Senior Communications Manager

Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive.

At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place.

**How you’ll make an impact**

Our Communications team is an award-winning, high-energy group with a passion for people, culture, and storytelling. The Senior Communications Manager, NZ, reports to the Country Manager, NZ, and plays a crucial role in supporting local business objectives while aligning with broader global communications initiatives.As a Senior Communications Manager, you will bring considerable experience in PR and media relations, and excel in developing and implementing high-impact, multi-channel communications programs. This role demands creativity, a strong commercial understanding, and the ability to align PR and communications activities to underpin business goals.

You'll be excited about new and emerging PR/communications tactics and keen to experiment.In this role, you will also support the company in reputation, issues, and crisis management, demonstrating a commitment to best-practice planning, campaign management, and reporting on communications impact. Additionally, you will support internal communications for the NZ business with guidance from the global communications team. This business-critical role requires close collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including the NZ leadership team and Xero’s global functions. You will be a strong advocate for the ANZ business and communications function, ensuring that our efforts in NZ contribute to broader global communications objectives.

**What you'll do**:
- Hold the responsibilities of a regional Senior Communications Manager, reporting to the NZ Country Manager. Ensure the Country Manager and ANZ Communications Director have full visibility of plans, metrics, and any issues of key relevance to the local business
- Lead the day-to-day management of Xero’s PR agency in NZ
- Manage the development and execution of high profile PR and thought leadership campaigns aligned to supporting the company’s strategic priorities
- Provide counsel and act as the day-to-day contact for the NZ Country Manager and local leadership team, for communications and issues management support
- Manage relationships with stakeholders within ANZ and Xero globally, ensuring delivery of effective communications
- Work closely with Xero’s government relations team to support in driving Xero’s strategic public policy agenda in support of small business
- Key contributor to management of local Communications budget**Success looks like**
- Delivering exceptional PR/communications activities and thought leadership programs, supporting the NZ Country Manager, the ANZ Communications Director, and the ANZ Managing Director
- Supporting the business from a communications and strategic relations perspective to identify, implement and lead programs of work strongly aligned to our commercial objectives
- Ensuring the company’s reputation is protected and enhanced, and that ROI for comms programs are measured and communicated

**What you’ll bring with you**:
- Held previous leadership roles in communication in a multinational organisation or agency
- At least 10+ years experience in communications and public relations
- Experience or understanding of cloud computing and a passion for new technology
- Experience in crisis/issue management
- Proven excellence in developing communications strategies for large, high-profile organisations
- Track record of establishing credibility with executive teams
- Experienced team leader
- An understanding of the SMB market and/or accounting would be advantageous.**Critical Competencies**
- Strong experience managing senior stakeholder groups
- Extensive strategic communications experience leading and implementing external and internal multi-channel campaigns
- Highly skilled and experienced across the disciplines of communications planning, media relations, organic social and content development
- An interest in and love for small business success, new technology and people
- Self motivated, proactive and fast moving
- Skilled communicator with a history of thought leadership
- Ability to motivate and manage direct and indirect teams across multiple functions

**Why Xero?**

Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and yo