybersecurity, geopolitical, societal, product, security vulnerabilities, legal, employee/HR matters, operational disruptions, and more. In complex situations, you will lead a virtual team of communications colleagues from across the business to drive consistency as they engage with their respective audiences. You will partner closely with the PR team on media strategy and engagement.

Additionally, you will continually evolve, improve upon, and mature the crisis communications program and its readiness for Okta. You will advise key business partners and the executive team on the crisis communications program and best practices, often in partnership with the wider Communications team.

Communications is an incredibly strategic and visible function at Okta, and we're looking for a driven, experienced, and collaborative professional who will thrive and make an impact in a dynamic environment.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as a leader on the Corporate Reputation and Crisis Communications team-mentoring other communicators, advising on best practices, and providing strategic and tactical leadership in issue response and crisis communications.
• Develop and execute strategic communications plans that properly position Okta during a crisis or incident.
• Create and update processes, playbooks, and operational plans to keep the Crisis Communications Team aligned and efficient.
• Lead the training and exercise program to drive readiness, team capabilities, and continual improvement.
• Stay abreast of industry trends in crisis response, reputation management, crisis communications, and communications broadly to ensure the team is industry-leading in its approach and capabilities.
• Cultivate positive relationships with Okta leaders, executive stakeholders, and internal business and communication colleagues.
• Serve as a communications advisor to senior leaders and to the cross-functional teams assembled to address an issue and provide guidance on reputational risk in the context of issues, policies, and company decisions.
• Build messaging and content under time constraints and ensure alignment while taking into consideration the outstanding needs of multiple stakeholders/audiences.
• Execute and lead media listening and insights for key issues and help develop an overall media strategy to inform the communications approach.
• Be the calm in the storm during intense or stressful situations.

Required Skills/Experience

• BA/BS in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or Marketing preferred.
• Minimum of 10-15 years of related experience in public relations/corporate communications, with a background in crisis communications and issues management.
• Outstanding verbal and written communicator who can build high-quality, easy-to-understand communications, including notification materials, messaging, media statements, blogs, FAQs, and related documents.
• Strong project management capabilities with a sharp eye for detail and the ability to navigate ambiguity while balancing competing priorities.
• Solid interpersonal, relationship-building, influence, and collaboration skills.
• Confident in presenting communications strategies to executives and gathering input in high-stakes scenarios.
• Experience leading or participating in crisis response/incident management and working on related communications.
• Ability to work with product/technology subject matter experts to distill technical information into appropriate messaging for identified stakeholders/audiences.
• General knowledge of SaaS/cybersecurity markets, products, and technologies to help frame and contextualize communication deliverables.
• An innate drive to work with urgency, make progress, and remain calm in high-pressure situations.

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