Director, Corporate Reputation Communications

Ford Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); On-site; USD 150,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Family care benefits

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Employee resource groups

Paid time off & holidays

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking a senior communications leader to drive proactive reputation campaigns across paid, earned and owned channels. You will identify vulnerabilities, lead integrated campaigns that measurably shift public perception, and build emotional connections with key audiences.

The role emphasizes data-driven decisions, leadership of a high-performance team, and close collaboration across Corporate Communications, Marketing, Government Affairs and executive leadership.

Qualifications

• 10-15+ years of communications, marketing or brand experience focusing on reputation.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism or related field.
• Experience leading reputation campaigns for consumer brands.

Responsibilities

• Build proactive reputation campaigns across paid, earned and owned channels.
• Identify vulnerabilities and protect the company's standing before issues escalate.
• Lead integrated, creative campaigns to shift perception and improve reputation.
• Understand the drivers of reputation and align campaigns to move the needle.
• Measure sentiment, trust and perception to refine strategy.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Crisis management

Brand stewardship

Data-driven decisions

Cross-functional collab

People leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications or related field

Job description

Lead the development and execution of proactive campaigns to improve Ford's corporate reputation among opinion leaders and the general public, building durable trust and strengthening the company's license to operate.

Understand where Ford's reputation is vulnerable and build plans to protect it, while designing creative paid, earned and owned campaigns that deliver measurable, meaningful improvement in how Ford is perceived.

Bring a rigorous, data-driven understanding of what drives Ford's reputation, and pair that analytical foundation with bold creative thinking that builds real emotional connection to the brand among key audiences.

Serve as a People Leader, responsible for the development and high-performance output of a team of communications professionals and collaborate cross functionally throughout the company on reputation enhancing efforts.

You Will...

• Build proactive reputation campaigns: Develop and launch proactive, multi-channel campaigns designed to improve Ford's corporate reputation among opinion leaders and the general public.
• Identify vulnerabilities: Continuously assess where Ford's reputation is most exposed or vulnerable, and develop plans to protect and defend the company's standing before issues escalates.
• Lead creative, integrated campaigns: Create compelling paid, earned and owned campaigns that work together to shift perception and demonstrate meaningful, measurable improvement in Ford's reputation over time.
• Understand the drivers of reputation: Identify and prioritize the biggest drivers of Ford's corporate reputation, and ensure campaigns are strategically built around the elements most likely to move the needle.
• Measure what matters: Continue evolving a strong measurement framework to track Ford's reputation over time, including sentiment, trust and perception among opinion leaders and the general public, and use that data to continuously refine strategy.
• Create emotional connection: Design campaigns and storytelling that build genuine emotional connection to Ford among key audiences, not just awareness or recall.
• Partner across the enterprise: Work closely with Corporate Communications, Marketing, Government Affairs and business leaders to ensure reputation campaigns are coordinated with broader company priorities and narratives.

To Be Successful You Will:

• Balance data and creativity: Be equally comfortable analyzing the data behind what shifts perception and builds trust, and leading bold creative work that brings campaigns to life.
• Set a high bar: Promote a culture of excellence and creativity in every campaign and piece of work the team produces.
• Empower and delegate: Embrace a leadership model that embeds team members in projects from inception, providing them with high-contact coaching and visibility.
• Operationalize innovation: Proactively use AI and data tools for insights, measurement and workflow automation, and apply a continuous-improvement mindset to all major initiatives.
• Master complex stakeholder management: Navigate the intersection of Corporate Communications, Marketing, Government Affairs and executive leadership to build and protect Ford's reputation.
• Grow talent: Give and receive performance reflections constructively to support the team's development.
• Run governance: Apply the right balance of structure and agility to maximize effectiveness.
• Develop your skills: Continuously improve your functional competency and leadership behaviors.

You’ll Have...

• 10-15+ years of communications, marketing or brand experience, with a focus on reputation, brand campaigns or corporate/consumer brand communications.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism or related field.
• Demonstrated prior experience leading reputation-enhancing campaigns for other consumer-facing brands.

You May Also Have...

• Proven ability to translate reputation and perception data into creative, campaign-ready strategy.
• Experience leading integrated paid, earned and owned campaigns at scale.
• Exceptional proactive storytelling, media relations and crisis management skills.
• Proven experience supporting senior executives and leading teams.
• Well-developed business acumen and professional maturity.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder..., or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a leadership level 4.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.