Senior Manager, Public Affairs & Crisis Management

AIR Communities; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

AIR Communities is a Blackstone portfolio company and a leader in multifamily real estate, focusing on high-quality apartment communities and disciplined asset management. The Senior Manager for Public Affairs & Issues Management will lead escalated issues, mitigate risk, and protect AIR’s reputation across legal, government, communications, and operations teams.

The role requires strong judgment, structured thinking, and the ability to distill complex situations into actionable guidance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, political science, or related field.
• 8 – 10+ years of high-stakes reputation management experience with a strong public affairs lens.
• Proven experience in issues management, strategic communications, crisis management, government affairs, corporate affairs, consulting, and/or a related field, including engagement with media, government officials, regulatory agencies, community stakeholders, and other external influencers.
• Proven experience managing complex issues across legal, operational, and reputational dimensions.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the central lead on escalated, sensitive, and high-profile issues, owning the process from intake through resolution.
• Partner with AIR and Blackstone stakeholders to assess risk, align on strategy, and execute coordinated responses.
• Develop communications materials required for issue prevention, response, and resolution.
• Support training and development of new processes, protocols and issues preparedness work.
• Proactively identify patterns, vulnerabilities, and emerging risks to help prevent issue recurrence.
• Navigate issues across internal teams, third-party partners, and external audiences including media and elected officials.
• Rapidly assess complex situations, identifying key drivers, risks, and downstream implications.
• Think big picture to anticipate reputational risks and opportunities, while zooming into critical details to inform strategy and execution.
• Develop solutions that balance business objectives, operational realities, and reputational considerations.
• Navigate competing priorities and perspectives to drive alignment and resolution.
• Build strong relationships and work collaboratively across internal and external partners to ensure coordinated issue management and consistent execution.
• Collaborate with a small, high-performing cross-functional team to develop coordinated strategies, align stakeholders, and drive effective issue resolution.
• Act as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, providing clear, practical guidance on reputational and operational risks.
• Translate complex situations into concise, executive-ready summaries and recommendations.
• Support leadership and colleagues in making informed, timely decisions in high-pressure situations.
• Participate in a rotating on-call schedule and support high-priority issues during evenings, weekends, and other non-business hours as needed.

Skills

Public affairs

Crisis management

Strategic communications

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications, political science, or related field

Job description

AIR Communities is a Blackstone portfolio company and a leader in multifamily real estate, focusing on high-quality apartment communities and disciplined asset management. The Senior Manager for Public Affairs & Issues Management will lead escalated issues, mitigate risk, and protect AIR’s reputation across legal, government, communications, and operations teams.

The role requires strong judgment, structured thinking, and the ability to distill complex situations into actionable guidance.