Senior Director Public Relations

Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oatmilk company that started in Sweden back 25 or so years ago and has since expanded to the U.S. where we’ve continued growing at a rate such that we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oatmilk flowing.

Sustainability, health, and transparency are the core values that guide everything we do. Basically, we exist to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. If any of this resonates with you, then maybe you’d like work for Oatly, too. Now onto the formal stuff.

We are looking for a Senior Director, Public Relations to join our team in North America. Reporting to the VP of Corporate Affairs, the Sr. Director PR will be responsible for communicating Oatly’s unique story of leadership in sustainability, food systems, nutrition, and hypergrowth to media and the broader public; more broadly, the Sr. Director will provide strategic PR leadership to the Oatly North American team. This role will sit within the Corporate Affairs function, partnering directly with public affairs, community management, internal communications, and sustainability and nutrition expert functions. The Sr. Director of PR will also work hand in glove with the Global VP PR to coordinate all global corporate initiatives and executive placements. Above all, this person will embody the Oatly way by listening first, setting aside “best practices” for the most creative and effective practices for the brand, prioritizing partnership, and being both confident and humble. These qualities – often rarities in PR and business - are key to representing Oatly, a new kind of company.

Here are the things we want to hire you to do:

• Develop creative and unexpected US communications activities that support and promote our overall strategic priorities across business, consumer, and industry media, as well as help Oatly manage its brand reputation both proactively and reactively with media, consumers, partners, and other external stakeholders
• Regularly identify relevant entry points for the brand’s voice within the broader cultural narrative, including developing original thought leadership points of view
• Develop regular, open partnerships with key executives and cross-functional partners across the US organization (commercial, corporate affairs, creative, product development) to fully understand the mechanics of the business and industry to be able to build strong narratives and points of view that can be amplified through communications channels
• Routinely collaborate with global counterparts across the communications and creative matrix to identify globally relevant PR narratives, priorities, and opportunities
• Implement communications strategy for varying Crisis & Issues topics – articulating the issue, providing transparency to leadership, and developing messaging and cadence to inform consumers, partners, suppliers, accounts, and media in a timely manner
• Identify and, with the PR manager, execute executive placement strategies, including speaking engagements, profiles, Q&As to successfully position Oatly leadership as thought leaders in the food and sustainability industries
• Together with the PR manager, develop and maintain strong, open, regular relationships with media and external partners. Directly engage with media and external partners on behalf of the brand; vet and screen relevant reactive opportunities with media, partners, and events
• Oversee the development of pitches and press releases for a wide range of business announcements, product innovations, and commercial partnerships
• Oversee the development of high-quality written materials that convey Oatly’s narrative, including business and brand messaging, Q&As (reactive and proactive), fact sheets, presentations, etc
• Contribute to interview and speaking prep for executives, including the development of presentations, talking points, briefing documents, and other written and visual materials
• Develop and manage the US PR budget
• Coach, mentor and manage US direct report, PR Manager
• Oversee external support agency strategy, including US Public Relations and Marketing Product Placement agencies

Here are the things we think you need:

• 10+ year’s experience in corporate communications
• Bachelor’s degree with a focus on communications, journalism, or public relations (or other relevant subject)
• Demonstrated experience speaking with media, key stakeholders, and executives
• Experience working with senior leaders and executives, placing their expertise and POV within relevant channels (conferences, panels, trend piece,s and more)
• Ability to think critically and make informed decisions that drive toward our strategic goals, yet flexible and open to change and new information
• Strong written and interpersonal communications, inclusive of writing pitches, press releases and headlines with creativity and originality in mind
• The personality to succeed in this role – curious, friendly, energetic, flexible, humble, confident and trustworthy

And here’s another list of qualities we think make a good Oatly team member:

• You feel connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency
• You are a self-starter who doesn’t need direct supervision to motivate you for success – we believe strongly in building a culture of individual accountability and ownership and need partners who can embrace that mentality
• You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand leveraging your experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit in that you’re comfortable with ambiguity and are energized by the process of building something lasting from the ground up
• You enjoy sharing your quirkiness and talents with your coworkers

Another bulleted list felt redundant, so we wrote this long sentence with all the ways we sweeten the deal to work with us, like providing flexible vacation for starters, really great benefits, and genuinely great coworkers who want to see the company and each other succeed, and a start-up vibe with an established company history.

The salary for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to geographic location, internal equity, experience, education, specialty, and training. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. Compensation may also include bonus, commission, or equity as applicable. Our good faith estimate for base salary is $160,000.

Our team is available to support you through the hiring process with reasonable accommodations to enable a barrier-free interview experience. We will maintain candidate privacy and confidentiality to enable an unbiased and equitable experience. If you need assistance applying for a role due to a disability or special need, please contact talent.management@oatly.com.

Oatly is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.