VP, Media Relations and Social Media

Who Are We?

Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That’s the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration.

The annual base salary range for this position is $ - $. The actual salary will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. Employees are also eligible for performance-based cash incentive awards.

The Corporate Communications team at Travelers aims to create messaging and content for external and internal audiences that is creative, concise and effective, and showcases our company’s thought leadership. As the VP, Head of Media Relations and Social Media, you will be responsible for developing and implementing proactive communications programs in the United States and United Kingdom that promote the company and its products and services in both traditional media and social media, including issues management in both channels.

• Establish strategic vision and best practices for the Media Relations and Social Media teams while overseeing the development and execution of integrated communications programs that directly advance business objectives and priorities.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, motivate and coach the team, providing timely and constructive feedback and fostering an environment of continuous learning with a heavy emphasis on writing and editing.
• Develop individuals’ expertise to position them as strategic business partners and trusted advisors.
• Identify public relations opportunities to build, protect and enhance Travelers’ reputation through clear, consistent and impactful external communications across all channels.
• Lead a team of media relations and social media professionals in developing and managing proactive and reactive external communications plans and programs across all media channels.
• Foster strong relationships with local, national, financial and trade media outlets.
• Partner with subject matter experts in the businesses to ensure that key business messages are integrated into communication strategies.
• Deliver the highest quality content, including press releases, media statements, key messages, social media posts and strategic plans.
• Monitor, measure, report and evaluate the effectiveness of news media coverage and social media through qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Develop and manage the annual budget.
• Foster a team culture of ongoing AI adoption, where intelligent tools are actively used to streamline processes and enhance the quality of produced materials.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, public relations, finance, or communications plus 15 or more years of experience in corporate communications or a related field.
• Insurance or financial services industry experience a plus.
• Demonstrated track record of effectively leading teams, with the ability to coach and develop team members and strategically align resources to accomplish objectives.
• Exceptional communications skills, with the ability to present, write, edit, and effectively adapt messaging to different audiences with acute attention to detail.
• Understanding of the media landscape and social media platforms and best practices.
• Extensive experience working with reporters.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and planning effective external communications strategies, with the ability to lead a team to implement those strategies.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build internal and external relationships.
• Ability to effectively navigate a large matrixed organization.
• Thorough knowledge of trends, emerging platforms, and new technologies in the social and digital marketing space, as well as innovative methods and techniques for communicating with multiple audiences.
• Strong business acumen,…