Director, Corporate Communications

Responsibilities

Director, Corporate Communications (EMEA & APAC) is a grade 10. This role is responsible for corporate PR, financial communications, reputation management, and executive visibility programs, serving to develop, raise, and protect GitLab’s reputation and that of its CEO, CMO, and CFO.

This role develops and leads a cross-functional, long-term strategic communications strategy that translates and synthesizes GitLab’s executives’ vision and voice across organizational and industry topics.

• Manage GitLab’s reputation and crisis communications on critical corporate issues and initiatives that impact the company’s brand.
• Initiatives include corporate strategy, organizational changes, or product issues in partnership with the VP of Corporate Communications, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, CEO, and Chief Legal Officer.
• Create executive communications platforms for the CEO, CMO, and CFO aligned to business, financial, and leadership priorities.
• Lead the development and execution of executive media relations and visibility strategies and plans, including helping to establish and shape the executive’s brands through earned and contributed opportunities in business, technology, and developer media and through speaking opportunities and awards.
• Drive collaboration and alignment across communications stakeholders, writers, and contractors on the development and production of bylines, blogs, presentations, and digital assets to raise the visibility of GitLab among key stakeholders by leveraging the voice and external presence of executives.
• Partner with the AR and social media teams to proactively and reactively identify and seize thought leadership opportunities to drive GitLab’s industry-leading reputation and boost executive awareness.
• Collaborate with the Diversity Inclusion and Belonging and ESG teams to ensure external communications reflect key initiatives and messaging.
• In partnership with the VP of Communications, build a Communications Center of Excellence across media relations, analyst relations, social media, crisis management, and executive communications that will scale as GitLab grows.

Requirements

• 10+ years of proven progressive experience in corporate and product PR, executive visibility, and reputation and issues management at a fast-paced and public software company.
• General manager or vice president-level PR agency experience preferred.
• Extensive team leadership skills, including career development, coaching and scaling global teams.
• Excellent judgment and writing skills and the ability to operate with grace under pressure.
• Ability to help create and articulate an inspiring and clear vision for external communications.
• A proven integrated approach to handling multi-stakeholder communications working cross-functionally with legal, people team, finance, and product teams to ensure consistency of messaging and strategy.
• Previous experience leading and managing strategic and/or complex communication plans in a fast-paced environment and managing crisis communications.
• Results-oriented, collaborative team player, and strategic thinker.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to drive alignment.
• Strong knowledge of the business and GitLab technology, including developer products and open-core software models, with a proven ability to turn complex technology topics into compelling stories.
• Uses data to measure results and inform decision-making and strategy development.
• Experience working with technical founders in a fast paced scaling startup environment
• Fluency with public company disclosure requirements, including Regulation FD
• Experience with evolving a company’s position to a new market category that aligns it with current market and customer priorities.
• Proven track record in building, getting buy-in, executing plans, and staying focused on “getting it done” in a fast-moving, technical environment.
• Comfortable with transparency in our communications, internally and externally
• You share our values (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values) and work following those values.
• Ability to use GitLab

Hiring Process

Candidates for this position can expect the hiring process to follow the order below. Please keep in mind that candidates can be declined from the position at any stage of the process. To learn more about someone who may be conducting the interview, find their job title on our team page.

• Qualified candidates will be invited to schedule a screening call with one of our Global Recruiters.
• Candidates then may be offered a 30 minute interview with our Senior Manager, Corporate Communications.
• Next, candidates will be invited to schedule an interview with the Senior Director, Corporate Marketing.
• Candidates will then be invited to schedule interviews with key team members from relevant company departments that the role will work with closely.

Successful candidates will subsequently be made an offer via video, phone, or email.

Additional details about our process can be found on our hiring page.

Compensation

To view the full job description and its compensation calculator, view our handbook. The compensation calculator can be found towards the bottom of the page.

Additional details about our process can be found on our hiring page.