Higginbotham, a privately held, independent insurance and financial services firm that ranks within the top 20 nationwide, has an immediate opening for a Senior Director of Corporate Communications & Brand Development in our Fort Worth, TX office.

Position Summary:

As the Senior Director of Corporate Communications & Brand Development, you will work closely with the Vice President of Corporate Communications to build, enhance, and scale an internal corporate communications strategy to ensure a more informed and engaged workforce across our footprint. You will also play a critical role in elevating the Higginbotham brand and organizational visibility by leading our external communication strategies. This leader will also have direct oversight and management responsibility for the internal communications, design & brand management team. You’ll work collaboratively with the Director of Communications, Director of Performance Marketing, Director of Media and multidisciplinary teams and play a leading role in the establishment of the business’s brand building strategies across all channels.

The right candidate is an organized, motivating and adaptable professional who can successfully design and execute a purposeful internal and external strategy for communications. They are action oriented, have the ability to think strategically, and have a passion for tactical and detailed marketing execution. They can convene and drive alignment across diverse cross-functional teams, and manage key deliverables to conclusion on time and on budget. Our ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic, cross-functional, and mission-driven environment.

Essential Tasks:

Internal Communications and Corporate Collateral

Develop and scale an internal corporate communications framework/standardization/strategy to include (but not limited to):

• • Regular leadership and business line updates
  • Employee engagement strategies
  • Department operational updates
• Manage and improve leverage of internal company portal (Higg Connect) and scale appropriately for company growth
• Work closely with our Community Relations team on employee engagement
• Build and implement leadership communications strategy
• Plan and implement crisis communication strategy
• Oversee trade show & event collateral development and process

Brand Development

• Stay current with industry best practices and emerging strategies that will keep brand marketing up to date and ensure the business a competitive edge in brand awareness, consumer acquisition, and retention
• Develop and mentor team of communications and graphic design professionals to collaboratively execute communication and brand development strategies
• Oversee Higginbotham’s acquisition brand integration strategy; onboarding new partners and ensuring all aspects of brand integration are met on time
• Develop and execute outbound brand development and external communications (media relations, press releases, some sponsorship agreements)
• Demonstrated experience in social media messaging and strategy
• Develop and manage organization reputation management strategy
• Create and execute effective public relations campaigns to promote key initiatives, events and achievements
• Manage relationship with outside PR partners on implementation strategies
• Work with Director of Performance Marketing to create and execute client/prospect email campaigns
• Manage various special projects as required (Higginbotham Leadership Conference, Corporate Awards, Investor Report)
• Oversee annual planning, design, and implementation of earned and paid media campaigns

Specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proven depth of experience in corporate communications
• Demonstrated skills in strategic communications, including creation of internally and externally facing communications strategy
• Strong understanding of design and brand standards and use of design platforms (Adobe Creative Suite, etc.)
• Experience with content management and marketing automation systems and strong plus (CRM, Sales Force, Word Press)
• Demonstrated ability to lead a team of communications professionals
• Demonstrated experience with OKR and KPI development and performance tracking
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as strong organization, prioritization, and project management skills

Experience and Education:

• 10 years of relevant experience in corporate communications and brand development
• 5 years in a supervisory role
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift 25 pounds.
• Repeated use of sight to read documents and computer screens.
• Repeated use of hearing and speech to communicate on telephone and in person.
• Repetitive hand movements, such as keyboarding, writing, 10-key
• Walking, bending, sitting, reaching and stretching in all directions.