Corporate Communications Manager

Corporate Communications managers at GitLab have a unique opportunity to contribute to our mission. Through your leadership, experience, and insight, you will position GitLab as a trustworthy partner to customers with a strong track record of addressing business challenges, increase overall brand awareness, provide air cover for business as a whole, and come up with thought leadership opportunities. This position will work across teams and the globe to develop and execute integrated communications campaigns in line with GitLab initiatives. You will be expected to prioritize and manage your work with minimal guidance from leadership or other corporate communications team members.

We work in a unique way at GitLab, where flexibility and independence meet a high paced, pragmatic way of working. And everything we do is in the open. We recommend looking at our corporate communications handbook to get started.

Job Grade

The Corporate Communications Manager is a grade 6.

Responsibilities

Execute integrated communications strategy and vision.
Work closely with others in the Corporate Communications department to develop messaging, press releases, contributed articles, event strategy and media relations strategy for GitLab announcements and corporate marketing campaigns.
Respond to daily media inquiries in a timely and professional manner.
Work across teams to find out potential news or story ideas.
Report back on press activities, coverage, opportunities, successes and press feedback.
Measure our department successes in relation to awareness and impact.
Independently manage projects from start to finish.

Requirements

6+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications.
PR agency experience.
Experience in enterprise software or developer public relations.
Proven experience in working with agencies and freelancers.
Strong media relations skills.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Able to coordinate across many teams and perform in a fast-moving startup environment.
Proven ability to be self-directed and work with minimal supervision.
Outstanding written and verbal communications skills.
You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
Willingness to work within GitLab.com.

Senior Corporate Communications Manager

Job Grade

The Senior Corporate Communications Manager is a grade 7.

Responsibilities

Develop integrated communications campaigns.
Develop overarching company storylines for media.
Have your finger on the pulse of the news and provide creative ideas to gain media coverage.
Manage GitLab’s PR agency relationships and ensure their programs are in line with overall corporate marketing objectives and goals.
Conduct media training for spokespeople as needed.
Strategically lead crisis communications efforts as needed.
Responsible for ideation of Corp Communications activities, OKRs, and reporting on results.

Requirements

8+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications
Experience with crisis communications, executive visibility and investor relations.
Experience managing agencies and driving results.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Highly organized, detail-oriented and able to drive cross-functional deadlines consistently.

Manager, Corporate Communications

Job Grade

Manager, Corporate Communications is a grade 8.

Responsibilities

Develop QoQ and YoY integrated cross-functional communications programs.
Develop overarching company storylines for media.
Manage a team of direct reports, freelancers and/or agencies to scale integrated communications programs and ensure their results contribute to the corporate communications strategy.
Manage media training schedule and ensure 100% compliance of training completion.
Strategically lead crisis communications efforts as needed.
Develop program’s OKRs and deliver quarterly reporting of results.
Responsible for ideation of Corp Communications activities, OKRs, and reporting on results.

Requirements

9+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications.
Experience developing and executing cross-functional communications programs.
Experience managing agencies, freelancers and a team of direct reports to drive results.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Outstanding verbal communications skills.
Highly organized, detail-oriented and able to drive cross-functional deadlines consistently.

Staff Corporate Communications Manager

Job Grade

Staff Corporate Communications Manager is a grade 8.

Market Justification: The business need for an individual contributor Corporate Communications role is to have a team member with a high level of expertise in Corporate, Internal or Executive Communications to be able to develop programs and run each specialized function. Additionally, this role is specialized due to industry experience required to collaborate with investors, e-group members, board members and other senior stakeholders. Market data yields an output of 35 companies that use this type of level with an average of 2 incumbents.

Responsibilities

Develop QoQ and YoY integrated communications programs.
Develop overarching company storylines for media.
Strategically lead crisis communications efforts as needed.
Develop program’s OKRs and deliver quarterly reporting of results.
Responsible for ideation of Corp Communications activities, OKRs, and reporting on results.

Requirements

9+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications
Experience developing and executing communications programs.
Experience driving results.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Outstanding verbal communications skills.
Highly organized, detail-oriented and able to drive cross-functional deadlines consistently.

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

Job Grade

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications is a grade 9.

Responsibilities

Managing a portion of the Corporate Communications budget.
Develop and execute integrated programs that further the overall corporate marketing objectives and goals.
Manage a team of direct reports, freelancers and agencies, ensuring their results contribute to the overall corporate marketing objectives and goals.

Requirements

10+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications.
Experience managing budgets aligning with communications objectives and goals.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Outstanding verbal communications skills.
Experience managing a team whose results drove the overall communications strategy.

Principal Corporate Communications Manager

Job Grade

The Principal Corporate Communications Manager is a grade 9.

