Director, Communications

MERGE; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 88,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

401K

Lifestyle Spending Account

Employer Paid Life & Disability

Flexible Time Off

Job summary

MERGE, a marketing and technology agency at the intersection of health and wellness, seeks a Director of Communications to lead internal and corporate messaging as we scale.

You will own strategy, drive change communications, coach leaders, and craft content. You'll apply AI to scale while preserving human voice.

With 5+ years in communications, you will shape across intranet, email, town halls, and FAQs, partnering with executives to align messaging with our North Star.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in internal, corporate, or change communications, with a proven track record leading employee communications in fast-paced, changing environments.
• Deep expertise in corporate communications and change management — M&A, digital and platform migrations, operating transitions, and structural realignments.
• Hands-on experience managing a full suite of internal channels — intranet, email, newsletters, and modern collaboration and communication platforms.
• Fluency with change-management frameworks and a clear, repeatable process for reaching goals, meeting timelines, and engaging stakeholders.
• Superior writing and editing — you turn complex, high-stakes information into clear, compelling, human messaging.
• Strong executive presence and the ability to earn trust: you can coach senior leaders and handle confidential moments with discretion and judgment.
• A data-informed approach to measuring communication effectiveness and continuously improving it.
• Curiosity about how AI is reshaping communications, and the drive to bring meaningful, modern solutions to how we work.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, PR, Marketing, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Own the Internal Communications Strategy and ensure the cadence reaches all employees with clarity and impact.
• Lead Corporate & Change Communications and guide messaging through transitions, M&A, and tech migrations.
• Create Content & Measure Impact across executive emails, intranet updates, newsletters, and town halls.
• Lead & Elevate the function by mentoring teammates and partnering with agency leadership to set clear standards.
• Be a trusted partner to executives, advising on messaging, tone, and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Internal communications

Corporate communications

Change management

Executive coaching

Leadership communication

Writing & editing

Data-driven communication

AI in communications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, PR, Marketing, or related field

Tools

Intranet platforms

Email platforms

Newsletters

Collaboration tools

Job description

At MERGE, we are Built Different. We are a marketing and technology agency purpose-built for the intersection of health and wellness-where human impact matters most. By weaving storytelling through technology, we move beyond traditional engagement to Whole Human Marketing. This approach recognizes that humans are multidimensional and complex, and uses AI to ensure every brand interaction feels natural, contextual, and relevant.

This commitment to human-first innovation is what brings us together and propels us forward. We are united by our North Star: to unite people and brands to empower healthier, happier lives.

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

As our Director, Communications, you will...

Own how MERGE talks to MERGE. You build the internal communications that keep our teams informed, aligned, and proud of the work - especially as we grow and change. You lead our internal and corporate communications end to end: from strategy to execution. You are the steady voice through change - email and platform migrations, M&A messaging, operating-model shifts, and the everyday cadence of updates that hold a company together. You take dense, high-stakes change and turn it into clear, human communication people can act on. As an AIgency, we lead by example - and this role sets that example. You'll use AI to scale and sharpen your work, and you'll do it without ever sacrificing the human voice you create for MERGE. AI accelerates the work; your judgment, taste, and craft are what make it clear, compelling, and unmistakably ours. Showing how you partner with AI to produce communications that feel authored, never automated, is core to how you'll succeed here.

What You’ll Do

Own the Internal Communications Strategy

• Set the strategy: Develop and run an internal communications strategy that aligns with MERGE's goals and values, keeping every employee informed, engaged, and connected to where we're headed.
• Build the cadence: Own the rhythm of internal communication — leadership updates, all-hands and town halls, org announcements, and the everyday drumbeat — aligning the organization and properly cascading so the right message reaches the right people at the right moment.
• Govern the channels: Manage and elevate our internal channels — intranet, email, newsletters, and collaboration platforms — ensuring one consistent, on-brand voice across all of them.

Lead Corporate & Change Communications

• Steward major initiatives: Lead communications for high-stakes corporate initiatives building the plans that carry employees through them with clarity and confidence and partnering with key stakeholders to develop clear messaging that resonates.
• Make change land: Apply proven change-management frameworks to assess readiness, sequence messaging, and support employees through digital integrations and structural shifts, so transitions feel guided rather than disruptive.
• Equip the leaders: Partner with and coach executives and managers on how to communicate change — arming them with talking points, toolkits, templates, and FAQs that keep messaging aligned across the organization.
• Manage sensitive moments: Handle confidential and time-sensitive announcements with discretion and judgment, ensuring accurate, timely information even when the news is hard.
• Partner cross-functionally: Work across business units to align internal and external messaging with company goals, and to make sure employees hear it first.

Create Content & Measure Impact

• Produce the work: Write and oversee compelling internal content — executive messaging, leadership emails, intranet updates, newsletters, town-hall presentations, video scripts, and success stories.
• Prove it works: Monitor, analyze, and report on communication performance, using data-driven insight to sharpen strategy and demonstrate impact on engagement and alignment.

Lead & Elevate

• Grow the function: Set clear goals, mentor team members and partners, and model the standard for craft and care that MERGE communications should carry.
• Be a trusted partner: Serve as a steady, credible advisor across the agency — the person leaders come to when a message has to be right.

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years in internal, corporate, or change communications, with a proven track record leading employee communications in fast-paced, changing environments.
• Deep expertise in corporate communications and change management — M&A, digital and platform migrations, operating transitions, and structural realignments.
• Hands-on experience managing a full suite of internal channels — intranet, email, newsletters, and modern collaboration and communication platforms.
• Fluency with change-management frameworks and a clear, repeatable process for reaching goals, meeting timelines, and engaging stakeholders.
• Superior writing and editing — you turn complex, high-stakes information into clear, compelling, human messaging.
• Strong executive presence and the ability to earn trust: you can coach senior leaders and handle confidential moments with discretion and judgment.
• A data-informed approach to measuring communication effectiveness and continuously improving it.
• Curiosity about how AI is reshaping communications, and the drive to bring meaningful, modern solutions to how we work.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, PR, Marketing, or a related field.

At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.

MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, we’re proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

The salary range for this role is $88,450-$129,750, based on the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.

MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that includemeaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

And here’s how we live our values at MERGE

• Ability. Mastering our craft
• Agility. Delivering with a growth mindset
• Humility. Collaborating for shared success

MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be!