Sr. External Affairs Specialist

Requisition ID: 108393

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued.

People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals.

We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey.

About American Water

American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities.

American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions.

For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Primary Role

The primary role of this position is to provide communications counsel to state management teams and to develop, coordinate, implement and manage external communications activities to support the success of the state business plan and operating objectives. The primary areas of responsibility include community relations, public relations, media relations, corporate social responsibility and local support to government relations activities.

This professional is poised to respond rapidly and tactically to unanticipated events and critical issues such as main breaks and other critical incidents, and is equally focused on providing proactive and strategic communications counsel and advice. This role is focused on anticipating and managing local communications issues and effectively positioning the company with key opinion leaders. The Senior External Affairs Specialist is a critical communications resource maximizing the company's communications effectiveness, flexibility and responsiveness within the communities we serve.

This professional has communications knowledge and experience with implementing communications programs. While not directly responsible for customer communications or internal communication, the External Affairs Specialist is an active and vital component of an integrated communications team operating through a matrix management model that is responsible for functional excellence reaching all audiences with a full array of internal and external communications messages, tactics and activities.

This role is responsible for identifying, developing, nurturing and sustaining strong and enduring relationships with the media not only unanticipated events but also proactively to leverage media coverage. This function ensures that American Water is aligned with key community groups and organizations so that American Water is well regarded as a "good corporate citizen". The specialist will ensure that the company is effectively aligned and positioned to develop and sustain key relationships with community leaders, government and regulatory authorities as well as elected and appointed officials. The External Affairs Specialist will report to the Sr Manager External and Govt Affairs.

Key Accountabilities

Key Accountabilities Cont'd

Knowledge/Skills

Experience/Education

Work Environment

Located in a state supporting the full array of external affairs and communications needs of the company's operations within that state.

Travel Requirements

Within the state and occasionally to corporate HQ.

Competencies

Champions safety

Customer obsessed

Cultivates innovation

Nimble learning

Drives Results

Collaborates

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.