Chief Engagement Officer (Chief Engagement, Communications & Marketing Officer)

Chief Engagement Officer (Chief Engagement, Communications & Marketing Officer)

The Executive Leadership Council is the preeminent member organization for the development of diverse global leaders. Comprised of more than 800 current and former corporate CEOs, board members and senior executives at Fortune 1000 & Global 500 companies, entrepreneurs leading top-tier firms, and recognized thought leaders, we open channels of opportunity for the development of executives to positively impact business and communities.

We are currently seeking a Chief Engagement Officer for Communications & Marketing to join the Communications & Marketing team in our Washington, DC office.

Position Overview

The Chief Engagement, Communications & Marketing Officer (CECMO) is a senior enterprise leader responsible for shaping, protecting, and amplifying the organization's reputation, relevance, and growth. As a member of the executive leadership team, the CECMO holds enterprise authority over brand, narrative, engagement, and strategic communications-serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, senior leadership, and Board during moments of opportunity, transformation, and risk.

The CECMO leads an integrated engagement, marketing, and communications strategy that advances the organization's mission, drives measurable growth, and strengthens long-term stakeholder trust. This role connects narrative to strategy, engagement to outcomes, and insight to decision-making-ensuring the organization speaks with clarity, credibility, and influence across all audiences and platforms.

With accountability for organizational visibility, executive thought leadership, audience growth, and reputation management, the CECMO ensures the organization's voice reflects its leadership position, values, and ambitions in an increasingly complex global environment.

Essential Job Functions & Key Outcomes

Enterprise Strategy, Authority & Executive Counsel

• Serve as a core strategic advisor to the CEO and executive leadership on organizational positioning, narrative, and reputation.
• Hold enterprise authority over brand standards, external messaging, and strategic communications.
• Advise leadership and the Board on reputation, visibility, stakeholder perception, and external risk.
• Lead communications strategy during moments of organizational change, transformation, and inflection.
• Ensure alignment between organizational strategy, leadership priorities, and public narrative.

Executive Visibility, Thought Leadership & Influence

• Own and execute the executive communications strategy for the CEO, elevating thought leadership, visibility, and influence nationally and globally.
• Secure high-impact speaking engagements, media placements, convenings, and platforms aligned to strategic priorities.
• Oversee development of speeches, op-eds, presentations, talking points, and briefing materials for senior leaders.
• Position the organization as a respected thought leader and convener in leadership, equity, and global influence conversations.

Brand, Narrative & Content Strategy

• Define and steward a clear, compelling enterprise narrative that reflects mission, strategy, and impact.
• Ensure consistent brand expression across all channels, platforms, and stakeholder touchpoints.
• Oversee external communications, media relations, digital presence, and content strategy.
• Lead proactive and responsive communications, including issue management and rapid-response messaging.
• Elevate storytelling to strengthen emotional connection, credibility, and influence.

Growth, Marketing & Revenue Enablement

• Lead an integrated marketing and engagement strategy that drives measurable growth across programs, membership, philanthropy, sponsorships, and events.
• Partner with Development, Programs, and Membership leadership to support revenue generation, retention, and pipeline growth.
• Oversee digital marketing, CRM-driven communications, campaign strategy, and performance analytics.
• Ensure marketing investments are aligned to enterprise priorities and deliver clear ROI.

Stakeholder, Member & Audience Engagement

• Design and optimize end-to-end stakeholder and member journeys-from awareness to participation to advocacy.
• Strengthen engagement across a growing global community through targeted, culturally responsive strategies.
• Use audience insights and data to refine messaging, outreach, and experience design.
• Ensure consistency between the organization's brand promise and lived stakeholder experience.

Internal Communications, Culture & Change Leadership

• Lead internal communications strategy that fosters alignment, clarity, and engagement across the organization.
• Support leadership messaging, change communications, and enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Shape and reinforce organizational culture, values, and leadership narrative in partnership with HR.
• Ensure internal experience reflects and reinforces the organization's external brand.

Crisis, Risk & Reputation Management

• Lead enterprise crisis communications planning, scenario development, and response.
• Serve as a key leader during reputational risk, coordinating messaging across leadership, legal, and operational teams.
• Monitor issues, sentiment, and external dynamics to proactively mitigate risk.
• Protect and strengthen trust with stakeholders during moments of heightened scrutiny.

Strategic Partnerships & External Relations

• Cultivate strategic partnerships that enhance organizational visibility, influence, and impact.
• Lead communications and engagement strategies for collaborations, sponsorships, and external initiatives.
• Support global expansion by ensuring communications resonate across regions, cultures, and stakeholder groups.

Data, Insights & Digital Ecosystem Ownership

• Own audience intelligence, engagement analytics, and brand health measurement.
• Translate insights into strategic recommendations for the CEO and executive leadership.
• Oversee the organization's marketing technology ecosystem, including CRM, automation, analytics, and digital platforms.
• Partner with IT and Operations to ensure integration, scalability, and data integrity.

Team Leadership, Operations & Capability Building

• Lead and develop a high-performing engagement, marketing, and communications function.
• Build future-ready capabilities across content, digital engagement, analytics, design, and marketing technology.
• Oversee departmental budgets, external partners, and resource allocation.
• Develop next-generation leaders and establish scalable systems, playbooks, and standards.
• Foster a culture of excellence, creativity, accountability, and continuous learning.

General Duties

• Contribute to the achievement of established department goals and objectives and adhere to department policies, procedures, quality standards, and safety standards.
• Maintain current professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing professional networks, and participating in professional associations.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced office environment, demonstrating a flexible approach with short deadlines.
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality improvement.
• Ability to maintain high project organization, multitask, and a focus on quality of results with attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
• Create and manage a seamless information sharing workflow within the Communications & Marketing department and the overall organization.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Education, Experience & Credentials

• A Bachelor's Degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or another relevant academic discipline. Master's preferred.
• A minimum of 12-15 years of progressive leadership experience in communications, marketing, engagement, and/or brand strategy.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of progressive responsible experience in a strategic leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience leading a function, team, or complex portfolio of programs with a high degree of autonomy.
• Demonstratable experience with corporate relationship management is preferred.
• Experience advising senior executives and boards within complex organizations (corporate, nonprofit, global, or membership-based).
• Proven success elevating organizational and executive visibility on national or global platforms.
• Demonstrated leadership in integrated communications, growth marketing, and digital ecosystems.
• Experience managing high-stakes messaging, crisis communications, and reputational risk.
• Strong business acumen with proven experience in budget management and financial analysis.
• Proven ability to drive initiatives from concept through execution and deliver measurable results.

Key Success Indicators

• Increased visibility, credibility, and influence of the CEO and organization.
• A strong, consistent enterprise brand aligned to strategy and values.
• Measurable growth in engagement, participation, and revenue-supporting outcomes.
• High-quality storytelling that deepens mission connection and trust.
• Clear internal alignment around strategy and