External Communications Strategist
Are you a dreamer, innovator, thinker and a do-er who believes in contributing to something that makes difference?
Make an impact. Join PMI.
How will you make a difference to PMI? The External Communications Strategist III is an execution-first, senior individual contributor responsible for driving earned media opportunities and narrative enablement in support of PMI’s corporate reputation, thought leadership, and strategic priorities. This role sits within the PR + Communications team and operates with a high degree of autonomy, judgment, and ownership. As a Level III individual contributor, this role is expected to operate as a trusted advisor within Communications—anticipating opportunities, identifying risks, and independently driving work forward while ensuring alignment to broader narrative and reputational priorities. You will provide strategic counsel to senior stakeholders on external narrative direction, message discipline, and reputational considerations, and recommend narrative adjustments based on trends, current events, and performance insights.
What you’ll bring to the role:
Earned Media Strategy & Agency Partnership
- Collaborate with PR agency to identify story opportunities and develop timely, compelling pitch angles aligned to priority narrative beats for both B2B and consumer audiences.
- Maximize PR agency performance helping to sharpen briefs, challenge thinking, and ensure proactive, high-quality execution against PMI’s strategic communications goals.
- Partner with PR agency (and consult with internal stakeholders, including regional and functional leads) on developing strategy and positioning for global media house moments.
- Partner with the broader Marketing organization to source appropriate community or executive spokespeople; vet, prepare, and align them for earned media pitching and engagements.
- Use media intelligence and performance insights (e.g., message pull-through, tier-1 quality, topic traction) to identify narrative opportunities and gaps, and to refine story angles and pitching strategy.
- Shape earned media strategies that strengthen PMI’s discoverability and influence in search and AI-driven answer environments, ensuring coverage reinforces desired brand perception, priority narratives, and authoritative topic associations.
Earned & Sponsored External Opportunities
- Independently or collaboratively identify and execute strategic earned opportunities for PMI executives or community spokespeople to reach unaware or new audiences (e.g., third-party events, podcasts, partner activations, key account–adjacent moments).
- Partner with PR agency and relevant internal teams to evaluate, secure, and execute selective sponsored opportunities (e.g., panels, conferences, tentpole events) that advance PMI’s narratives and reputational goals.
- Assess external opportunities for narrative fit, audience value, and reputational considerations; recommend go/no-go decisions and execute approved engagements end-to-end.
- Identify and shape thought leadership platforms (e.g., executive bylines, strategic reports, high-impact forums, and selective partnerships) that reinforce priority narratives and differentiate PMI’s point of view.
Narrative Ownership & Enablement
- Lead efforts for defined corporate message houses, including maintenance of current proof points, examples, and data, ensuring they reflect evolving business priorities and external context.
- Own external narrative governance for assigned topics (message architecture, claims/proof points, and executive-ready guidance), ensuring consistency across earned media, executive platforms, and thought leadership moments.
- Define what is included in narrative-specific enablement kits (e.g., message houses, executive-ready slides, talk tracks, FAQs, supporting materials) and proactively distribute to internal stakeholders and executives ahead of external opportunities.
- Maintain and refresh enablement kits on a regular cadence;