Director, External Affairs

Accountabilities • Develop and implement an external affairs strategy in partnership with senior leadership, aligned with organizational growth and fundraising objectives.

• Design targeted engagement strategies for key audiences across the climate, health, nature, and philanthropy sectors.

• Lead cross-functional communications initiatives, coordinating with teams across the organization and ensuring consistent messaging.

• Manage external communications partners, including agencies, designers, and content creators, ensuring their work supports strategic communications goals.

• Monitor, analyze, and report on external affairs performance using relevant metrics and insights.

• Shape compelling, evidence-based narratives around balanced diets and food systems transformation, adapting messaging for different cultural and geographic audiences.

• Develop messaging frameworks and create or curate written, visual, and storytelling content that resonates with diverse donor audiences.

• Develop and oversee an events strategy, including donor and grantee convenings, while coordinating with philanthropy, grants, strategy, and impact teams.

• Lead media relations and proactive profile-building initiatives for the organization, CEO, and selected senior leaders.

• Build and maintain relationships with specialist and relevant mainstream media, identify proactive opportunities, and manage reactive media enquiries.

• Oversee reputation management, brand consistency, and crisis communications planning across external channels.

• Develop and maintain brand guidelines and ensure consistency across markets and touchpoints.

• Oversee digital communications, including the website and social media channels, in line with broader communications objectives.

• Develop high-impact communications materials that strengthen fundraising efforts and clearly articulate the organization’s value proposition.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• Extensive, proven experience in strategic external affairs, communications, public relations, or a closely related senior role.

• Native or fluent English proficiency, both written and verbal; additional languages such as German or Portuguese are advantageous.

• Strong track record in media relations, brand development, senior executive profile building, and stakeholder engagement.

• Experience managing external communications agencies, consultants, and creative partners.

• Demonstrated experience leading international communications for a global organization operating across multiple regions.

• Strong understanding of sustainability, climate, and health issues, particularly where they intersect with food-system sustainability.

• Experience working with or within philanthropic organizations, foundations, NGOs, or similar mission-driven environments.

• Experience supporting executive profile building and working closely with fundraising or philanthropy teams.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to create compelling narratives for sophisticated philanthropy audiences.

• Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to translate organizational priorities into practical communications strategies and plans.

• Excellent media relations, digital communications, social media, and content management capabilities.

• Experience using communications analytics and performance metrics to evaluate effectiveness.

• Strong project and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver against tight deadlines.

• Excellent interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across different organizational levels, cultures, and geographies.

• Collaborative leadership style and an entrepreneurial mindset suited to a growing organization.

• Comfort working with ambiguity, adapting quickly, and operating in a fast-paced, start-up-style environment.

• Creative problem-solving skills and a high degree of adaptability.

Benefits

• Fully remote position with flexibility to work across time zones between EDT and CET preferred.

• Full-time role within a globally distributed and international team.

• Opportunity to shape external affairs, communications, and reputation at a growing mission-driven organization.

• Exposure to senior stakeholders across philanthropy, climate, health, nature, and food-system transformation.

• High-impact role with direct contribution to fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and organizational growth.

• Collaborative, cross-functional working environment with teams spanning multiple regions.

• Opportunity to work with a broad network of external communications agencies, creative partners, philanthropies, and sector stakeholders.

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