Director, Executive & Employee Communications

Empower Retirement; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

401(k) with match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Empower Retirement is seeking a Director of Executive & Employee Communications to advise senior leaders and craft communications that clarify Empower's direction, priorities, and impact. You will shape how executives present externally and lead messaging across internal channels.

You'll partner with Marketing, Operations, HR, and Corporate Affairs to translate strategy into compelling narratives, speeches, and multimedia content, while guiding a remote-friendly team and elevating the company's

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in executive, employee, corporate, brand, or strategic communications within complex organizations.
• Advising C-suite or senior executives and managing confidential or highly sensitive communications.
• Experience developing employee communications and engagement strategies for large initiatives.
• Exceptional writing, editing and storytelling across executive messaging and multimedia formats.
• Experience in thought leadership, speaking engagements, earned media and social content.
• Strong business acumen, judgment, executive presence and cross-functional influence.
• Curiosity about emerging technologies, including AI, and how they can enhance communications.

Responsibilities

• Advise senior executives on messaging, positioning and communications strategy.
• Translate complex priorities into clear narratives for internal/external audiences.
• Develop speeches, presentations, emails, talking points, scripts and other content.
• Prepare leaders for meetings, media interviews and high-profile moments.
• Build an editorial calendar linking business priorities to opportunities.
• Create multi-channel employee communications across written, digital, video and live formats.

Skills

Executive communications

Writing & editing

Strategic storytelling

Multi-stakeholder collaboration

Public speaking

Leadership influence

AI awareness

Job description

Our vision for the future is based on the idea that transforming financial lives starts by giving our people the freedom to transform their own. We have a flexible work environment, and fluid career paths. We not only encourage but celebrate internal mobility. We also recognize the importance of purpose, well-being, and work-life balance. Within Empower and our communities, we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our associates dedicate thousands of hours to volunteering for causes that matter most to them.

Chart your own path and grow your career while helping more customers achieve financial freedom. Empower Yourself.

As Director, Executive & Employee Communications, you'll advise senior executives and lead communications that help employees understand where Empower is headed, what matters most, and the role they play in our success. You'll also shape how our leaders represent Empower externally through keynote presentations, media opportunities, LinkedIn, industry events, and other high-profile engagements.

As a member of the Brand Communications team, you'll work closely with leaders and teams across Marketing, Operations, AI and Innovation, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs, Compliance, Legal, and the broader business. You'll need to understand what's happening across the company, spot the stories worth telling, and turn complex ideas into communications people want to read, watch, or hear.

We're looking for someone who can counsel senior leaders, write exceptionally well, and move easily between strategy and execution. You'll bring strong business instincts, creativity, curiosity, and a point of view, along with the confidence and judgment to work with executives at the highest levels of the organization.

Candidate will reside in New York or Boston area.

What You'll Do:

Advise & Shape Executive Communications

• Serve as a trusted communications advisor to senior executives, providing counsel on messaging, positioning, and communications strategy.
• Translate complex business priorities into clear, compelling narratives for internal and external audiences.
• Develop speeches, presentations, executive emails, talking points, video scripts, Q&A documents, and other executive content.
• Prepare leaders for company meetings, customer engagements, media interviews, speaking engagements, and other high-profile moments.
• Anticipate communications opportunities and risks, providing thoughtful counsel during significant business moments, organizational change, and sensitive issues.
• Develop an executive communications editorial calendar that connects business priorities with key internal and external opportunities.

Drive Employee Communications & Engagement

• Develop employee communications strategies that connect employees to Empower's business strategy, priorities, culture, and purpose.
• Lead communications for company-wide town halls, leadership forums, enterprise initiatives, organizational announcements, and other key employee moments.
• Partner with senior leaders, Human Resources, and business teams on communications that support organizational change, transformation, culture, and employee engagement.
• Create multi-channel communications and experiences that inform, engage, and inspire employees across written, digital, video, and live formats.
• Build employee listening and feedback into communications planning, using insights to strengthen engagement and help leaders communicate more effectively.
• Identify stories that celebrate our people, showcase their impact, and strengthen connection to Empower.

