Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs - Financial Communications

More about the role:

What you'll do:

Strategic Client Counsel & Offering Positioning

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior executives, investor relations teams, corporate communications leaders, and legal counsel on high-profile business, financial, and reputational matters.
• Counsel clients on communications opportunities and risks associated with earnings announcements, strategic transactions, executive transitions, corporate transformations, activist situations, regulatory matters, and other sensitive issues.
• Develop executive-level messaging strategies that effectively communicate business performance, growth strategy, corporate purpose, and long-term value creation.
• Present strategic recommendations directly to C-suite leaders and board-level stakeholders.
• Contribute to the continued enhancement, positioning and promotion of this specialized offering within the external marketplace and to internal teams.

Financial Communications & Investor Relations

• Lead communications strategy around quarterly earnings announcements, investor presentations, and other financial events.
• Partner closely with investor relations teams to develop compelling investor narratives that resonate with analysts, shareholders, and financial media.
• Provide strategic counsel and content development support for Quarterly earnings cycles, Investor Days, Capital markets events, IPOs and public company debuts, Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, Corporate restructurings and transformations, and Shareholder engagement initiatives.
• Support clients through milestone corporate moments, including IPOs, bell-ringing events, significant listings, and other high-profile market events.
• Translate complex financial results, business performance, and strategic initiatives into clear and compelling stakeholder narratives.

Narrative Development & Executive Communications

• Craft high-impact narratives and messaging platforms that shape perception among investors, employees, media, policymakers, and other key stakeholders.
• Lead development of Earnings materials, Investor presentations, CEO and executive speeches, Shareholder communications, Employee communications, Strategic messaging frameworks, Crisis communications materials, Board and leadership briefing documents.
• Serve as a senior writer and editor for high-stakes communications where precision, judgment, and speed are critical.
• Distill complex business issues into clear, persuasive, and audience-specific communications.

Media Relations & Market Visibility

• Develop proactive and reactive media strategies surrounding financial news and corporate events.
• Lead external communications programs that support key business milestones, financial announcements, and corporate reputation objectives.
• Cultivate and leverage relationships with financial, business, technology, and corporate reporters.
• Serve as a senior advisor on media engagement strategy, spokesperson positioning, and risk management.
• Support selective media outreach and pitching efforts, particularly with business, financial, and trade media.

Team Leadership & Account Management

• Lead multidisciplinary account teams across financial communications, corporate reputation, public affairs, executive communications, and crisis management assignments.
• Oversee project planning, timelines, budgets, and resource allocation to ensure flawless execution across multiple complex engagements.
• Drive collaboration among agency specialists, client stakeholders, legal advisors, investor relations teams, and executive leadership.
• Mentor and develop junior team members while fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous growth.
• Contribute to business development efforts, client expansion opportunities, and strategic agency initiatives.

Experience that contributes to success:

• 10-12 years of experience in financial communications, investor relations, corporate communications, public relations, or strategic communications consulting.
• Demonstrated experience advising publicly traded and Fortune 500 companies on financial communications and business-critical issues.
• Strong understanding of public company reporting, earnings cycles, investor expectations, and financial market dynamics.
• Proven ability to develop investor narratives and executive communications that support enterprise value creation.
• Significant experience supporting or leading communications surrounding earnings announcements, Investor Days, IPOs, M&A transactions, and major corporate milestones.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling capabilities, including experience developing high-stakes communications for executive audiences.
• Experience counseling senior executives and serving as a client-facing strategic advisor.
• Strong executive presence and the ability to confidently engage with C-suite and board-level stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent project management, organizational, and client service skills.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, high-pressure environments while managing multiple priorities simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior agency experience leading complex corporate, financial, or special situations accounts.
• Established relationships with financial, business, technology, and corporate media.
• Experience advising clients in the technology, entertainment, retail, consumer, or broader Fortune 500 sectors.
• Familiarity with financial intelligence platforms and research tools such as Bloomberg, FactSet, AlphaSense, or Capital IQ.
• MBA, CFA, investor relations certification, or related financial communications expertise is a plus.

Burson is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. 

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