Market Justification: The business need for an individual contributor Corporate Communications role is to have a team member with a high level of expertise in Corporate, Internal or Executive Communications to be able to develop programs and run each business function. Additionally, this role is specialized due to industry experience required to collaborate with investors, e-group members, board members and other senior stakeholders. Survey data yields a return of 18 organizations with an average of 1 incumbent in the principal level within Marketing Communications. A comparable role at GitLab is the Principal Internal Communications Manager.

Responsibilities

Lead public company communication program; including quarterly earnings press releases and activities, investor updates, media interviews, etc.
Lead business storyline portion of overall Corporate Communications strategy; including developing press releases and contributed articles, event strategy and media relations strategy for GitLab announcements and news.
Work closely with executives communications lead to align executive visibility program; including but not limited to key message creation, media relationship building, media tours, contributed articles, and speaking presence.

Requirements

10+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications.
Experience running public relations/communications efforts at an enterprise technology company.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Experience leading public company communications cadence (earnings reports, media outreach, etc.)
Experience hiring and managing a team of public relations professionals.

Director, Corporate Communications

The Director of Corporate Communications leads the overall corporate communications team, including public relations, executive communication, internal communication and social media work.

Job Grade

The Director, Corporate Communications is a grade 10.

Requirements

12+ years experience managing public relations and communications teams
Experience developing overall strategy for corporate communications, public relations and social media teams.
Experience managing budgets aligning with communications objectives and goals.
A natural storyteller with excellent writing skills.
Outstanding verbal communications skills.
Experience working with leadership to drive external awareness activities.

Specialties

Executive Communications

The executive communications manager will work closely with the executive leadership team to develop content for executive speaking opportunities, extend the reach of executive participation in external events, develop a platform for “Pick Your Brain” or other Zoom series, executive contributed articles and more.

Responsibilities

Own the executive visibility program, driving its strategy and executing on the strategy.
Work closely with the executive leadership team to develop strong narrative presentations and content for external speaking opportunities.
Work with the brand, design, Developer Advocate team and others needed to develop state of the art slide decks for external events.
Lead speaking coaching sessions with the leadership team to ensure they comfortably deliver the content in a natural and charismatic way; incorporate edits as needed.
Think strategically about other executive leadership platforms (aspirational and industry peers) and how we should be promoting them externally, whether that is via our blog, contributed articles, podcasts, YouTube, social media or other external platforms.
Work closely with others in the Corporate Communications department and with PR agencies to share presentation narratives for media consumption and obtain media messages/interview feedback to incorporate in external speaking presentations.
Manage any outside agencies or freelancers hired to assist with the executive visibility program.
Work closely with Executive Business Administrators to plan executive speaking schedules for the year.

Requirements

Experience in public relations and/or marketing communications.
Experience developing and executing executive communications programs.
Experience in enterprise software and/or open source.
Creative, thoughtful and passionate about storytelling.
Outstanding written and verbal communications skills.
Experience with presentation building - both narrative flow and design.
Able to coordinate across many teams and perform in a fast-moving environment.
Proven ability to be self-directed and work with minimal supervision.
You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
Highly organized, detail-oriented and able to meet deadlines consistently.

Senior Executive Content Communications Manager (CEO)

The executive communications to CEO specialty manager for the corporate communications team will work closely with the manager of the executive communications program, the CEO, and the Office of the CEO to extend the reach of the CEO’s participation in external events, bylined articles and more.

Responsibilities

Own the CEO executive communications visibility program, driving its strategy and executing on said strategy with agency support.
Work closely with the Office of the CEO to develop strong narrative presentations and content for internal and external speaking opportunities.
Work with the brand, design, Developer Advocate team and others needed to develop state of the art slide decks for internal and external events.
Lead speaking coaching sessions to ensure the CEO is comfortably delivering the content in a natural and charismatic way; incorporate edits as needed.
Think strategically about other CEO (aspirational and peer) platforms and how we can incorporate key takeaways into the CEO executive communications visibility program, whether that is via our blog, bylined articles, podcasts, YouTube, social media or other external platforms.
Work closely with others in the Corporate Communications department and with PR agencies to share presentation narratives for media consumption and obtain media messages/interview feedback to incorporate in external speaking presentations.
Manage any outside agencies or freelancers hired to assist with the CEO executive communications visibility program.
Work closely with Executive Business Administrators to plan the external speaking schedule for the year.

