Public Affairs Associate

Associate of External Affairs

Location: Spartanburg, SC

Employment Type: Direct Hire

The Position

We are seeking an Associate, External Affairs to provide coordination and execution support external Affairs team in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Reporting to the Director of External Affairs, this role supports both the Director and the Community Relations Manager — keeping the team's communications, events, and day-to-day operations organized and running smoothly.

This role sits at the coordination layer of the team: drafting communications materials and FAQs, coordinating event logistics, tracking stakeholder activity, and providing general support so the Director and Manager can stay focused on strategy and relationship-building. The ideal candidate is highly organized, a polished and confident writer, and comfortable moving across a range of tasks in a fast-paced, community-facing environment, with room to grow into greater ownership as the team scales.

Responsibilities

Communications Support

• Draft and maintain FAQs, talking points, and messaging documents to support the Director and Manager in community and stakeholder communications
• Support development of external-facing content, including social media, newsletters, and website updates
• Assist in preparing briefing materials, presentations, and reports for internal and external audiences
• Help translate technical or operational updates into clear, accessible language for community-facing materials

Event Coordination & Logistics

• Coordinate logistics for community events, sponsorship activations, and stakeholder meetings, including venue, vendor, and materials coordination
• Support event execution on-site, including signage, attendance tracking, and post-event follow-up
• Maintain and update the team's master calendar of events, deadlines, and commitments
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for the Director's and Manager's community and stakeholder engagements

Team & Administrative Support

• Maintain a log of community and stakeholder inquiries, concerns, and requests, and support triage and routing to the Director and Manager as appropriate
• Provide day-to-day coordination support across the External Affairs team's priorities and workstreams
• Maintain organized records of communications materials, event history, and team documentation
• Support tracking of philanthropic, sponsorship, and community program documentation as needed
• Assist with ad hoc research, drafting, and logistics requests from the Director and Manager

Requirements

• 2-4 years of experience in external affairs, communications, public affairs, community relations, or a related coordination role
• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, business, public affairs, or a related field preferred
• Excellent, polished writing skills, with demonstrated experience drafting FAQs, talking points, or external-facing communications; writing sample or portfolio may be requested
• Experience coordinating events or logistics in a professional setting
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple workstreams and deadlines simultaneously
• Ability to operate as a flexible, hands-on contributor supporting multiple team members and priorities, with a polished and professional presence
• Comfortable with public/event visibility as a representative of the company
• Familiarity with CRM or stakeholder-tracking tools, grant management or corporate philanthropy software, and content/social media scheduling platforms is a plus
• Experience in HPC, data center, energy, or infrastructure environments is a plus