Director- Local Community Affairs

Job Summary

The Local Community Affairs Director will develop and execute an end-to-end comprehensive local community engagement strategy that aligns with Optimum’s priorities and the regional business/market goals. This role serves as the primary liaison between the regional Vice Presidents/GMs and Optimum’s key community stakeholders both internally and externally to the organization.  This role will report to the VP Sales Strategy and will be based in any of Optimum’s regional hub offices.   There will be a requirement to travel to various local markets at minimum once a quarter. 

Responsibilities

* Responsible for driving Optimum’s local community impact strategy, partnering in a highly collaborative and cross-functional environment 
* Lead crossfunctional planning sessions to ensure alignment on local programs, goals, and measurement frameworks in conjunction with regional GM/VP.
* Manage local community affairs budget, ensuring responsible stewardship of funds and alignment with corporate guidelines. 
* Forecast, track, and reconcile budget allocations across regions and programs.
* Actively collaborates with Government Affairs, Sales, Public Relations,  Director of National Programs, VPGMs, local market directors and other internal partners to ensure awareness and that we maximize all engagements 
* Manages and assess all investment/impact both quantitatively and qualitatively
* Highlights/coordinates requests from other stakeholders for needed investment (e.g., GA, marketing), ensuring proper consideration
* Establish and refine standards, processes, and playbooks to ensure consistency and operational excellence across all regional community initiatives.
* Develop metrics and KPIs to measure community impact, sales, ROI, and alignment with strategic objectives. 
* Produce executive level reports, dashboards, and storytelling materials for internal and external audiences. 
* Analyze trends and community needs to inform strategic investments and future programming decisions.
* Build internal awareness and enthusiasm for community efforts through presentations, storytelling, and employee engagement opportunities.
* Assesses investment/impact quantitatively and qualitatively
* Ensures cross-functional stakeholder awareness and engagement to leverage opportunities

Qualifications

* Bachelor’s degree required (Communications, Public Affairs, Business, Marketing, Public Policy, or related field preferred). 
* Minimum 8 years of experience in sales, marketing community affairs, corporate social responsibility, public affairs, government relations, or related fields. 
* Proven track record developing and executing community engagement strategies at the regional or enterprise level
* Experience working in a matrixed/highly cross functional environment with strong collaboration skills
* Demonstrated success building and managing community partnerships, sponsorship programs, or philanthropic initiatives
* Experience managing budgets, forecasting spend and tracking ROI for community or programmatic investments.
* Experience representing an organization at community meetings, public events, or with civic leaders.
* Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to drive initiatives from concept through execution. 
* Ability to build trusted relationships at all levels of the organization and with external stakeholders.
* Ability to work efficiently in a fastpaced, constantly evolving environment. 
* Ability to travel at least once a quarter throughout the Optimum footprint.
* Excellent judgment, prioritization, and problemsolving skills. 
* High degree of professionalism, diplomacy, and discretion. 
* Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and comfort with analytics/reporting tools.