Estée Lauder Companies Director, External Corporate Communications
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Director
- Compensation
- $124,200–214,450/year
- Department
- Corporate Affairs, Sustainability & CSR
- Posted
- Sep 22, 2026
Estée Lauder Companies seeks Director of External Corporate Communications for North America based in New York. Lead reputation and media strategy across luxury brands. $124K–$214K annually.
Role & Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a North America corporate media strategy that positions the company and regional leaders across key topics including beauty, luxury retail, consumer trends, and digital commerce
- Design and deliver integrated communications initiatives across earned, owned, and digital channels in partnership with brand and cross-functional teams
- Cultivate relationships with top-tier U.S. and Canada corporate media and event organizers; prepare senior executives for media engagements and speaking opportunities
- Mine strategic narratives from regional brands and business data to support major announcements, partnerships, and milestones
- Provide counsel on reputational risk and vetting procedures for brand activations, partnerships, and spokespersons
- Track emerging trends and issues that pose reputational impact; serve as secondary point of contact for crisis communications across the Americas
- Draft executive communications including briefings, talking points, pitches, press releases, opinion pieces, and award submissions
- Manage executive and company participation in relevant board seats, industry memberships, and annual events
- Maintain alignment with Legal, Government Affairs, Corporate Citizenship, Sustainability, and other cross-functional partners
Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in corporate communications, public affairs, and/or issues management
- Demonstrated experience in beauty, wellness, personal care, retail, luxury, or related industries
- Proven ability to advise senior executives in high-stakes situations
- Exceptional writing and editing skills with strong editorial judgment and ability to translate complex business topics into clear, engaging content
- Experience operating at pace, managing multiple priorities, and thriving in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
- Proven ability to influence across highly matrixed organizations
- Strong leadership, team management, and stakeholder management capabilities
- Sound judgment and composure under pressure
- Portfolio or work samples demonstrating writing, editorial placements, or communications expertise required
Skills
Experience
10+ years in corporate communications, public affairs, or issues management within beauty, wellness, personal care, retail, luxury, or related sectors. Agency experience is advantageous. Demonstrated track record advising senior executives in complex, high-stakes situations and successfully influencing across matrixed organizations.
Education
Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in communications, public affairs, marketing, journalism, or related field.
Workplace
The role is situated in New York, New York, USA.
Compensation
The base compensation for this position ranges from USD 124,200 to USD 214,450 per annum.
Benefits
Health insurance coverage (medical, dental, and vision insurance), wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, education-related programs, paid holidays and vacation time, competitive incentive compensation programs and commission/bonus plans (role eligibility may vary).
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Estée Lauder Companies, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Director of Corporate Communications», «External Communications Director», «Senior Corporate Communications Manager», «Director of Corporate Affairs», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.