Chief Communications Officer

Job Description

Company:
Warner Bros. Discovery, a premier global media and entertainment company, offers audiences the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content, brands and franchises across television, film, streaming and gaming. The new company combines WarnerMedia's premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery's leading non-fiction and international entertainment and sports businesses.

CNN is a world leader in news and information, and seeks to inform, engage, and empower the world. Staffed 24 hours, seven days a week by a dedicated team in CNN bureaus around the world, CNN delivers news from journalists in every corner of the globe. CNN Digital has held the #1 ranking for US unique visitors for five consecutive years, with more unique visitors coming to CNN than any other news platform for 60 consecutive months.

Title: Chief Communications Officer - CNN

Location: New York, NY

Position Overview:
The Chief Communications Officer will be responsible for leading the communications strategy and team for CNN globally, including media relations and publicity; internal and external strategic communications; and image/media management.

This role will be responsible for assuring the organization's communications reflect its core values and advances CNN's business and programming strategy. This executive will partner with CNN's leadership team and collaboratively build and enhance the brand and direct the key communications functions, including media relations, employee communications, and specifically executive communications, support, and counsel.

This executive will be both the strategic communications tactician and one of the primary company spokespersons. In collaboration with the division heads of communication across Warner Bros. Discovery, the Chief Communications Officer will formulate an integrated communications vision for the organization, both internally and externally and lead a talented team of professionals to help implement and expand it.

Key Responsibilities:
• Developing and successfully implementing a comprehensive strategic communication plan that reinforces CNN's position as an industry leader and advances the company's strategic business goals with a variety of internal and external audiences, including business, general and trade media
• Providing strategic communications counsel and executive support to the CEO and C-Suite as a trusted advisor, including identifying and securing appropriate speaking engagements and opportunities for presentations, op-ed, and other forums that position the company's senior executives as leaders in the industry
• Developing and assuring the consistent dissemination of the company's key corporate messages
• Working in collaboration with the communications teams at Warner Bros. Discovery on enterprise communications objectives, to assure consistency of corporate messages and clear communication of the company's business goals, strategies, and performance to the entire array of internal and external audiences
• Leading and continue to develop CNN's world-class communications team
• Developing and implementing strategies to manage issues that could represent reputational challenges
• Serving as CNN's primary spokesperson
• Building and enhancing CNN's brand and advancing its reputation and corporate values inside and outside the industry

Chief Communications Officer Profile:
• The successful candidate has at least 20 years of communications/public relations experience working at a senior level in a major corporation or a public relations firm with experience managing the development and implementation of integrated strategic communications plans for large, complex, and global organizations. Preference for candidates with track records in either news, media or politics
• This executive is a proven communications strategist and tactician who has demonstrated the ability to build a brand and manage the reputation of a major business organization either as a public relations consultant or an in-house executive. The successful candidate has extensive experience as one of the primary spokespersons for a major corporation
• Smart, outgoing, personable, and collegial, this person values networking and appreciates the importance of listening. This executive is analytical and a critical thinker who is comfortable offering new and creative communications ideas that support the dissemination and understanding of the company, its unique position in the market and the strength of its performance and its brands
• The successful candidate has significant experience working successfully with national media and has an extensive network of contacts in the entertainment industry, as well as general media
• This executive has extensive experience counseling senior executives at the highest level and has proven ability to become a trusted advisor to them regarding both internal and external communications issues
• This person is an exceptional collaborator, coach and advisor who inspires confidence and trust in all of all stakeholders, from the most junior employee to the CEO of the company
• This candidate will have a healthy ego and should be self-confident to deal with high level executives across all the businesses, with the ability and knowledge to push back where appropriate
• The successful candidate is a strong advocate and implementer of internal communications, and understands that productivity and employee commitment are strongly affected by clear, ongoing, candid dialogue with all of the company's internal constituencies

Education:

An undergraduate degree, preferably in marketing or communications, is required; MBA or other graduate degree is a plus.

Compensation:

Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN intend to attract a superior Head of Global Communications and is prepared to offer an attractive compensation package including a base salary, plus bonus, and equity.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r0q058-3-135-183-46-42 in your application.