Vice President, Brand and Public Relations

McCarthy Holdings; St. Louis (MO); Hybrid; USD 220,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. seeks a Vice President, Brand and Public Relations to lead the modernization and unification of our PR function across regions, shaping the enterprise voice and narrative.

This role owns the agency ecosystem, strategic partnerships, and executive visibility while preserving local relevance in our diverse markets. The leader will build a high-impact, data-driven PR program, drive media relationships, and collaborate with marketing, digital, events, and business

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of progressive PR and communications experience, including enterprise strategy and agency management.
• Experience leading in a decentralized/matrixed environment preferred.
• Ability to balance enterprise consistency with regional flexibility.
• Operate both strategically and operationally.
• Strong agency strategy and vendor management skills.
• Ability to lead through influence across regions and functions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the modernization, integration, and performance of McCarthy’s public relations function.
• Own the enterprise McCarthy story and voice across regions.
• Develop and advance an integrated PR strategy aligned to business priorities and growth goals.
• Audit relationships, scopes, contracts, and spend; define future agency work.
• Establish measures and operating rhythms for proactive media relations, thought leadership, and reputation protection.
• Strengthen alignment between corporate and regional marketing and communications teams.

Skills

Public relations

Communications strategy

Agency management

Executive leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in PR/communications/marketing

Tools

Vendor management

Media relations

Job description

Vice President, Brand and Public Relations

Marketing and Brand Communications—Dallas,TXSt. Louis,Missouri

The Vice President, Public Relations and Brand leads the modernization, integration, and performance of McCarthy’s public relations function and is the owner of the enterprise McCarthy story and voice. Reporting to the SVP, Marketing and Brand, this leader ties the regions together into one unified PR strategy -creating a more strategic, efficient, and enterprise-aligned model that strengthens reputation, improves coordination across regions, and delivers measurable business value while preserving local relevance.

This is an architect-and-operator role focused on structure, scale, unification, and vendor management. It owns the agency ecosystem and the future of agency work; it does not own crisis communications, which sits with the Director, Public Relations.

Lead enterprise public external relations strategy

• Develop and advance an integrated PR strategy aligned to McCarthy’s business priorities, reputation goals, and long-term growth agenda.
• Assess and manage the PR agency ecosystem,, audit relationships, scopes, contracts, and spend; manage inter-agency relationships; and define the future of agency work.
• Establish clear priorities, programs, measures, and operating rhythms for proactive media relations, thought leadership, executive visibility, issues management, and reputation protection.
• Build strong relationships with national, industry, business, trade, and local media, as well as influential third-party voices.
• Partner with the Director, Public Relations on executive visibility and thought leadership, and with brand, digital, social, events, and business leaders across the enterprise.
• Identify opportunities to elevate McCarthy’s expertise and perspective across construction, infrastructure, innovation, safety, people, culture, and the communities we serve.

Build and protect the McCarthy brand

• Help steward and evolve McCarthy’s brand strategy, positioning, voice, and narrative across audiences and channels.
• Translate the brand into practical guidance and tools that enable regional teams, business units, and leaders to communicate with confidence and consistency.
• Partner with marketing, communications, business leaders, and subject-matter experts to develop stories that are distinctive, evidence-based, and relevant to the audiences we seek to influence.
• Strengthen alignment between corporate and regional marketing and communications teams while preserving the local knowledge and relationships that make McCarthy effective.
• Ensure brand and PR work reflects McCarthy’s employee-owned culture and values in a way that is authentic, inclusive, and differentiated.

Lead through issues and moments that matter

• Partner with Director PR and Regional PR leads to build a response framework framework for emerging issues, reputational risks, and high-profile announcements.
• Prepare leaders and cross-functional partners with clear guidance, messaging, briefing materials, and decision support.
• Bring sound judgment, calm leadership, and a high level of discretion to sensitive matters.

Create a high-performing PR function

• Clarify roles, responsibilities, decision rights, and ways of working across the PR and Brand ecosystem.
• Build trusted partnerships with regional and corporate teams through transparency, collaboration, and shared accountability.
• Lead agency and external partner relationships, ensuring strong strategic value and disciplined execution.
• Establish measurement that connects communications activity to outcomes such as reputation, reach, influence, engagement, and business relevance.
• Develop talent, raise the quality of the work, and create an environment where people can do their best work together.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minium 12+ years of progressive PR and communications experience, including enterprise strategy and agency management.
• Experience leading in a decentralized/matrixed environment strongly preferred.
• Ability to balance enterprise consistency with regional flexibility.
• Operate both strategically and operationally
• Skilled at agency strategy and vendor management
• Ability to lead through influence across regions and functions.
• The ideal candidate is both a trusted counselor and an active builder: someone who can advise senior leaders, set a clear communications direction, create alignment across a complex organization, and translate McCarthy’s values (Genuine, We Not I, and All In) into credible action and communications.

Capabilities

• Enterprise PR strategy and unification
• Enterprise storytelling, voice, and narrative
• Agency strategy and management
• Operating model, governance, and measurement
• Executive amplification and speaker strategy
• Cross-functional and cross-regional leadership

McCarthy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veteran status.