Senior Communications Specialist - Minneapolis, United States - Sun Country Airlines

Description

ABOUT SUN COUNTRY AIRLINES

We're not your average airline. We're agile, resilient, and full of uncommon opportunity. Here, you can grow as part of an ambitious team that safely and collectively supports each other, our travelers, and our community. Together, we're making travel more attainable.

With more than 40 years of Minnesota roots, we're a unique hybrid low-cost carrier offering

diverse services including scheduled flights to destinations across the U.S., Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as charter and cargo operations around the world. At Sun Country, you'll be part of a growing airline and an enthusiastic team focused on connecting our community with their favorite people and places.

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Communications Specialist is responsible for managing communications projects, implementing communications strategies and tactics, both internal and external for Sun Country. This role will take the initiative to gather, write, and edit content for consumers, news media, and Sun Country team members. The Senior Communications Specialist is both strategic and detailed, flexible, adaptable, and comfortable being a utility player who can tap their experience and skills to create content for multiple audiences and channels.

The Sun Country Communications & Brand team brings to life the Sun Country brand promise across multiple channels, at events, and through community partnerships. This position will report to the Senior Director of Communications and work collaboratively with all members of our Marketing department.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Internal & External Communications

• Execute internal communications strategy and tactics.
• Write, edit, and disseminate the weekly employee newsletter, featured articles on the website, press releases and other messaging. Serve as an editor for the communications team.
• Provide copywriting for consumer channels including email, website, and advertising.
• Identify and develop content for consumers in collaboration with the digital/e-Commerce team and social media team to drive SEO and bookings at
• Support the executive leaders to drive the external executive leadership communications strategy, such as LinkedIn.
• Lead the planning and coordination of quarterly town halls in collaboration with IT and external vendors.
• Strategize effective ways to communicate with deskless work groups such as pilots, flight attendants, maintenance, airport employees, etc., by partnering with leaders of those team members.

Media Relations

• Support the Senior Director of Communications in managing inquiries from media and occasionally serve as a media contact to regional media.
• Support media relations initiatives, such as coordinating logistics and supporting preparation for media interviews.
• Partner with Sun Country department leaders to identify and develop potential story opportunities.
• Support reputation management initiatives by monitoring media coverage and social media.
• Crisis communications: Understand the emergency communication response plan and participate in regular training and drills. Participate in communications responses when irregular operations occur.
• Maintain broad knowledge of the company operations, products, performance, initiatives, and relevant employee stories and collaborate cross-departmentally to create content for social media and media opportunities.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

None

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in strategic communications, public relations, or related field
• 5+ years experience in corporate communications, employee communications, media relations, and/or consumer-facing communications and public relations
• Superior written and verbal communication skills with an ability to convey complex messages in a clear and engaging manner
• Strong knowledge of current media landscape
• Excellent AP style writing skills (candidates will be expected to provide unedited writing samples and complete a writing test)
• Experience working in a fast-paced, quickly-changing environment and comfortable with some ambiguity
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities and projects with strong attention to detail
• Proficient in Microsoft Office skills, photo management tools, and email tools
• Customer focused and employee centric
• Passionate about travel, aviation, airlines, business, and hospitality
• Readiness to participate in communication response in the event of operational issues or in an emergency 24/7

PREFERRED SKILLS

• B2C communications experience
• Comfortable presenting in front of small groups or speaking with reporters
• Comfortable coaching executives on communications
• Experience developing communications plans and managing the implementation of a plan
• Experience bringing colleagues along on communications projects and priorities
• Crisis communications training or experience.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Applicants should submit a cover letter and an unedited writing sample. Finalists will be expected to complete a writing test.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This position operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses the Microsoft suite of products (Teams, Outlook, PPT, Excel, Word, OneDrive, and Viva Engage) and the company intranet site.
• This position requires on-call availability on evenings and weekends due to the nature of the airline.
• This position may require some occasional travel for work events.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands or fingers, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

AAP/EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy of Sun Country Airlines to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR c)

EOE of Minorities/Females/Vets/Disability