Technical Qualifications

Have experience in enterprise software and/or open source
Have the ability to explain complex DevOps concepts at varying levels of technical detail, according to the technical abilities and interests of the audience
Actively follows relevant technical media including Hacker News, relevant twitter personalities, and blogs

Requirements

6+ years experience in public relations and/or marketing communications
Experience working directly with CEOs of technology companies.
Experience executing CEO communications programs.
Experience in enterprise software and/or open source.
Experience with presentation building - both narrative flow and design.
Experience managing agencies and driving results.
Creative, thoughtful and passionate about storytelling.
Outstanding written and verbal communications skills.
Proven ability to be self-directed and work with minimal supervision.
Highly organized, detail-oriented and able to drive cross-functional deadlines consistently.
Have the ability to take meetings with and work synchronously with folks in Pacific Standard Time

PR

The GitLab PR Manager will help GitLab build thought leadership and drive conversation in external communications channels. This position is responsible for developing and driving thought leadership content, securing media coverage for product, partner, channel, community and company announcements and stories, assisting with crisis and rapid response requests, implementing proactive PR campaigns and company award submissions.

The Social Marketing Manager is a key part of building GitLab’s brand into one that is loved by its audience of developers, IT ops practitioners, and IT leaders.

Internal Communications

The Principal Internal Communications Manager is part of the Talent Brand team within the PeopleOps group, but works very closely with the Corporate Communications team. Internal Communications plans and improves company-wide team member communications to ensure team members feel informed and heard.

Hiring Process

Candidates for this position can expect the hiring process to follow the order below. Please keep in mind that candidates can be declined from the position at any stage of the process. To learn more about someone who may be conducting the interview, find their job title on our team page.

Qualified candidates will be invited to schedule a screening call with one of our Global Recruiters.
Candidates then may be offered a 30 minute interview with our Senior Manager, Corporate Communications.
Next, candidates will be invited to schedule an interview with the Senior Director, Corporate Marketing.
Candidates will then be invited to schedule interviews with key team members from relevant company departments that the role will work with closely.

Successful candidates will subsequently be made an offer via video, phone, or email.

Additional details about our process can be found on our hiring page.

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Job Grade

The Senior Director, Corporate Communications is a grade 11. This role is responsible for corporate PR, financial communications, reputation management, and executive visibility programs, serving to develop, raise, and protect GitLab’s reputation and that of its CEO, CMO, and CFO.

This role develops and leads a cross-functional, long-term strategic communications strategy that translates and synthesizes GitLab’s executives’ vision and voice across organizational and industry topics.

Responsibilities

Manage GitLab’s reputation and crisis communications on critical corporate issues and initiatives that impact the company’s brand.
Initiatives include corporate strategy, organizational changes, or product issues in partnership with the VP of Corporate Communications, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, CEO, and Chief Legal Officer.
Create executive communications platforms for the CEO, CMO, and CFO aligned to business, financial, and leadership priorities.
Lead the development and execution of executive media relations and visibility strategies and plans, including helping to establish and shape the executive’s brands through earned and contributed opportunities in business, technology, and developer media and through speaking opportunities and awards.
Drive collaboration and alignment across communications stakeholders, writers, and contractors on the development and production of bylines, blogs, presentations, and digital assets to raise the visibility of GitLab among key stakeholders by leveraging the voice and external presence of executives.
Partner with the AR and social media teams to proactively and reactively identify and seize thought leadership opportunities to drive GitLab’s industry-leading reputation and boost executive awareness.
Collaborate with the Diversity Inclusion and Belonging and ESG teams to ensure external communications reflect key initiatives and messaging.
In partnership with the VP of Communications, build a Communications Center of Excellence across media relations, analyst relations, social media, crisis management, and executive communications that will scale as GitLab grows.

Requirements

15+ years of proven progressive experience in corporate and product PR, executive visibility, and reputation and issues management at a fast-paced and public software company.
General manager or vice president-level PR agency experience preferred.
Extensive team leadership skills, including career development, coaching and scaling global teams.
Excellent judgment and writing skills and the ability to operate with grace under pressure.
Ability to help create and articulate an inspiring and clear vision for external communications.
A proven integrated approach to handling multi-stakeholder communications working cross-functionally with legal, people team, finance, and product teams to ensure consistency of messaging and strategy.
Previous experience leading and managing strategic and/or complex communication plans in a fast-paced environment and managing crisis communications.
Results-oriented, collaborative team player, and strategic thinker.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to drive alignment.
Strong knowledge of the business and GitLab technology, including developer products and open-core software models, with a proven ability to turn complex technology topics into compelling stories.
Uses data to measure results and inform decision-making and strategy development.
Experience working with technical founders in a fast paced scaling startup environment
Fluency with public company disclosure requirements, including Regulation FD
Experience with evolving a company’s position to a new market category that aligns it with current market and customer priorities.
Proven track record in building, getting buy-in, executing plans, and staying focused on “getting it done” in a fast-moving, technical environment.
Comfortable with transparency in our communications, internally and externally
You share our values (https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/values) and work following those values.
Ability to use GitLab

VP, Corporate Communications

The VP, Corporate Communications leads the team responsible for creating the unique messaging for the GitLab brand and sharing the GitLab story globally. This role successfully promotes the company through a strong PR and communications program including executive comms, analyst and industry relations, internal communications, and crisis management.

