Vice President of International Corporate

**Vice President of International** Corporate Communications**
**Location: Boston, MA (United States) o**r** **Zurich, Switzerland**

Are you passionate about corporate communications and reputational risk management? Do you have a “nothing is impossible” attitude; a knack for calm under pressure; and deep experience working with international journalists and in international markets? Have you served as a spokesperson for a large brand? Do you understand how managing risk through effective planning and proactive communications via all kinds of media can lead to better business outcomes?

We are a mission-driven organization that operates with the mentality and speed of a startup but has the resources of a large global company. We are looking for someone who is energized by the idea of managing reactive media relations and external communications for our non-English speaking markets, with a focus on Europe, and who gets great satisfaction out of navigating colleagues through challenging communications.

**The Opportunity**

EF Education First (EF) is seeking an experienced Vice President or Director of International Corporate Communications to strategize and implement an international reactive communications program to manage the reputation of EF and its many independent business units and associated organizations among stakeholders in markets outside of North America.

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**Your Responsibilities**
- Develop a deep understanding of our vast global organization while building relationships and trust with internal stakeholders.
- Set the strategy for our international corporate communication efforts with the goal of managing EF’s reputation in international markets outside of North America. Collaborate with the Vice President of Corporate Communications for English-language markets to align global efforts and strategies.
- Collaborate with and counsel business unit leadership teams and central functions such as legal on communications strategies, insight, guidance, and advice for reputation management.
- Serve as a thought partner to the executive team, setting strategic messaging, developing statements, prepping our spokespeople, and advising on reputation management strategies.
- Engage with journalists to mitigate challenging inquiries.
- Assess the need for external agency communications partners in certain markets and recommend where we should invest. Manage agency relationships.
- Develop internal expertise around how we respond to inbound media inquiries, and how our interactions with journalists reflect our top priority of ensuring that our customers are fully supported while they engage in our programs.
- Guide colleagues on effective social media communication strategies in crisis situations, including training in-product teams on navigating escalation and response strategies.
- Monitor emerging trends in education, travel, and language learning to identify potential future risks and execute scenario response planning processes.
- Stay informed about the latest corporate communication and social media technologies, including the implications of AI, and identify areas of growth and opportunity.

**The Energy You Bring**
- You are a trusted advisor and a diplomatic and effective communicator.
- Your core strengths include flexibility and resilience.
- You like to roll up your sleeves and get things done.
- You understand the media doesn’t always call from 9 to 5.
- You build networks, create coalitions, and find ways to build bridges across levels of knowledge and understanding.
- You balance a strategic mindset with a practical understanding of the needs of business.

**Your Qualifications**
- 15+ years of experience in corporate communications (in-house or agency) specifically focused on reputational risk management and communications.
- Deep experience working in an international setting and with international, non-English media markets, including developing and maintaining relationships with public relations agencies in international markets (ideally focused on Europe).
- Demonstrated experience guiding the strategy and execution of crisis communications management on social media channels.
- Excellent cross-cultural communication skills and the experience and ability to adapt approaches when working with international colleagues and businesses.
- Independent self-starter with who has built or run a crisis communications function that resulted in effective reputation management.
- Deadline-driven, multi-tasker who prioritizes and executes with mínimal supervision while working in a highly entrepreneurial, ever-evolving business environment.
- Exceptional verbal and written communications skills, including experience writing statements, talking points, briefing materials, social media responses, and working with translators in international markets.
- Language proficiency beyond English is a significant plus, with particular focus on Spanish, French, Italian, or German.

**Why You’ll Lo