Director, Communications

Director of Executive Thought Leadership

Level: P4

Location:

Chicago, New York, London

JLL is seeking a Director of Executive Thought Leadership to own how the firm’s most senior leaders are seen and recognized in the market. This is an individual contributor role with full ownership of the function and no direct reports. It owns the strategy and standards for executive positioning across the platforms where JLL leadership shows up: global speaking stages, earned media, owned content channels, and flagship internal forums.

The role reports to and takes direction from the Head of Corporate Communications and works across the Communications Center of Excellence.

The role sets the framework and governance for how JLL builds executive thought leadership, then partners with communications and marketing peers across the business to bring the strategy to life. It owns the model and the standards, and delivery happens through those partnerships.

The role brings together disciplines that have historically been managed separately: organic speaking, earned media, executive owned content, internal visibility, and on-stage and on-camera performance. The role will build a single in-house capability that gives a defined cohort of senior leaders coordinated, high-quality support, and to connect that support to clear business outcomes. The person must operate comfortably in a highly matrixed global organization and carry the presence to advise and brief members of the Global Executive Board.

The successful candidate will bring 7 to 10 years of relevant experience and a track record of building executive platforms inside large, matrixed organizations.

• Own the firm‑wide strategy, publishing cadence, and operating framework for executive positioning across senior leadership
• Own the function’s framework and outcomes, working through communications and marketing partners across business lines and corporate functions, under the direction of the Head of Corporate Communications
• Manage the intake and selection of leaders into the program, applying a clear, criteria‑based model that prioritizes the value and relevance of each leader’s perspective over seniority
• Run a regular review cycle that keeps the supported cohort current as business priorities shift
• Own prioritization of the function’s time and budget when demands compete, in agreement with the Head of Corporate Communications

• Set the approach and standards for executive platforms across speaking, media, and owned content, and map the right targets for each leader
• Direct the pursuit of organic speaking slots at premier global stages and media outlets, for example Davos (WEF), MIPIM, FII, and Semafor, in partnership with external communications
• Oversee ghostwriting and content development, delivered through partners, so each leader’s external narrative and owned content stay joined up
• Establish on‑stage, on‑camera, and broadcast performance coaching so leaders show up consistently well
• Partner with the business lines and corporate functions communications leads to give leaders visibility at flagship internal forums, recognizing that internal profile shapes external profile
• Work with digital and AI teams to enable self‑service tools that let the broader employee base amplify the brand at scale
• Manage external agency partners where specialist support is needed, holding them to consistent quality and reporting standards

• Define and own a measurement framework that spans activity, quality, and business impact, replacing awareness‑only reporting
• Set baselines where none exist today and define how the function’s contribution to pipeline is tracked, working with…