Senior Specialist, Corporate Communications

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Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of professional experience in communications/media
• Experienced in crisis communications and reputation management; can balance navigating sophisticated projects under pressure
• Solid business acumen and a basic understanding of public company reporting standards; experience supporting financial communications, working with investor relations, or working on quarterly earnings reports is considered an asset
• A self-starter; someone who can take a complex project brief and execute it seamlessly with minimal direction
• Deadline-driven and adept to keeping partners advised on progress of work, including when priorities shift
• A goal-oriented critical problem solver with good project management skills; a track record for building well-organized communications plans, facilitating decision-making and consensus among internal stakeholders, tackling complicated and urgent problems, and getting positive results
• Highly organized and process-oriented; takes initiative to implement organizational standards and procedures for the benefit of the broader team
• Meticulous attention to detail; delivers work that is well-reviewed and thoughtfully organized, remembers feedback and implements it on an ongoing basis throughout projects
• Experience with media relations and eagerness to develop this skill further
• Combined experience working as a reporter/journalist and in a corporate communications role at a large company is considered an asset
• A developing network of prominent media contacts across national and local mainstream, business, consumer, tech, and finance publications is considered an asset (real estate, mortgage, or housing media contacts are considered a bonus)
• Experience supporting executive thought leadership communications tactics and landing earned opportunities that positively impacts company reputation
• An exceptional writer and communicator with experience creating content for press releases, blog posts, social media, and other communication channels
• Familiarity with AP style is preferred
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment; navigating evolving crises under pressure and balancing multiple priorities on tight timelines
• A supportive teammate willing to learn from others, share success, and roll up their sleeves to help solve problems proactively and reactively
• A hardworking and motivated professional looking to build their skills and grow their career at Zillow
• Experience working closely with senior management and other leaders across the business; a track record of partnering closely with teams and other departments across different organizational functions, and working on critical and high-profile projects
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with experience working in a flexible/remote work environment; comfortable with ‘Work From Home’ technology tools like Slack, G Drive, Zoom etc

Responsibilities:

• Working cross-functionally with different partners across the communications team and broader business to seek out, understand and develop storytelling opportunities that show progress on our company initiatives, highlight our innovation, and propel our mission to make home a reality for more people
• Work with Zillow’s legal, industry, economic research, CSR, social impact and product teams to build, understand, and communicate policies and initiatives
• Collaborating with thought leaders across the business to become a subject matter expert and seek out story-telling opportunities
• Collaborating with comms colleagues to support product and brand storytelling opportunities
• Driving reputation management and crisis management initiatives to protect and enhance Zillow’s reputation, fuel our competitive advantage, and maintain our position as the most trusted brand in real estate
• Develop thorough, creative, and effective approaches to difficult communication challenges in reactive crisis and incident management scenarios that impact our employees, our business, and our industry
• Supporting Zillow’s Natural Disaster and Crisis Response protocols alongside cross-functional business partners, including Emergency Response, Employee Communications, Marketing, and more.
• Supporting and leading on incident response communications tactics, including tech issues, customer issues, and other incidents that pose a potential reputational risk for the business
• Working in partnership with Legal, Government Relations, and other business partners to organize our communication strategies related to ongoing litigation, legal and public advocacy projects
• Supporting thought leadership strategy and execution to build the profile of our executive spokespeople and enhance our reputation
• Researching earned media and speaking opportunities relevant to Zillow’s audiences and spokespeople
• Supporting pitching and outreach efforts for earned and owned opportunities to build and promote Zillow executive profiles across the industry
• Fostering and establishing local, regional, and national media relationships by serving as a trusted source and educator about Zillow
• Supporting the prepping and coaching executive and other strategic spokespeople in its portfolio of real estate brands by offering strategic counsel, messaging guidance, insight on news cycles, media personalities, and more
• Engaging in relevant media and content to help advise our strategy and approach
• Developing, leading, and performing a broad range of external communications plans in support of the company's advocacy, sustainability, social impact and policy efforts to support overarching corporate objectives
• Including Zillow’s annual Sustainability Report and ongoing Social Impact initiatives
• Supporting financial communications, investor relations, and the quarterly earnings process through written content, speaker prep, and media relations
• Writing and editing a variety of corporate materials, including press releases, speeches, company announcements, and owned content and social media, ensuring consistency in tone and messaging
• Developing and facilitating the execution of communication projects from inception to completion, including earned media, stakeholder communications, employee communications, owned content and social media and more.