Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Associate Director, Issues Communications
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At Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), we're committed to building and protecting one of the world's most recognised brands through trusted, transparent and impactful communications.
As Associate Director, Issues Communications, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping how CCEP communicates on the issues that matter most to our business, our stakeholders and our reputation. Working at the intersection of communications, public affairs and corporate strategy, you'll lead our approach to advocacy, issues and crisis communications across multiple markets.
This is a high-impact role within the Corporate Communications team, partnering closely with Public Affairs, Stakeholder Relations, Legal, Incident Management teams and senior leaders across the business. You'll help shape narratives, influence decision-making and guide communications responses during both proactive and reactive situations.
If you're passionate about reputation management, strategic communications and helping organisations navigate complex issues in a fast-changing environment, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact at a global scale.
What You Will Do
As Associate Director, Issues Communications, you'll lead the development and delivery of communications strategies that strengthen CCEP's reputation and support key business priorities.
Advocacy & Narrative Development
- Develop and drive proactive advocacy communications strategies across earned, owned, paid, digital and social channels.
- Partner with Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations teams to communicate on key topics including regulation, sustainability, localness and category-related issues.
- Create clear and compelling corporate narratives, messaging frameworks and engagement materials that translate complex issues into accessible and impactful communications.
- Anticipate emerging issues and reputational risks, helping shape communication strategies before they become broader business challenges.
- Enhance the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement through strategic communications and targeted messaging.
- Support senior leadership visibility and engagement by developing positioning, content and communication materials for key stakeholder interactions.
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Issues & Crisis Communications
- Lead communications strategies and responses during issues, incidents and crisis situations.
- Provide communications leadership through CCEP's Incident Management processes, ensuring alignment and consistency across markets and functions.
- Develop and maintain crisis response materials, including Q&As, holding statements, key messages and executive briefings.
- Support senior leaders during high-profile or sensitive situations with communications advice, media guidance and stakeholder messaging.
Governance & Capability Building
- Develop and embed issues and crisis communications frameworks, playbooks and best practices.
- Lead monitoring, escalation and reporting routines for emerging issues, leveraging insights and analytics to strengthen preparedness and response effectiveness.
- Build strong relationships across communication teams, business functions and external partners to drive consistency and excellence in external engagement.
- Strengthen organisational capability through coaching, training and ongoing guidance on issues and crisis communications.
What We Expect From You
We're looking for an experienced communications professional who combines strategic thinking with strong judgement, exceptional writing skills and the ability to lead through influence.
You'll bring:
- Significant experience in communications, corporate affairs or public affairs, ideally within a multinational, FMCG or similarly complex organisation.
- Proven experience managing high-profile issues, crisis situations and reputation-related challenges.
- Strong expertise in advocacy communications, narrative development and messaging strategy.
- Experience advising and influencing senior leaders on complex and sensitive topics.
- Strong external communications experience, including media relations and stakeholder engagement.
- Exceptional writing and storytelling capabilities, including executive briefings, messaging frameworks, statements and Q&A development.
- Experience operating effectively in fast-paced environments where priorities can change quickly.
- Strong understanding of media, policy and stakeholder environments.
- Experience using insights, monitoring and analytics to inform communications strategies and decision-making.
- A degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Business or a related field.
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Success in this role will also require:
- Strong judgement and the ability to remain calm and effective in high-pressure situations.
- The confidence and credibility to influence senior stakeholders and challenge constructively when needed.
- A highly collaborative approach and the ability to work across multiple functions, markets and leadership teams.
- Resilience, adaptability and a solutions-focused mindset.
- Curiosity, initiative and the ability to anticipate emerging risks and opportunities.
- Fluency in English, with additional European languages considered an advantage.
Why Choose Us?
At CCEP, you'll have the opportunity to work at the centre of some of the most important conversations facing our business and industry. You'll help shape how we engage with stakeholders, navigate complex issues and protect our reputation across diverse markets.
In return, you'll join a collaborative, high-performing team where your expertise will be valued, your impact will be visible and your career can continue to grow within one of the world's leading consumer goods companies.
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