The Vice President, Public Relations & Corporate Communications leads communication strategies for C.H. Robinson including public relations, social media, events, and enterprise brand and CEO communications. C.H. Robinson is a Fortune 200 that is committed to leveraging the communications function to help our organization achieve business objectives. We are transforming the way we communicate our value proposition including becoming more overt in the marketplace. We have significant momentum, and in this role, you will create and execute innovative strategies to help us accelerate our progress. In this critical leadership position, you are responsible for driving new, creative strategies for C.H. Robinson to help establish and cement our communication platform. You will have the ability to directly impact the global brand and competitive advantage of C.H. Robinson. The ideal candidate has strong executive presence; has depth of knowledge in PR strategies and experience with CEO/President level communications; demonstrates commercial understanding including business strategies and executive priorities; and is a critical thinker with strong problem solving abilities.

This position reports to the Head of Global Marketing and is located at our Corporate Headquarters in Eden Prairie, MN.

Responsibilities:

• Build Communications, Public Relations, Social Media, and Events strategy for the organization that achieves business objectives while focusing on global brand recognition and understanding of the unique value C.H. Robinson offers in the marketplace. This includes garnering global and national coverage and ensuring successful execution and implementation of strategies that enable C.H. Robinson to grow its awareness, consideration, and customer base.
• Lead communications strategy founded in key messages tied to C.H. Robinson’s customer promise, brand positioning and competitive advantages in the marketplace.
• Lead the strategy for managing relationships (with external media outlets including business, technology and industry) across many platforms, with additional focus on online media.
• Oversee the communications strategy for CEO communications, both internally and externally.
• Work collaboratively with senior leaders across the enterprise to ensure understanding, alignment and integration of public relations and social channel strategies with other areas outside of this role.
• Serve as company spokesperson in addition to developing additional spokesperson talent.
• Collaborate across North America and Global offices and divisions to adapt execution of the strategy to meet client needs and to ensure messages and tactics are commercially relevant.
• Manage the PR efforts surrounding acquisitions, executive leadership changes, dispositions, external events and other material announcements
• Support reputation management and crisis communications as needed.
• Cultivate a high performing team by building skills through coaching, mentoring and ongoing training and development.
• Select, develop, and evaluate team members to ensure the effectiveness and alignment with current and future goals and initiatives.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in communications and public relations or related field.
• Must have significant earned media experience
• Experience working for or with Fortune 1000 company or equivalent experience with large scale political campaigns
• Experience leading and developing high performing teams
• Experience working directly with a CEO/President level leaders on an internal/external communications strategy
• Proven experience crafting and writing compelling press releases and other supporting media materials to amplify messaging
• Ability to travel (up to 20%)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Outstanding written communication and interpersonal skills; strong track record of successfully serving as enterprise level communications lead; ability to build and develop strong relationships
• Organizationally savvy with proven ability to drive results in a cross-functional, matrixed organization
• Global experience and proven ability to develop and cultivate strong working relationships and credibility with geographically dispersed stakeholders at multiple levels
• Proven ability to lead, facilitate, influence, and organize across groups and at multiple levels of the organization
• Strong ability to craft compelling, commercially relevant messages
• Experience crafting technology narratives and messaging
• Critical thinking ability; independently and proactively identify problems, propose solutions and execute.
• Servant leadership attitude with constant focus on what is in the best interest of the company
• Experience in a global, matrixed organization
• Broad industry perspective, strong network of external marketing professionals, connected to the external communications and marketing community.