Senior Communications Manager

Senior Communications Manager

Requirements

• Minimum 8-10 years of relevant experience in communications, marketing, brand strategy, and/or related fields within the video game industry
• Experience working at a AAA videogame developer is a plus
• Excellent writing, grammar, and content-creation abilities across a variety of mediums including written and video
• Strong interpersonal, verbal communication, and presentation skills; cultural sensitivity to work with a diverse, international team
• Demonstrate initiative; proactive, roll-up-one’s-sleeves attitude and a strong work ethic; ability to work independently
• Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking; unbridled curiosity, passion, and strong critical thinking skills
• Excellent organization skills and attention to detail
• Open and collaborative approach to their work; comfort in a fast-paced organization navigating ambiguity and change
• Ability to work concurrently on and effectively prioritize a variety of projects. Adaptable and able to handle multiple tasks and priorities
• Ability to objectively interpret player feedback and make actionable recommendations to the development and marketing teams
• Software proficiency
• Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.), Slack, Google Drive, etc.
• Current and emerging social media platforms and working knowledge of social tools for content management, listening, and analytics, such as Spredfast, Meltwater, Khoros, etc.
• Project management software and platforms like Trello, Wrike, Microsoft Project, etc.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the day-to-day contact with the global SIE organization, partnering with counterparts across Marketing, Public Relations, Product Development, Licensing, Events, agencies, among others
• Collaborate with SIE counterparts to build and execute integrated marketing campaigns
• Evaluate incoming plans, creative, and content in tandem with Content Manager and Director; coordinate review and feedback to ensure they reflect and maintain studio interests, integrity, and align with the vision and theme of our games; ensure quality is reflected throughout
• Attend and participate in meetings and conference calls with SIE counterparts and other partners; lead meetings as assigned
• Proactively report back regularly to supervisor and, as appropriate, studio leadership on key areas, including strategic plans, project status, internal challenges, product updates, and issues
• Act as the day-to-day contact with key stakeholders and leadership within the studio, triage updates and stakeholder needs to teams, and partner with the Director of Communications to ensure team goals and studio objectives are clearly communicated and actioned on in a timely and effective manner
• When needed, staff and assist with external and internal facing media opportunities as needs arise. Aid editorial team and production with asset creation and messaging as needed
• On occasion, own development and creation of messaging points for our spokespeople and IP. Work with the Director of Communications to ensure these align and compliment Naughty Dog’s overarching objectives for both our talent and our studio
• Monitor online discussions and events to ensure Naughty Dog is participating and represented, including responding opportunistically or reactively as the situation requires
• Develop a reporting process for internal teams including overall sentiment, engagement, measurement for tactics, and other community highlights showcasing our studio or IP, as requested
• Represent the voice of our community back to internal Naughty Dog and PlayStation conversations, providing status, feedback, and recommendations
• Manage assigned projects through completion and build feedback loop
• Use existing project management processes and systems, such as Trello, to input and track requests and tasks; identify areas of improvement, new processes and tools in collaboration with production
• Anticipate challenges, troubleshoot problems, propose solutions, offer recommendations, oversee quality, ensure adherence to deadlines
• Perform research and due diligence to ensure best outcomes; ensure alignment with communicated strategies and objectives
• Set appropriate feedback and approval processes; keeps internal stakeholders informed
• Manage and coordinate internal production and approval pipeline for a broad variety of assets including screenshots, video assets, blog posts, key art, marketing copy, messaging, etc.
• Collaborate on owned channel communications for the Naughty Dog brand and game franchises across web, social media, video, livestream, and more
• Assist development of objectives and strategy with Director of Communications, Content Manager and Social Media Manager
• Strive to build long-term, sustainable plans and schedules based on communicated strategies and business goals
• Identify and capitalize on organic opportunities and trends; amplify and complement SIE-driven efforts with Social Media Manager
• Develop written content as needed to support plans
• Become an expert user of and leverage reporting and analysis tools, such as Khoros and Meltwater; adjust plans and content based on reporting and analysis of results
• Serve as a spokesperson for Naughty Dog and its games to community and media
• Research, write, edit, and proofread content including messaging, scripts, presentations, media alerts, blog posts, social posts, biographies, reports, briefing documents, FAQs, and more
• Monitor important online discussions and events to make sure Naughty Dog is participating and represented, including responding opportunistically or reactively as the situation requires
• Proactively identify, pitch, and execute areas of opportunity where communication tools, messaging, frameworks, channels, or processes can be improved for Naughty Dog, game franchises, and the Communications Team
• Take on additional tasks and responsibilities, as assigned
• Collaborate with the Director of Communications to develop communications strategies and setting objectives for owned channels and opportunities for growth
• Active contributor to the first-party PSS community of colleagues; identify and execute opportunities to demonstrate Naughty Dog and personal thought leadership
• Assist supervision and coordination of junior members; encourage professional growth, motivate, and provide constructive feedback
• Assist with internal communications and initiatives, executing broader Communications Team initiatives and programs

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working at a AAA videogame developer is a plus