Director, Policy Communications: Privacy & Integrity

WhatsApp; New York (NY); On-site; USD 223,000 - 287,000; Full time

Job summary

WhatsApp’s Director, Policy Communications leads global communications on integrity, privacy, and public policy, reporting to the VP of WhatsApp Communications and sitting on the Comms leadership team. This role shapes narratives, drives proactive campaigns, and leads responses to issues worldwide.

Focus areas include encryption safety, privacy-by-design, and regulatory engagement across regions. The candidate will mentor a team of managers and collaborate with policymakers and media.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of communications experience in policy, regulatory, privacy, or issues/crisis communications.
• Track record of leading global proactive campaigns and crisis response.
• Deep understanding of technology policy, privacy, encryption, and online safety debates.
• Experience managing and developing teams, including people managers.
• Exceptional judgment, writing, and executive counsel skills.

Responsibilities

• Set and own the global policy comms strategy and annual plan.
• Build long-term narratives and campaigns on encryption, safety, and privacy through press, op-eds, executive thought leadership, reports, and third-party validators.
• Lead comms for integrity, privacy, and policy-sensitive launches from narrative through country rollout to measured results.
• Develop WhatsApp executives as credible voices with policymakers, media, civil society, and academics.
• Build relationships with top policy, tech, and privacy reporters, plus influential opinion-makers globally.
• Partner with Public Policy, Legal, Privacy, Integrity Product, and Marketing to anticipate regulatory moments and shape the environment ahead of them.
• Own issues and crisis comms strategy for integrity, privacy, and policy, and serve as the senior escalation point for SEV comms.
• Lead rapid response to regulatory actions, legislative developments, government demands, litigation, investigations, and critical coverage.
• Maintain scenario planning, reactive messaging, and playbooks for high-risk issues, such as encryption challenges, misinformation, scams, and data-protection inquiries.
• Counsel senior leaders and cross-functional partners on communications risk and the trade-offs in product and policy decisions.
• Lead, hire, and develop a team of managers and senior ICs.
• Sponsor talent beyond the team.
• Coordinate closely with international comms leads in EMEA, LATAM, APAC, and India, and with Meta corporate and policy comms.
• Represent WhatsApp Comms in cross-functional policy, legal, and integrity leadership forums.
• Bring AI-enabled ways of working to policy comms.

Skills

Policy communications

Crisis management

Team leadership

Executive counsel

Tech policy understanding

Job description

WhatsApp’s Director, Policy Communications leads global communications on integrity, privacy, and public policy, reporting to the VP of WhatsApp Communications and sitting on the Comms leadership team. This role shapes narratives, drives proactive campaigns, and leads responses to issues worldwide.

Focus areas include encryption safety, privacy-by-design, and regulatory engagement across regions. The candidate will mentor a team of managers and collaborate with policymakers and media.