Senior Manager, Reputation & Corporate Communications

Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive. 

At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place.

About the Team

The corporate communications team plays a pivotal role in Xero's corporate profile and reputation management. The team leads Xero's listed-company announcements and communications, executive profiling and company communications narrative. It is part of Xero's broader global communications team, and works closely with key people across Xero’s region communications teams, investor relations, finance, and legal.

How you’ll make an impact

This is a business-critical position that has become available due to an internal promotion.

The role requires a unique blend of commercial acumen, communications excellence and leadership to recognise and mitigate reputation issues before and when they happen. In this high profile role, you will work with stakeholders to manage the communications for live issues and crises that impact our customers, partners and Xero’s brand and reputation.

You’ll be responsible for important areas in Xero’s internal and external reputation communications, and you’ll help to execute relevant areas of Xero’s global communications strategies and plans. You’ll need to take a cross-organisational view to help successfully manage business stakeholders and Xero’s external brand. You’ll also understand global data security compliance in countries and cyber-security exposures (GDPR - UK, Notifiable Data Breach - Australia).

Success looks like

Delivering exceptional communications advice to Xero, ensuring the company is seen as an excellent and transparent communicator by the media, customers, partners and other important stakeholders. You will operate with a clear understanding of the importance of the customer/accountant/small business communities. 

You will work with the General Manager, Corporate Communications and the broader Corporate Communications team, and support the business to identify, implement and track strategic objectives. You will build strong working relationships with senior leaders and the wider Xero community and to be an important contributor to Xero’s success.

What you’ll do

• Manage our communications during live issues and crises that impact Xero customers, partners and the Xero brand
• Anticipate emerging risks and put in place proactive steps to mitigate wider reputational issues 
• Support our Customer Incident Management Team and Crisis Management team by providing advice, decisions and help with executing communications
• Understand and represent Xero’s customers and operating environments to help with quality advice and decision making
• Ensure related plans and documents are regularly reviewed, tested and signed off
• Work on proactive and reactive positioning of Xero on projects / campaigns that are key to supporting our reputation globally
• Build and maintain close working collaboration with Xero’s leaders, global and regional communications teams, and technology, product, legal, security, social media and marketing teams based around the world
• Manage multiple projects and stakeholders while delivering and implementing well thought out strategies and plans
• Utilise media measurement tools to provide analysis of trending issues and provide guidance and proactive plans to help us prepare and respond 
• Write compelling, jargon-free communications for multiple stakeholders
• Bring a high level of hustle and energy, resilience, creativity, sense of humour and team spirit 

What you’ll bring with you

• You will have at least 8-10 years of direct communications experience in-house at a listed company providing advice at a senior level. You will be highly energetic, resilient, passionate and focussed to deliver on strategies and objectives, and you’ll possess a strong knowledge and understanding of current trends in online and social media.
• Experience in issues management with a focus on reactive communications
• Listed company corporate communications experience
• Proven expertise in corporate communications delivering communications strategies for large scale programmes of work
• Worked in a senior communications role within a global company
• Demonstrated experience working with senior stakeholder groups
• A proven team player who is resilient, passionate and enthusiastic about their work
• Motivated by the success of small business and technology
• A focus on delivering business results, and responding with urgency on important matters
• A self-starter with excellent judgement, and good at anticipating and reacting to situations
• Understanding of financial markets, technology and global businesses

Why Xero

Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays!), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and your family, free medical insurance, wellbeing and sports programmes, employee resource groups, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, beautiful offices, flexible working, career development, and many other benefits that reflect our human value, you’ll do the best work of your life at Xero.

Our collaborative and inclusive culture is one we’re immensely proud of. We know that a diverse workforce is a strength that enables businesses, including ours, to better understand and serve customers, attract top talent and innovate successfully. At Xero we embrace diversity and inclusion and value a #challenge mindset.

Research has shown that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single competency or experience . If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be just the right person for this role and Xero. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application and throughout the interview process.

Xero is an NZ Immigration Accredited Employer and Rainbow Tick certified too.