Head - Corporate Communications - Media Relations/Crisis Management

Head - Corporate Communications

Media Relations | Brand Narrative | Reputation & Crisis Management

Position: Head - Corporate Communications

Location: Gurugram, Haryana (Corporate Office)

Function: Corporate Communications & Brand

Reports to: Managing Director & CEO

Experience: 15 - 20 years

ABOUT THE ORGANISATION:

Our client is a leading Indian company listed on the NSE and BSE, with a national footprint and a diverse stakeholder base spanning shareholders, customers, regulators, employees and communities. As the organisation scales, it seeks a seasoned communications leader to own its corporate reputation and brand narrative and to protect them when it matters most.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Head - Corporate Communications will be the custodian of the company's corporate reputation. The role will build and consistently project a credible, positive narrative about the organisation, its leadership and its brand across mainstream, business, regional and digital media; build strong, trust-based media relationships; and lead the company's response to adverse news, misinformation and social media escalations - ensuring every external communication is accurate, timely and aligned with the obligations of a listed entity.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Corporate Brand Narrative & Reputation Strategy:

- Strategy - Define and own the corporate communications strategy, messaging architecture and annual communications plan in line with business priorities.

- Narrative - Build a compelling corporate story covering vision, growth, governance, innovation, people and sustainability, and ensure it is told consistently across all touchpoints.

- Positive visibility - Create a sustained pipeline of positive stories: business milestones, expansions, awards, customer and community impact, leadership achievements.

- Brand consistency - Work with Marketing to align corporate brand and product brand messaging, visual identity and tone of voice.

- Reputation tracking - Set up periodic reputation and perception studies, share-of-voice analysis and competitor benchmarking; present insights to leadership.

2. Media Relations & Management:

- Media network - Build and maintain strong relationships with editors, senior journalists, business and financial media, trade publications, regional-language media and news channels.

- Proactive outreach - Plan and execute press releases, media briefings, press conferences, exclusive interviews, feature stories and op-eds.

- Spokesperson management - Identify and train company spokespersons; prepare briefing notes, key messages and Q&A documents; accompany leadership in media interactions.

- Media monitoring - Institute 24x7 monitoring of print, electronic, online and social media, with daily reporting and real-time alerts on critical mentions.

- Accuracy - Ensure factual correction of erroneous reporting through the right channels, promptly and professionally.

3. Crisis, Issues & Adverse Media Management:

- Crisis framework - Develop and maintain the Crisis Communications Policy and playbook: issue classification, escalation matrix, crisis committee, approval protocols and pre-approved holding statements.

- Rapid response - Lead the communications response to adverse news, allegations, operational incidents, regulatory actions, labour or community issues and leadership-related matters, with a first holding response within defined timelines.

- Social media outbreaks - Detect and contain negative virality, trending hashtags, influencer-led criticism and misinformation; coordinate responses, fact-checks and, where warranted, reporting and takedown requests through platform grievance mechanisms.

- Legal & regulatory coordination - Work with Legal, Company Secretary and the business to ensure crisis statements are legally sound, and support the company's response to market rumours and media reports requiring clarification to stock exchanges under SEBI (LODR) Regulations, as applicable.

- Simulations - Conduct periodic crisis simulations and mock drills for the leadership team.

- Post-crisis - Lead post-incident review, sentiment recovery plans and reputation repair.

4. Digital & Social Media Reputation:

- Corporate digital presence - Oversee corporate website newsroom, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and other official handles; set content calendars and governance.

- Social listening - Deploy social listening tools to track sentiment, emerging issues and influencer conversations; convert insights into early-warning signals.

- Social media policy - Frame and enforce the social media policy for official handles and employee conduct online.

- Online reputation - Manage search and review-platform reputation and ensure authoritative, positive content ranks prominently.

5. Leadership Positioning & Thought Leadership:

- Leadership profiles - Build the external profile of the MD & CEO and senior leadership through interviews, bylines, podcasts, panels and industry forums.

- Speeches & content - Draft speeches, CEO messages, annual report narrative, shareholder letters and leadership LinkedIn content.

- Industry platforms - Secure speaking opportunities and award nominations at relevant industry bodies and conferences.

6. Listed-Company & Stakeholder Communications:

- Financial communications - Partner with CFO and Investor Relations on quarterly results communication, earnings releases, analyst and investor-day messaging and AGM communication.

- Disclosure discipline - Ensure all external communications are consistent with stock exchange disclosures and that no Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) is shared ahead of disclosure, in line with SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations and the company's Code of Fair Disclosure; observe silent periods.

- ESG & CSR - Communicate sustainability, BRSR highlights, CSR initiatives and community impact credibly and without overstatement.

- Government & community - Support communications with government, regulators, industry associations and local communities around key sites.

7. Internal Communications:

- Employee engagement - Lead internal communications including leadership messages, town halls, newsletters and intranet content to build pride and alignment.

- Change communication - Support communication on organisational changes, M&A and restructuring, keeping internal and external messaging consistent.

- Crisis readiness - Ensure employees receive timely, accurate information during crises and understand media and social media protocols.

8. Team, Agency & Budget Management:

- Team leadership - Build, lead and develop the corporate communications team.

- Agencies - Select, brief and manage PR, digital and media-monitoring agencies against clear deliverables and SLAs.

- Budget - Own the communications budget and demonstrate measurable return on communications spend.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Education - Postgraduate degree in Mass Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing or an MBA from a reputed institute.

Experience - 15 - 20 years in corporate communications, public relations or journalism, of which at least 5 - 7 years in a leadership role heading corporate communications.

Listed-company exposure - Prior experience in a listed company or a large corporate group, with working knowledge of financial communication and SEBI disclosure norms.

Crisis track record - Demonstrated experience of handling high-stakes crises, adverse media and social media escalations at a national level.

Media network - Strong, current relationships with national business media, mainstream media and key regional media.

Preferred - Experience with a large PR agency or as a senior business journalist is an advantage; sector experience relevant to the client's industry is desirable.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

Functional:

- Exceptional written and spoken English; working proficiency in Hindi

- Strategic storytelling and message development

- Sound news judgement and media instinct

- Crisis leadership - calm, decisive and fast under pressure

- Digital and social media fluency, including listening and analytics tools

- Understanding of corporate governance, SEBI disclosure and insider trading norms

Behavioural & Leadership:

- Executive presence and ability to counsel the CEO and Board

- High integrity and discretion with sensitive information

- Stakeholder management across business, legal, finance and HR

- Team building and agency management

KEY STAKEHOLDERS:

Internal: MD & CEO, Board, CFO, Company Secretary, Investor Relations, Legal, CHRO, Marketing, Business and Plant/Site Heads, CSR & ESG teams

External: Print, electronic, digital and regional media; PR and digital agencies; industry bodies; analysts and investors (with IR); government and regulators; communities; social media platforms

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Availability - Must be reachable and able to respond 24x7 during crises or critical media situations.

Travel - Travel to company locations, media centres and events as required.

Compensation - Commensurate with experience and industry benchmarks.