Our public platform serves 100 million people every month, making it one of the 50 most popular websites in the world. Our asynchronous knowledge management and collaboration offering Stack Overflow for Teams, is transforming how people work.

For the first time, Stack Overflow is looking for a Director of Communications to help lead external and internal communications for the company. This communications leader will be tasked with telling the story of our public platform to new and existing audiences while elevating the profile of our SaaS Stack Overflow for Teams product to potential users and buyers. The role reports to the Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Who we're looking for:

• You are a trusted partner to the company’s Senior Leadership Team, with experience working with executive teams.
• You’ll work closely with the VP of Marketing and Communications to tell the company’s story, and you’ll act as counsel to the Senior Leadership Team on media relations, thought leadership (including talks at conferences), and internal communications.
• You are an expert communicator: you are comfortable ideating, writing, and editing. 
• You are a relationship builder, with strong reporter relationships and the ability to work closely with the company’s CEO.
• You can manage our agency relationships in order to drive them towards maximum results. (Experience working at an agency is nice; experience working with an agency is a must.)
• You have your finger on the pulse of media trends and media consumption habits -- from the top tech publications influencers are reading, to the podscape landscape, to the best Substacks.
• You do well in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment, having worked on projects that sometimes required a rapid-response approach.
• You have a solid grasp on internal communications best practices, with experience working in partnership with an HR/People team on company communications cadences (emails, town halls, AMAs, etc.)
• You are comfortable in a newly created role. This is the company’s first dedicated Communications leader - you can help shape what this role is from the start.      

What you’ll do:

• Priority 1 - set the 2021 media strategy in partnership with the VP of Marketing and Communications and PR agency in order to tell the company story to a more expansive audience and to elevate the profile Stack Overflow for Teams to developers & technologists everywhere as well as to business decision makers.
• Priority 2 - build on priority 1 by creating a story bank that excavates stories from users, customers, community members and employees that can be used in our external communications efforts.
• Priority 3 - work with People Team and Senior Leadership Team to evolve internal communications practices.
• Your everyday responsibilities:
• Partner with our PR agency to secure media placements through pitching, desksides, etc.
• Own press request inbox, vetting and responding to inbound requests in a timely manner
• Partner with Director of Content and Events Team on conference placements, written thought leadership, speaking engagements, and more
• Counsel Senior Leadership Team on all communications-related initiatives externally and internally
• Work closely with People Team and internal stakeholders to evolve our internal communications practices

What you'll need to have:

• An extensive background in tech with experience at community-focused companies and/or B2B SaaS companies is highly desirable; experience at a late-stage startup is a plus
• 7+ years of experience working in the communications field with a focus on media relations
• Existing relationships with reporters and editors at top media outlets in the US and EMEA
• Experience managing PR agency relationships (in the US and EMEA)
• Experience working with developers is a plus, as is the ability to  translate complex technical ideas into clear/compelling messages
• Internal communications experience, working closely with a HR/People Team, is highly preferred
• Passionate, detail-oriented, growth-focused, and able to deliver on deadlines

Also note:
We’ll only consider applications with a cover letter - please make sure to include yours and tell us what you’ll bring to the team.

What you’ll get in return:

• Competitive Base Salary & Commission
• 20 days paid vacation
• Generous parental leave (16 weeks at 100% pay), family care leave, and unlimited sick days
• Stock options
• Completely free health insurance (no copay, no premiums)
• Gym membership reimbursement
• Employees will never be poked with a sharp stick

If you want to work remotely…. We’ll reimburse you up to $2,000 to set up a great home office.

If you want to work in our office… You’ll be in our headquarters in New York City, and enjoy additional benefits like free lunch every day prepared by our own in-house chefs, transportation reimbursement, and all the espresso you can drink.

Employment is conditioned upon successful completion of a background check and upon having the appropriate legal right to work.

Diverse teams build better products.

Legally, we need you to know this:

Stack Exchange, Inc. does not discriminate in employment matters on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other protected class. We support workplace diversity.

But we want to add this:

We strongly believe that diversity of experience contributes to a broader collective perspective that will consistently lead to a better company and better products. We are working hard to increase the diversity of our team wherever we can and we actively encourage everyone to consider becoming a part of it.

#LIRemote