Director, Product Communications

adpinternalcareers; Roseland (NJ); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

ADP in Roseland, NJ, is seeking a Product Communications Director to lead external storytelling for products, partnerships, and innovations. The role sits in Global Media Relations & Public Affairs and partners with Product Marketing, marketing, sales, and leaders to translate business priorities into compelling public narratives.

The ideal candidate blends strategy, storytelling and media expertise to elevate ADP’s market position, drive meaningful coverage, and position ADP as a leader in HCM

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of experience in Communications or PR.
• Proven experience leading product launches and integrated comms strategies.
• Strong media relations skills and ability to generate earned coverage.
• Exceptional writing, editing and storytelling capabilities.
• Experience working with senior executives and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to identify newsworthy opportunities and strategic judgment.

Responsibilities

• Develop external communications strategies for product launches and announcements.
• Partner with Product Marketing, Marketing, Sales, Legal and leaders to craft narratives.
• Serve as trusted advisor to senior product and business leaders.
• Translate tech, AI and HR concepts into clear stories.
• Lead messaging, media strategy and launch plans.
• Work with agencies to shape materials and coverage.
• Lead partnerships announcements and joint releases.
• Identify opportunities to turn partnerships into broader industry stories.

Skills

Strategic comms

Media relations

Storytelling

Executive positioning

Cross-functional collab

Writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Job description

ADP is seeking a Product Communications Director who will sit within the Global Media Relations & Public Affairs team. The Director will serve as a senior communications partner to product, marketing, sales and business leaders, developing communications strategies that elevate ADP’s market position, generate meaningful media coverage and externally bring the company’s innovation story to life. This is a strategic role, with this person owning and driving the external narrative around ADP’s products, partnerships and innovations, charged with translating business priorities into compelling announcements, media moments and integrated communications strategies that position ADP as a leader in HCM innovation.

The ideal candidate is part strategist, storyteller and media expert who understands how to turn complex products, technology and business developments into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with customers, prospects, partners, employees and media. This person will work closely with Product Marketing and align with the Global Media Relations & Public Affairs team on key priorities, features and activations to support product strategy and elevate ADP’s positioning externally.

This is a hybrid role, based three days on-site in Roseland, NJ.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and execute external communications strategies for product launches, enhancements and announcements, innovations and business initiatives; leverage Product Marketing roadmap to drive external communications strategies.
• Partner closely with Product, Marketing, Sales, Legal and business leaders to identify the strongest narratives and opportunities.
• Serve as trusted communications advisor to senior product and business leaders.
• Translate complex technology, AI, payroll, HR and workforce concepts into simple, differentiated and compelling stories.
• Lead messaging development, media strategy, executive positioning, launch plans and supporting communications materials.
• Identify opportunities to create news beyond just announcing it.
• Bring strategic discipline and consistency to product communications.
• Work closely with external agency partners to develop strategies, media materials and coverage.

Partner & Stakeholder Communications

• Lead communications strategy and execution for strategic partnerships, alliances and related announcements.
• Counsel internal stakeholders and external partners on positioning, timing, and media engagement.
• Develop joint press releases, messaging, media strategies, executive quotes, briefing materials and launch plans.
• Identify opportunities to turn partnerships into broader industry stories and thought leadership.

External Communications Strategy

• Build communications plans that extend beyond traditional product announcements to include earned media, executive visibility, thought leadership, social and other channels.
• Connect product and partnership stories to ADP’s broader corporate narrative and business priorities.
• Proactively identify opportunities to increase ADP’s visibility across business, technology, HR, workplace and industry media.
• Elevate ADP’s products and solutions through targeted earned media strategies to increase visibility, relevance and influence across large language models and AI-powered search experiences.
• Monitor news cycles, competitor activity and emerging narratives to identify opportunities and risks.
• Leverage research and studies from ADP Research to elevate narratives with relevant data to drive storytelling.
• Elevate the visibility and reputation of ADP’s products and innovations through a strategic communications strategy and approach.

Media Relations & Executive Thought Leadership

• Develop strong relationships with business, technology, HR, workplace and industry journalists.
• Proactively pitch differentiated product, customer, innovation, and business stories.
• Prepare executives and subject matter experts for interviews, briefings and media engagements.
• Drive meaningful earned media results and ensure coverage supports broader business objectives.
• Serve as knowledgeable communications resource for reporters covering ADP’s products and areas of expertise.
• Develop executive messaging, talking points, media briefings, bylines, contributed content and suggested speaking opportunities.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Global Media Relations & Public Affairs, Product Marketing, Internal Communications, Brand, Content, Social, Analyst Relations, Legal and other functions to create cohesive communications programs.
• Manage multiple priorities and high-visibility projects simultaneously in fast-paced environment.
• Help establish scalable processes and best practices for product and partnership communications to focus emphasis on the biggest initiatives.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors' degree with 10+ years of relevant experience in Communications, Public Relations or Corporate Communications experience, preferably with expertise in technology, SaaS, HR technology, financial/business services or other B2B environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading product launches, corporate announcements and integrated communications strategies.
• Strong media relations skills and an established understanding of how to generate meaningful earned coverage.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling capabilities.
• Experience working directly with senior executives and cross-functional leadership teams.
• Strong strategic judgement and ability to identify what is and isn’t newsworthy.
• Proven ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives with speed, organization and sound judgement.
• Comfortable operating in environment where priorities move quickly and information is constantly evolving.
• Strong understanding of the news cycle and current media landscape; someone who follows business, technology, AI, HR and/or workplace news.
• Highly collaborative, yet comfortable taking ownership and driving work forward independently.

The Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate is strategic enough to develop the big-picture plan, hands-on enough to write the announcement, connected enough to know which reporter to call and creative enough to find the story others haven’t seen.

They have a strong understanding of what journalists care about and the channels where stories make the most impact, strong writing skills to make complex ideas simple, and trusted judgment to challenge stakeholders when a story isn’t strong enough along with the ability to help make it stronger.

Most importantly, they understand that great product communications isn’t simply announcing what ADP built, but explaining why it matters, why now and why ADP.

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