Head of Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Communications and Advocacy

Ford Motor; Michigan; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Senior Manager for Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Communications. This role involves developing strategic communications plans, engaging stakeholders, and advising on sustainability initiatives. The candidate should have extensive experience in communications and sustainability, with a focus on collaboration and strategic thinking.

Benefits

Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage

Flexible family care and parental leave

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off for community service

Generous paid holidays

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Communications or Marketing.
• 7+ years of experience developing Sustainability strategies.

Responsibilities

• Developing annual communications strategic plan for sustainability.
• Leading stakeholder engagement and advocacy programs.
• Providing strategic executive communications support.

Skills

Strategic Communications

Project Management

Crisis Communications

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

Description

At Ford, our purpose has always been bigger than building vehicles. We are driven by a desire to build a better world. We believe that every person has a right to clean air, clean water, and safe transportation. To have the freedom to move and pursue their dreams.
Which is why sustainability drives progress at Ford and guides our aspirations for the future. Today, our industry is facing significant headwinds: political turmoil, shifting regulations, economic uncertainty, and more. But as we have for 122 years, Ford will continue to thrive by focusing on what matters to us most: taking care of our customers, our people, and the communities we call home.

Ford is recruiting a new head of Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Communications and Advocacy, a Senior Manager reporting to the Director of Stakeholder Advocacy responsible for advancing the understanding of commitment to, confidence in and appreciation for Ford’s sustainability mission and purpose to help build a better world. This position is flexible and can be based at Ford’s headquarters in Southeast Michigan, New York or Washington, DC. If candidate lives in Southeast Michigan, the role will be Hybrid and in office 3x a week.

In this position…

• Developing and carrying out an annual communications strategic plan to support Ford’s Road to Better sustainability communications platform focused on achieving Ford’s sustainability aspirations
• Leading stakeholder engagement and advocacy programs designed to engage key stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers, government officials and agencies, NGOs and other thought leaders) regarding the shared benefits of Ford’s sustainability actions
• Advising communications team members and business partners in Environmental Safety & Compliance, Government Relations, Community Engagement, Investor Relations, Marketing and other functions on sustainability matters and opportunities globally
• Providing strategic executive communications and thought leadership support for Ford’s Chief Sustainability Officer
• Supporting rapid response and crisis communications efforts for emerging sustainability issues, including environmental policy, regulations, and safety
• Developing and persistently placing stories that establish and/or advance Ford’s standing as an industry leader in climate, environmental and other priority sustainability areas through owned, earned and paid channels
• Serving as a sustainability spokesperson for the company with the major media outlets and stakeholder groups
• Being a key contributor to planning and content development of Ford’s annual sustainability report and engagement with ESG investors on emerging ESG issues
• Leading planning and implementation of the launch of Ford’s annual Integrated Report
• Helping to track and manage risks and opportunities related to environmental issues and drivers of corporate reputation
• Working in partnership with internal and agency team members

Responsibilities

What you'll do…

Ford is open to a range of profiles including corporate, agency, governmental and NGO backgrounds. This individual must possess strategic communications skills, with an understanding of the Sustainability policy and influencer landscape, with an integrated advocacy and public affairs mindset. Operating as a strategist/doer, they will have a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across Ford’s communications team and partnering effectively with cross-functional business partners (which in this case will include Environmental Safety & Compliance, Government Relations, Community Engagement, Investor Relations, Marketing and other functions as needed). Ford is open to someone who has not yet held a perfectly analogous in-house role - as long as they have the requisite skills, relationships and credibility. Moreover, while commitment to Sustainability principles is critical, this individual must have a pragmatic, business-oriented mindset and the ability to balance mission-oriented aspirations with corporate realities.

Functional & Subject Matter Expertise

• Professional experience in communications, journalism or public affairs, with exceptional written and verbal communications and project management skills
• Track record of success managing strategic communications efforts for a corporation, NGO or public relations/government affairs agency
• Awareness of regional/global ESG metrics and indices or major importance to investors, NGOs, thought leaders and other stakeholders (e.g., CSRD, CDP, Global Reporting Initiative and TCF)
• Working knowledge of reputation management, issue-based communications, crisis communications, and influencing stakeholders via best-in-class social media and engagement strategies

Setting Strategy

• The ability to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support choice-making decisions and to align with the organization's overall strategy.
• Taking a creative approach to developing new and innovative ideas that will engage internal and external stakeholders and continue to raise the bar for Ford and the industry.
• The judgement to effectively balance the desire/need for progress with an understanding of the organization’s capacity to successfully implement plans based on realistic goals.

Qualifications

You'll have…

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 10+ years of experience in Communications or Marketing
• 7+ years of experience with proven success developing and executing Sustainability strategies and initiatives
• 3+ years of people management / supervisory experience
• Demonstrated success in operating in a large, complex, global organization or government agency

Even better, you may have…

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, or related field; advanced degree a plus
• Significant media relations experience and a record of building strong relationships, trust, and confidence with prominent influencers and stakeholders
• Ability to multi-task multiple projects in different states of completion, delivering them on time and within budget
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience with sustainability reporting requirements at global organization

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, and prescription drug coverage

• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare 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 an LL5
For more information on salary and benefits, 2025-benefits-and-comp-LL5-salary-plan-1.pdf

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 committed to a culturally diverse workforce. 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.