Senior Manager, Crisis Communications

Overview

Mission:
You will be responsible for the day-to-day operation and continuous advancement of Schneider Electric’s crisis communications capability. This role ensures the organization is equipped to identify emerging issues early, respond rapidly and effectively, and strengthen enterprise preparedness over time. This position plays a central coordinating role during active issues or crises—aligning messaging, integrating reputational considerations into decision-making, and partnering closely with Legal, Security, HR, Operations, Government Affairs, and Regional Communications.

The Senior Manager synthesizes complex, fast-moving information into clear, actionable guidance and helps leadership navigate ambiguity with confidence.

Crisis Communications Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day execution of the company’s global crisis communications capability, ensuring operational readiness and consistent response standards across markets.
• Manage and continuously enhance crisis monitoring, escalation, and rapid-response processes to ensure emerging issues are identified quickly and evaluated accurately.
• Serve as a core member of active crisis response teams, coordinating communications activity across corporate, regional, and functional stakeholders.
• Ensure tight alignment with Legal, Security, HR, Government Affairs, Operations, and business leadership during high-pressure situations.
• Prepare statements, Q&As, holding lines, internal guidance, and leadership materials that reflect real-time risk, reputational considerations, and business impacts.
• Lead post-incident assessments, capturing lessons learned and driving continuous improvement in process, tools, readiness, and execution.

Crisis Readiness, Simulations, and Training

• Design and lead crisis preparedness activities, including tablet sops, simulations, playbook refreshes, and training programs for communications teams and designated leaders.
• Ensure readiness routines evolve in line with emerging risks, business changes, and learnings from past events.
• Partner with regional and functional communications leads to strengthen crisis capability and confidence at the local level while maintaining global standards.

Monitoring, Escalation, and Issue Insight

• Oversee the crisis monitoring ecosystem, including vendor management, internal reports, alerting mechanisms, and escalation pathways.
• Distill monitoring outputs into actionable insight, helping leadership understand severity, trajectory, and potential reputational impact.
• Apply judgment to determine when to escalate issues and recommend appropriate response paths.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Build strong working relationships with Legal, Security, HR, Government Affairs, Risk, Sustainability, and business units.
• Ensure crisis communications considerations are integrated into broader enterprise incident-management structures.
• Help teams balance speed, accuracy, transparency, and reputational protection during fast-moving situations.

Measurement and Continuous Improvement

• Track crisis response performance using clear KPIs (speed, clarity, consistency, external sentiment).
• Contribute to readiness reporting and insight generation for senior leadership.
• Identify opportunities to enhance tools, protocols, training, or coordination models that strengthen overall crisis capability.

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Public Affairs/Policy, or a related field.
• 8–12 years of experience in corporate communications, public relations, issues management, or high-risk communications environments, with deep exposure to crisis communications.
• Demonstrated experience leading day-to-day crisis monitoring, escalation, response coordination, and post-incident reviews in a complex or matrixed organization.
• Proven ability to operate as a central coordinating lead during high-pressure situations, aligning diverse stakeholders toward a unified response.
• Experience developing and maintaining crisis playbooks, tabletop exercises, and training programs.
• Strong judgment, with the ability to assess risk and provide clear recommendations with incomplete information.
• Exceptional…