Elevate Executive Presence & Influence

• Shape executive thought leadership strategies that support Empower's brand and business priorities.
• Partner with Brand Communications and Corporate Affairs to identify and maximize earned media opportunities.
• Develop executive LinkedIn strategies and content that build authentic leadership presence and engagement.
• Identify and pursue high-value speaking engagements, conferences, podcasts, bylined articles, awards, and other opportunities for executive visibility.
• Prepare executives to contribute meaningfully to conversations relevant to Empower, our industry, and the people we serve.

Tell Stories, Measure Impact & Evolve

• Uncover stories that showcase customer impact, innovation, business momentum, employees, and culture, and connect them to broader brand and business priorities.
• Bring a strong editorial and multimedia mindset to determining what we communicate, why it matters, and how best to tell the story.
• Establish meaningful measures of success across executive and employee communications, using data, employee feedback, and audience insights to continually improve.
• Explore new platforms, formats, and AI-enabled tools that enhance communications while maintaining appropriate governance, confidentiality, quality, and authenticity.

Who You Are:

You're a strategic thinker with the instincts of a storyteller and the judgment of a trusted advisor. You know how to simplify complex ideas without losing their meaning and find the human story inside a business strategy.

You're equally comfortable advising executives behind the scenes and creating communications that reach thousands of people. You build credibility quickly, ask thoughtful questions, and know when to listen, challenge, or coach. And in a remote organization, you don't wait for stories to come to you— you build relationships, make connections, and seek them out.

You also bring:

• 10+ years of experience in executive, employee, corporate, brand, or strategic communications within complex organizations.
• Demonstrated experience advising C-suite or senior executives and managing confidential or highly sensitive communications.
• Significant experience developing employee communications and engagement strategies, including enterprise initiatives, organizational change, and large-scale employee events.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills across executive messaging, presentations, digital content, and multimedia formats.
• Experience developing executive thought leadership and supporting speaking engagements, earned media, and executive social media.
• Strong business acumen, judgment, executive presence, and the ability to influence across functions and levels.
• Proven ability to manage multiple high-profile priorities in a fast-moving, highly matrixed environment.
• Curiosity about emerging technologies, including AI, and how they can enhance communications while preserving authenticity and human connection.
• Experience in a regulated industry or highly complex business environment preferred.
• Experience leading social media strategy and understanding of best practices for executive visibility.

What we offer you

We offer an array of diverse and inclusive benefits regardless of where you are in your career. We believe that providing our employees with the means to lead healthy balanced lives results in the best possible work performance.

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• Retirement savings - 401(k) plan with generous company matching contributions (up to 6%), financial advisory services, potential company discretionary contribution, and a broad investment lineup
• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250/year
• Business-casual environment that includes the option to wear jeans
• Generous paid time off upon hire - including a paid time off program plus ten paid company holidays and three floating holidays each calendar year
• Paid volunteer time - 16 hours per calendar year
• Leave of absence programs - including paid parental leave, paid short- and long-term disability, and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)
• Business Resource Groups (BRGs) - BRGs facilitate inclusion and collaboration across our business internally and throughout the communities where we live, work and play. BRGs are open to all.

Base Salary Range

$138,000.00 - $200,100.00

The salary range above shows the typical minimum to maximum base salary range for this position in the location listed. Non-sales positions have the opportunity to participate in a bonus program. Sales positions are eligible for sales incentives, and in some instances a bonus plan, whereby total compensation may far exceed base salary depending on individual performance. Actual compensation offered may vary from posted hiring range based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.

Equal opportunity employer * Drug-free workplace

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age (40 and over), race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, religion, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable state or local law.

***For remote and hybrid positions you will be required to provide reliable high-speed internet with a wired connection as well as a place in your home to work with limited disruption. You must have reliable connectivity from an internet service provider that is fiber, cable or DSL internet. Other necessary computer equipment, will be provided. You may be required to