Senior Director, Communications Strategy & Operations

Leadout Capital; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadout Capital is seeking a strategic operator to join the Communications team. You will connect strategy to execution, shaping how the team plans, allocates resources, and measures impact to turn priorities into results.

You will partner with the CCO and senior leaders, driving planning cycles, OKRs, and cross‑functional alignment across media, creative engagement, finance, and legal, while building a scalable operating model and developing talent.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, program management, consulting, or chief-of-staff roles, ideally within communications, marketing, or another corporate function
• Strong strategic and analytical skills, with the ability to turn ambiguity into clear priorities and plans
• A track record of running complex, cross-functional work and keeping senior stakeholders aligned
• Financial fluency, including comfort with budgets, forecasting, and vendor management
• Sound judgment and discretion with sensitive information, and the credibility to work with executives
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complexity for senior audiences
• A collaborative, low-ego style and the ability to influence without formal authority
• Comfort with ambiguity and pace in a high-visibility environment

Responsibilities

• Translate strategy into action. Work with the CCO and leadership team to define priorities, sharpen goals, and build the plans, milestones, and metrics that turn them into results.
• Drive the planning and performance rhythm. Own the cadence of planning cycles, OKRs, executive reviews, and leadership and all-team meetings, ensuring discussions are focused on the right decisions and followed through.
• Be a thought partner to the CCO. Anticipate needs, pressure-test thinking, flag risks and opportunities early, and help manage the CCO’s priorities alongside the function’s.
• Shape resource decisions. Partner with the Communications operations team to support budget planning, forecasting, and tracking, including agency and vendor spend, and help leadership make informed trade-offs.
• Align the function. Work closely with leaders across media, creative engagement, and other Communications teams to align on priorities, resources, and timelines, and resolve conflicts before they become blockers.
• Connect across the enterprise. Partner with the Communications operations and strategy team and with Finance, People, Legal, and Marketing to avoid duplication, share best practices, and keep the function integrated with company priorities.
• Build how the team works. Identify opportunities to improve structure, processes, tools, and reporting, and design the operating model that helps the function scale.
• Develop talent. Lead and grow a small team and support hiring, onboarding, and organizational planning.

Job description

The Experience

The Communications team is looking for a strategic operator to help a large, fast-moving global function turn priorities into results. Working across the Global Communications team, this leader connects strategy to execution: shaping how the team plans, allocates resources, and measures impact, and making sure the work gets done. They are a trusted thought partner to the CCO and senior leaders, helping the function scale and stay focused on what matters most.

This role suits someone who thinks like a strategist and delivers like an operator, with sound judgment, an ability to see the whole system, and the credibility to drive alignment across a complex organization.

What You'll Actually Be Doing

• Translate strategy into action. Work with the CCO and leadership team to define priorities, sharpen goals, and build the plans, milestones, and metrics that turn them into results.
• Drive the planning and performance rhythm. Own the cadence of planning cycles, OKRs, executive reviews, and leadership and all-team meetings, ensuring discussions are focused on the right decisions and followed through.
• Be a thought partner to the CCO. Anticipate needs, pressure-test thinking, flag risks and opportunities early, and help manage the CCO’s priorities alongside the function’s.
• Shape resource decisions. Partner with the Communications operations team to support budget planning, forecasting, and tracking, including agency and vendor spend, and help leadership make informed trade-offs.
• Align the function. Work closely with leaders across media, creative engagement, and other Communications teams to align on priorities, resources, and timelines, and resolve conflicts before they become blockers.
• Connect across the enterprise. Partner with the Communications operations and strategy team and with Finance, People, Legal, and Marketing to avoid duplication, share best practices, and keep the function integrated with company priorities.
• Build how the team works. Identify opportunities to improve structure, processes, tools, and reporting, and design the operating model that helps the function scale.
• Develop talent. Lead and grow a small team and support hiring, onboarding, and organizational planning.

You're Our Person If...

• 10+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, program management, consulting, or chief-of-staff roles, ideally within communications, marketing, or another corporate function
• Strong strategic and analytical skills, with the ability to turn ambiguity into clear priorities and plans
• A track record of running complex, cross-functional work and keeping senior stakeholders aligned
• Financial fluency, including comfort with budgets, forecasting, and vendor management
• Sound judgment and discretion with sensitive information, and the credibility to work with executives
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complexity for senior audiences
• A collaborative, low-ego style and the ability to influence without formal authority
• Comfort with ambiguity and pace in a high-visibility environment

Even Better If...

• Experience in corporate communications, public affairs, or an agency environment
• Experience at a large, global technology company
• Experience building or scaling an operations function or operating model