Senior Manager, Executive Communications

Cohere; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekly lunch stipend

Health and dental benefits

RRSP matching / 401K

Parental leave

Job summary

Cohere is hiring a Senior Manager, Executive Communications to stand up and scale our executive communications function. You will work with C-Suite and a broad bench of technical and business experts to shape messaging for governments, enterprises, and customers on the world stage.

You will build strategy, manage a small team, and drive data-driven communications across multiple channels while aligning with Cohere's mission and regulatory considerations.

Qualifications

• 10–12 years of experience overseeing executive communications, ideally in-house.
• 3+ years of people management experience.
• Able to provide fierce feedback collaboratively to executives and implement feedback.
• Scrappy, outside-the-box thinker who delivers solutions.
• Experience in pre-IPO communications.
• Policy and regulatory communications experience.
• Exceptional writing with the ability to distill complex topics.
• Trusted advisor to senior leaders and HR teams.
• Highly organized with strong project management skills.
• Creativity in formats, channels, and storytelling.
• Navigating organizational dynamics and building relationships across levels.

Responsibilities

• Refine executive communications strategy to maximize opportunities on major stages.
• Develop and implement corporate communications aligning with goals, values, and brand.
• Drive content across speaking engagements, op-eds, podcasts, and social channels.
• Build and manage a small team (speechwriter + external vendor).
• Develop and execute rapid response for executives.
• Oversee high-impact forums: speaking engagements, conferences, events, leadership meetings.
• Lead storytelling initiatives linking daily work to Cohere's mission and customer success.
• Use data and audience research to inform strategies for employees, customers, partners, investors.
• Support crisis and issues communications with cross-functional coordination with legal.
• Serve as central hub integrating internal/external communications and executive messaging.

Skills

Executive communications

Storytelling

Stakeholder management

Writings & editing

Public speaking

Leadership

Job description

Who are we?

Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems.

We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.

We are a global technology company co-headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York City, Montreal, Seoul, Germany and Paris. Join us!

Why this role?

Cohere has a strong AI narrative, the most deployable product, and a CEO who co-authored the foundational paper of modern AI. The company is positioned to become the transatlantic leader in sovereign AI for enterprise and government, and needs a storytelling engine to deliver that story at scale. This role sits within the team that is building that engine.

In this cross functional role, you will stand up our Executive Communications function, working alongside our deep bench of technical and business experts including our three, cofounders Chief Financial Officer, Chief AI Officer, SVP Government Affairs and many more. You'll create the executive communications strategy that fuels our growth among governments and enterprises in the most highly-regulated industries. In addition to partnering directly with C-Suite executives, you’ll nurture how we talk to customers, partners, and employees, including how we show up on the biggest stages around the world.

This is a rare opportunity to build an executive communications function at a fast-growing company in the most dynamic space in technology. This is a role for someone who gets excited at the push-and-pull process of working alongside executives - who is as adept at taking feedback as they are driving for alignment.

As Senior Manager, Executive Communications you will:

• Refine our existing executive communications strategy to ensure Cohere shows up for the best opportunities on the biggest stages

• Develop and implement comprehensive Corporate Communications strategies that align with organizational goals, values, and brand positioning across internal and external audiences

• Drive content across a variety of surfaces including speaking opportunities, op-eds, podcasts, and executive social media.

• Build and manage a small team of two, including one speechwriter and one external vendor

• Develop and execute rapid response muscle on behalf of execs

• Oversee high-impact communications forums including executive speaking engagements, industry conferences, customer events, and internal leadership gatherings

• Lead cross-functional executive storytelling initiatives that connect daily work to Cohere's mission, amplify customer success stories, and elevate executive thought leadership in the marketplace

• Leverage data-driven insights and audience research to inform executive communications strategies that resonate with employees, customers, partners, investors, and industry influencers

• Support Corporate Communications team in crisis and issues communications preparedness and response across all stakeholder groups, sometimes coordinating with legal, and functional teams to protect corporate reputation and stakeholder trust

• Serve as the central executive communications hub, ensuring seamless integration and consistency between internal communications, external PR, marketing narratives, and executive messaging across all touchpoints

You may be a good fit if you:

• Have 10-12 years of experience overseeing executive communications ideally in-house and within a fast-paced, high-growth tech or AI environment

• Are 3+ years of experience in people management

• Are comfortable providing fierce feedback collaboratively to executives, and know how to implement feedback independently for better results

• Are scrappy. You thrive in thinking “outside the box” and find joy in marrying a problem to its solution

• Are adept in pre-IPO communications

• Have experience in policy and regulatory communications

• Are an exceptional writer with a talent for distilling complex, cross-functional topics into simple, compelling narratives

• Have experience serving as a communications business partner or trusted advisor to senior leaders, executives, and people/human resources teams

• Are highly organized and process-driven, with strong project management skills and a bias for action

• Bring high levels of creativity to communications – in format, channel, and storytelling

• Are comfortable navigating organizational dynamics and building strong relationships across all levels

• Thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and know how to prioritize ruthlessly

• Cohere is committed to fair and transparent pay practices. The salary range listed for this role reflects the expected base compensation. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, education, and experience.

• For candidates in the United States, the Compensation Range is : $155,000 – $240,000 USD

• For candidates in Canada, the Compensation Range is : $220,000 – $270,000 CAD

Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:

• A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.

• Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.

• RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme.

• 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent.

• Annual enrichment benefits:

  Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit.

  Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.

• 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!)

• Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.

How and Where We Work:

• Cohere is remote-friendly. We have offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, and more coming soon.

• For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events.

• For those not near an office: a co-working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city.

• Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly.

We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.

We may use AI-enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.