Vice President, Defense Communications

Job Title: Vice President, Communications

Working Pattern: Hybrid – 3 in office days a week

Working Location: Reston, VA

An exciting opportunity to join us as our Vice President of Communications has arisen. As the Vice President of Communications, you will be responsible for building a deep understanding of the Defence business, identifying where communications and advocacy activities can be used to enable delivery of the business strategy. Work with the Senior Vice President of external communications Defense and Rolls-Royce North America (RRNA) as a de facto number two in the organization. As such, you will be accountable for enabling business delivery while helping to uphold and drive functional standards and proactively creating advocacy campaigns and content that advance the Rolls-Royce Defence and RRNA narrative; working with a wide variety of senior stakeholders to help identify the stories that bring the richness of the business to life. This also includes, leading the development of strategies that enable Rolls-Royce Defense to build employee engagement and buy-in to its purpose, strategy and behaviors. You will also support campaigns to ensure we are getting traction externally for progress and achievements being made by Defense.

Why Rolls-Royce?

Rolls-Royce is one of the most enduring and iconic brands in the world and has been at the forefront of innovation for over a century. We design, build and service systems that provide critical power to customers where safety and reliability are paramount.

We are proud to be a force for progress, powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.

At Rolls-Royce, we are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. We foster a welcoming and innovative work environment that invests in you, giving you access to an incredible breadth and depth of opportunities where you can grow your career and make a difference.

Rolls-Royce is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristics.

What you will be doing:

• Strategy and planning: Use listening and insight to shape external stakeholder and employee engagement strategy to drive required business performance and desired culture change. Identify opportunities to reduce tactical requests
• Expert counsel to leaders: Provide strategic and informed counsel to the executive level leaders based on experience, industry-best practice and business needs in order to build their capabilities as effective communicators.
• Communications delivery: Leverage corporate and divisional narrative to drive consistency and common understanding of messaging. Commission compelling content for use across external channels.
• Team leadership (informal): Collaborate across geographic and operational boundaries while finding opportunities for growth, learning and development. Lead by example by being more strategic in our activities, more commercial in our thinking and more integrated in our approach. Reinforce one Rolls-Royce mindset when working with the Communications Team leveraging talent within Channel and Content, Events and External Communications to deliver integrated campaigns.
• Crisis communications: Stay abreast of industry and divisional environment, in preparedness for any eventuality. Coordinate with SVP External Communications and crisis response teams to provide guidance to leadership or site representatives to respond promptly and appropriately e.g., during times of crisis, managing sensitive people or potential employee relations issues.
• Understand the business requirements and drivers to be able to contribute to the formulation of a strategy that protects and promotes the reputation of the Defence business. Work with Group Communications to ensure that the Division’s business priorities are reflected in the overall communications strategy.
• Provide guidance to the business on issues, anticipating and advising proactively on how to manage reputation risks. Monitor the external environment and share trends, opportunities and threats.
• Execute communications strategy (in partnership with relevant internal senior stakeholders) that showcases the depth and breadth of the Rolls-Royce Defence business and how we are enabling the transition to net zero. Provide regular updates to line management and other key senior stakeholders on progress against the plan and formulate any amends required to ensure success.
• Support leaders to deliver content and messaging that supports the Defence and overall Rolls-Royce narrative, ensuring they have appropriate support and coaching.
• Align with the Internal Communications team to ensure that any opportunities for cross-collaboration / application of tools are considered, as well as work closely with the marketing team to align on messaging and brand for online and offline opportunities.
• Oversee the pipeline and delivery of social media content that aligns with the brand’s core narrative and communications objectives.

Who we’re looking for:

At Rolls-Royce we put safety first, do the right thing, keep it simple and make a difference. These principles form the behaviors that guide us and are an essential component of our assessment process. They are the fundamental qualities that we seek for all roles.

Basic Requirements:

• Associate degree and 10+ years of communications and marketing experience, OR
• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of communications and marketing experience OR
• Master’s degree and 6+ years of communications and marketing experience, OR
• JD/PhD and 3+ years of communications and marketing experience, OR
• 12+ years of communications and marketing experience in lieu of a degree
• In order to be eligible for consideration for this opportunity, you must be a U.S. Citizen

Preferred Requirements:

• Previous experience across areas of the business to manage stakeholders and influence
• Previous experience working in a matrixed organization, preferably in the aerospace and defense sector
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Significant experience delivering strategic communications campaigns at the operational and strategic level
• Experience working with and managing public relations agencies

What we offer:

We offer excellent development opportunities, a competitive salary, and exceptional benefits. These include bonus, employee support assistance and employee discounts.

Your needs are as unique as you are. Hybrid working is a way in which our people can balance their time between the office, home, or another remote location.  It’s a locally managed and flexed informal discretionary arrangement.  As a minimum we’re all expected to be present in the workplace for collaboration and other specific reasons, on average three days per week.

Relocation assistance will be provided if applicable.

Closing date: August 22, 2025

Benefits

Rolls-Royce provides a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package that includes base pay and a discretionary bonus plan. Eligible employees may have the opportunity to enroll in other benefits, including health, dental, vision, disability, life and accidental death & dismemberment insurance; a flexible spending account; a health savings account; a 401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match; Employee Assistance Program; Paid Time Off; certain paid holidays; paid parental and family care leave; tuition reimbursement; and a long-term incentive plan. The options available to an employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as date of hire, employment type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.