Communications Manager, Strategic Communications

Job description

We are seeking a versatile and highly adaptable Communications Manager to join our Strategic Communications team. This role serves as a trusted utility player across the communications function, supporting high-priority initiatives, executive communications, major events, and emerging business needs. The ideal candidate is an experienced communications professional who can quickly step into a variety of projects, bring structure and clarity to complex initiatives, and help drive execution across multiple workstreams. This individual will partner closely with communications leaders and stakeholders throughout the company, providing both strategic and hands-on support wherever additional capacity or expertise is needed. Success in this role requires strong writing and messaging skills, exceptional project management capabilities, executive presence, sound judgment, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment. Essential Duties & Responsibilities Strategic Communications Support Support communications initiatives across the Strategic Communications team, flexing between projects and priorities based on business needs. Partner with communications directors to develop and execute communication strategies, plans, key messages, talking points, presentations, and executive materials. Provide surge support for major initiatives, leadership communications, and high-priority announcements requiring additional capacity. Executive Communications & Leadership Engagement Support executive presentations, keynotes, and leadership communications for internal and external events. Develop key message documents, briefing materials, presentation content, and follow-up resources that ensure leaders communicate consistently across the organization. Help translate complex business topics into clear, audience-appropriate messaging. Event Communications & Program Management Serve as a connective point across major corporate events, leadership forums, and executive engagements. Coordinate communications deliverables across multiple stakeholders to ensure alignment, consistency, and on-time execution. Support event planning and communications execution, including content development, message frameworks, speaker preparation, and post-event communications. Examples may include company-wide meetings, leadership summits, employee events, executive offsites, and external speaking engagements. Content Development Draft a wide range of communications materials, including: Key message documents Executive talking points Presentation content Internal communications Leadership updates Event communications FAQs and communication toolkits Ensure messaging aligns with company strategy, culture, and narrative priorities. Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with stakeholders across the business, including senior leaders, Human Resources, Operations, Legal, Product, Marketing, and Public Relations. Build strong working relationships and establish credibility with leaders at all levels. Help drive alignment across communications efforts and identify opportunities for greater consistency and coordination. Required 7+ years of communications, corporate communications, executive communications, public relations, or related experience. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Experience developing executive presentations, talking points, and strategic messaging. Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. Proven ability to operate independently while maintaining attention to detail and delivering high-quality work under tight deadlines. Preferred Experience supporting executive leadership teams or senior executives. Experience supporting large-scale internal events, leadership meetings, or corporate communications programs. Background in technology, enterprise, or publicly traded companies. Experience working across both internal and external communications initiatives. Key Attributes Adaptable and flexible; comfortable moving between projects and teams based on business priorities. Strategic thinker who can also execute and drive deliverables to completion. Strong collaborator who builds trust quickly. Resourceful, proactive, and solutions-oriented. Calm under pressure and comfortable navigating ambiguity. Capable of balancing multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. WD is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the " Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal ” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here . WD thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution. WD is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying. Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 11/18/26 , although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline. #LI-BR1 Compensation & Benefits Details An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs. The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York. This range may be modified in the future. If your position is non-exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws. You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned. You will be eligible to be considered for bonuses under either WD’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STI Plan”) or the Sales Incentive Plan (“SIP”) which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance, depending on your role and your performance. You may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to WD's Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the WD Savings 401(k) Plan. Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law. Notice To Candidates: Please be aware that WD and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. Should you encounter any such requests, please report it immediately to WD Ethics Helpline or email . WD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy. As AI scales, so does data. Every interaction, every model, every system generates data that must be stored, managed, and made accessible over time. That’s where we come in. We combine deep engineering expertise with global-scale manufacturing to deliver the storage systems that make AI possible, powering hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and enterprise infrastructure worldwide. This isn’t theoretical work. It’s real systems, at real scale, people solving some of the hardest challenges in technology today. We’re looking for people who want to build, solve, and operate at that level. Join us and let’s shape the future of data.