Job Grade

The VP, Corporate Communications is a grade 12.

Responsibilities

Work closely with the Marketing leadership team to contribute to the definition of the strategic objectives along the customer journey
Build strong working relationships cross-functionally, including the executive team
Define and execute on a holistic corporate communications strategy, resulting in consistency across all channels
Responsible for strategic messaging, storytelling and thought leadership in partnership with analysts, influencers, customers, the community, and media
Develop and lead internal and external communications programs
Oversee industry and analyst relations, messaging, and positioning strategies
Create and manage crisis management protocol
Successfully build campaigns to help elevate the GitLab brand in the world
Manage, build, and lead a strong team by recruiting, coaching, and developing team members.
Trusted advisor to the CEO, CMO and rest of executive team

Requirements

Proven progressive experience in corporate marketing in a fast-paced and public software company.
Experience with Software-as-a-Service offerings and open core software a plus.
Proven track record developing and executing successful B2B corporate communications.
Fluency with public company disclosure requirements, including Regulation FD
Experience in OSS on a global scale a plus
Proven progressive leadership experience, with an emphasis on people leadership, building teams to scale, and engaging global and local stakeholders.
Skilled and proven experience bringing new campaigns and ideas to life.
Track record of evolving a company’s position to a new market category that aligns it with current market and customer priorities.
Proven track record in building, getting buy-in and executing marketing plans, and staying focused on “getting it done” in a fast-moving, technical environment.
Ability to coordinate across many teams and perform in a fast-moving environment.
Proven ability to be self-directed and work with minimal supervision.
Outstanding written and verbal communications skills with the ability to explain and translate complex technology concepts into simple and intuitive communications.
Uses data to measure results and inform decision making and strategy development.
Comfortable with transparency in our communications, internally and externally
You share our values (https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/values/), and work in accordance with those values. Leadership (https://about.gitlab.com/company/team/structure/#director-group) at GitLab Ability to use GitLab

Career Ladder

The next step in the VP, Corporate Communications job family is not yet defined at GitLab.

Hiring process

45 minute interview with our Chief Marketing Officer
45 minute interview with our People Business Partner
45 minute interview with our VP of Product Marketing
45 minute interview with our VP of Integrated Marketing
30 minute interview with our Director of Corp Comms
30 minute interview with our Director, Analyst Relations
30 minute interview with our Chief Legal Officer
Successful candidates will subsequently be made an offer via video, phone, or email.

Additional details about our process can be found on our hiring page.

Performance Indicators

Increase overall brand awareness through key message pull through in media articles and speaking presentations, secure opportunities for executives to speak at conferences and with media, submit strong award applications.

About GitLab

GitLab Inc. is a company based on the GitLab open-source project. GitLab is a community project to which over 2,200 people worldwide have contributed. We are an active participant in this community, trying to serve its needs and lead by example. We have one vision: everyone can contribute to all digital content, and our mission is to change all creative work from read-only to read-write so that everyone can contribute.

We value results, transparency, sharing, freedom, efficiency, self-learning, frugality, collaboration, directness, kindness, diversity, inclusion and belonging, boring solutions, and quirkiness. If these values match your personality, work ethic, and personal goals, we encourage you to visit our primer to learn more. Open source is our culture, our way of life, our story, and what makes us truly unique.

Top 10 Reasons to Work for GitLab:

Mission: Everyone can contribute
Results: Fast growth, ambitious vision
Flexible Work Hours: Plan your day so you are there for other people & have time for personal interests
Transparency: Over 2,000 webpages in GitLab handbook, GitLab Unfiltered YouTube channel
Iteration: Empower people to be effective & have an impact, Merge Request rate, We dogfood our own product, Directly responsible individuals
Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging: A focus on gender parity, Team Member Resource Groups, other initiatives
Collaboration: Kindness, saying thanks, intentionally organize informal communication, no ego
Total Rewards: Competitive market rates for compensation, Equity compensation, global benefits (inclusive of office equipment)
Work/Life Harmony: Flexible workday, Family and Friends days
Remote Done Right: One of the world's largest all-remote companies, prolific inventor of remote best practices

See our culture page for more!

Work remotely from anywhere in the world. Curious to see what that looks like? Check out our remote manifesto and guides.

Last modified July 9, 2024: Fix links and spelling (e30f31b6)

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