Director of Communications - Americas (Touring & Resident)

Teams: Touring show PR teams (embedded on tour) + Resident show PR teams, and their respective agency rosters

Role Purpose

The Director of Communications – Americas (Touring & Resident) is responsible for driving demand, shaping reputation, and ensuring cultural relevance for Cirque du Soleil across touring markets and corporate narratives in Canada and the Americas. 

This role elevates communications into a strategic growth engine, integrating PR, corporate narrative, and public affairs to build anticipation, unlock market opportunities, and support commercial performance across all touring shows. 

Based in Montreal, this role acts as the central communications and public affairs lead, ensuring alignment between show storytelling, corporate positioning, and cross-functional execution. 

Core Mission

• Drive anticipation, urgency, and sustained demand for international touring and resident shows
• Make communications a core lever of the show marketing mix, fully integrated with paid, CRM, and ticketing
• Lead, develop, and set standards for the touring and resident show PR teams and the agencies that support them
• Own the strategy and governance of show-specific social media channels as an earned and owned demand driver
• Leverage public affairs as a growth enabler to unlock market access, market entry, and partnerships
• Ensure communications is a core driver of ticket revenue and brand equity
• Orchestrate cross-functional alignment to deliver cohesive show launches across diverse international markets

Key Responsibilities

1. Show Communications Strategy – International Touring, Resident Shows & Public Affairs

• Lead and oversee an international show communications strategy spanning touring productions, resident shows, and public affairs
• Embed communications within the end-to-end demand engine (onsale → launch → sustain), in lockstep with market marketing plans
• Integrate public affairs into market entry and growth strategies for new territories
• Lead communications strategy in support of sponsorships and business development, including building relationships with key stakeholders, and developing joint communication plans with partners

2. Show Communications Leadership

• Own communications strategy and performance across all international touring and resident productions
• Ensure each show delivers:
• Clear, differentiated narrative
• Strong local and cultural relevance, adapted per market and language
• Full lifecycle comms (pre-onsale → launch → sustain)
• Implement standards, playbooks, and governance that scale across markets and local agency partners
• Act as spokesperson for international shows and manage show-level issues in market, escalating to corporate communications at HQ where required

3. Show-Specific Social Media Ownership

• Ensure each show PR team owns the strategy, management, and community engagement for its show-specific social media channels
• Set the content, tone, and publishing standards that keep show channels distinctive while consistent with the masterbrand
• Align show channel activity to the onsale, launch, and sustain calendar in each market
• Drive creator, influencer, and talent-led content through show channels to build cultural relevance and organic reach
• Set and track channel performance measures (growth, engagement, referral to ticketing) alongside earned media KPIs
• Ensure coordination with central brand and social teams on shared assets, escalation paths, and community management protocols

4. Public Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement

• Leverage public affairs as a strategic growth enabler by building relationships with:
• Government and public sector stakeholders across international markets
• Tourism boards, city partners, venues, and cultural institutions
• Unlock opportunities to:
• Support market entry for touring and resident shows
• Facilitate partnerships and local integration
• Strengthen Cirque du Soleil’s institutional influence for the Americas
• Coordinate closely with internal stakeholders to align on regulatory, reputational, and market access considerations, including visas, work permits, and cross-border touring requirements

5. Cross-Functional Orchestration

• Own coordination across non-marketing functions to ensure aligned execution and messaging around shows, including:
• Legal
• HR (incl. talent mobility, immigration)
• Sustainability
• Operations
• Sponsorship & partnerships
• Act as the central orchestrator ensuring communications supports and amplifies show and market decisions
• Ensure consistency between internal decisions, external messaging, and market execution, and act as the two-way bridge between international markets and HQ

6. Cultural Relevance & Media Impact

• Position Cirque du Soleil’s shows as culturally relevant and premium in international markets
• Build relationships with Tier 1 media, creators, and influencers across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific
• Activate cultural moments and partnerships tied to international show launches and runs

7. Team Leadership, Agency Governance & Performance

• Lead and develop the PR teams embedded with the touring shows and the PR teams responsible for the resident shows, across multiple markets, time zones, and languages
• Build a consistent operating model, capability plan, and career path across both team groups, including onboarding for new tours and openings
• Approve and sign off on all agency appointments, scopes, and budgets proposed by the touring and resident show PR teams
• Define and manage the international agency ecosystem, setting selection criteria, performance standards, and review cadence
• Set KPIs tied to business impact (demand, awareness, launch momentum, ticket sales, social channel performance)
• Partner with marketing and analytics to link comms and social to revenue outcomes