Director, Corporate Communications

We are looking for a Director of Corporate Communications to own the strategy and execution of Five9's communications across three audiences — the press and external market, our customers, and the broader public. Reporting to the Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, this leader sets the company's external communications approach end to end: the corporate narrative, the media and public relations motion, executive and thought-leadership communications, corporate social media, and the corporate and crisis communications that reach customers when news breaks. 

This is a function-leader role, not a single-channel one. The Director will personally lead the external motion - media relations, executive voice, and the corporate narrative - while directing the social media and customer communications functions beneath them. Social media comes with an established team member already in seat, with room to grow the team as customer corporate and crisis communications formalize over time. 

The right candidate is a communicator with judgment, not just output. They can write the press statement, brief the executive, and steady the room during an incident and they know which of those a given moment calls for. They partner with Marketing, the Customer and Support organizations, People, Legal, and the executive team to make sure that what Five9 says is accurate, consistent, and lands the same way whether it is read by a reporter, a customer, or the broader public. 

Two boundaries are worth naming up front. Industry Analyst Relations sits with Product Marketing at Five9, given how product-centric the CX analyst community is, and remains there. Investor Relations sits with Finance. This role owns the corporate voice to press, customers, and the public and partners closely with both of those functions rather than absorbing them. 

Key Responsibilities 

Communications Strategy & Corporate Narrative

• Own the Five9 corporate narrative the through-line that connects what we tell the market, our customers, and the public, so the company speaks with one voice across every audience. 
• Set the annual communications strategy and calendar - aligning announcements, executive moments, and milestones with the company's GTM and brand priorities. 
• Keep Five9's messaging consistent across audiences - so corporate news, product news, and the company's Al story is framed the same way wherever they appear. 

Media & Executive Communications 

• Lead the media and public relations motion - press strategy, media relationships, announcements, press materials, and the agency relationship where one is in place. 
• Drive executive and thought-leadership communications - developing the voice, messaging, and platform for Five9 executives across earned media, speaking, and owned channels. 
• Build and protect Five9's share of voice in the CX and Al conversation – proactively, not just reactively, and measured against clear coverage and reputation goals. 
• Manage inbound press and media inquiries - serving as a trusted, fast, on- message point of contact for the company. 

Social Media Communications 

• Own Five9's corporate social media presence the strategy, voice, and calendar across the company's owned channels, so the brand shows up consistently and on-message wherever the conversation happens. 
• Turn corporate news and earned media into social moments - -amplifying announcements, executive visibility, and the company's Al story to extend reach and shape reputation. 
• Run social listening and real-time response monitoring the conversation, surfacing risks and opportunities early, and owning the social dimension of any issue or crisis in partnership with the crisis motion. 
• Measure social against reach and reputation goals — tying activity to share of voice, engagement quality, and corporate reputation outcomes rather than vanity follower counts. 

Customer Corporate Communications 

• Own corporate communications to customers - the communication of company news, leadership changes, and material corporate developments, distinct from customer marketing and lifecycle programs. 
• Build the playbooks and the practice for customer - facing corporate communications as this scope formalizes over time. 
• Partner with the Customer and Marketing organizations - drawing a clean line between corporate communications to customers and the campaigns, nurture, and lifecycle work that Customer Marketing owns. 

Crisis & Issues Management 

• Own crisis and issues communications across all three audiences - customers, and the public - keeping every message accurate and consistent when something breaks. 
• Lead outage and incident communications to customers - message and the cadence while partnering with Support and Customer Success on the facts, the timeline, and the technical detail. 
• Build the crisis communications framework - the protocols, holding statements, escalation paths, and approvals that let Five9 respond quickly and credibly under pressure. 
• Partner with Legal, Support, People, and the executive team during sensitive situations bringing calm, accuracy, and a single clear voice to high-stakes moments. 

Team & Function Leadership 

• Build and lead the communications function - starting with the social media team member already in seat and scaling the team and scope as the business grows. 
• Establish the operating rhythms and standards - editorial review, message governance, and the working cadence with Marketing, Customer, People, and Legal partners. 
• Develop the next layer of communications talent hiring well, mentoring generously, and building a function people want to join and stay in. 

Candidate Requirements and Experience 

• 10+ years of professional experience in corporate communications, public relations, or a closely related field, with time spent leading the function in B2B SaaS or enterprise technology. 
• Demonstrated breadth across external media relations, corporate social media, and crisis communications not depth in just one. Experience across all three is highly recommended. 
• Proven experience as the corporate voice of a company - narrative, the press motion, and executive communications - ideally at a public or pre-IPO company.  

• Hands-on crisis and issues management experience, including incident or outage communications to customers, is highly recommended given the nature of a cloud software business. 

• Strong writer and editor across formats press materials, executive messaging, social content, and customer-facing corporate notices with the judgment to match tone to audience. 
• Experience building or directing a corporate social media function, and managing communications professionals, is highly recommended. 
• Comfort partnering with senior leaders, Legal, and cross-functional stakeholders in fast-moving, high-stakes situations. 
• Hands-on proficiency with modern Al tools and a clear point of view on their application to communications work - including practical experience using Al to accelerate drafting, message testing, monitoring, and the productivity of a communications team. 
• Bachelor's degree required in communications, journalism, marketing, or a related discipline; advanced degree a plus.