Advisor, External Affairs, Houston Ship Channel

Basic Function

As the Advisor, External Affairs Houston Ship Channel, this individual will be a member of the Sustainability & Corporate Affairs team. The successful candidate will operate in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and be responsible for developing and administering communications strategies related to the company’s assets in the Greater Houston Area using best-in-class methods.

This individual will be responsible for developing and executing communications strategies and plans for the asset locations they support. A focus on business and site priorities, as well as supporting the business’ license to operate and grow, is imperative. A core component of this is having an ‘outside in’ perspective, understanding and flagging key sensitive issues and trends in the local environment (e.g. community, county government). 

The Advisor, External Affairs Houston Ship Channel will be responsible for stakeholder engagement, local and trade media relations, and social performance. This individual will work in concert with our Global Corporate Citizenship team to support social investment. The Advisor is responsible for proactively developing and maintaining key stakeholder relationships, as well as working cohesively with business leads providing strategic advice and counsel as a trusted business partner. This includes working closely with Government Relations colleagues on elected official engagements.

This individual will be a member of the Corporate Communications Incident / Crisis Management team and could assume the role as one of the designated company spokespeople. Additionally, the Advisor will be responsible for creating editorial and digital content for use across various LyondellBasell digital communications platforms.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity over time to support and work with various teams in the Corporate Affairs group. These teams may include Employee and Digital Communications, Marketing Communications, Executive Communication and Global Corporate Citizenship.

This position is located in the Greater Houston Area and offers a competitive base salary, bonus, 401K matching, generous benefits package, pension plan, transportation subsidy, and employee discounts.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Support the full range of Corporate Communications strategies and tactics needed, including stakeholder engagement, media relations, employee communications, social media, social investment and communications measurement.
• Develop and execute communications plans.
• Share and apply innovative ideas and develop content for various communications channels (e.g. Elements, LYB.com, social media and LYB content hub).
• Provide strategic advice and counsel to business clients and functional leaders. 
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business by anticipating issues that impact the business and serve as the first point of contact for issues related to the external environment. 
• Partner with the Corporate Communications team in both content and visual storytelling for LyondellBasell through a broad array of communication assets.
• Drive the alignment and information sharing among the Corporate Affairs team about new messaging, resources, upcoming events/activities, etc. 
• Project owner and/or lead, creating and executing campaigns and projects as assigned with skill and professionalism.
• Operate with a mindset and ability to think several steps ahead and anticipates the needs of clients / stakeholders and management.
• Proactively engage with Corporate Affairs and encourages peer collaboration and functional alignment. 
• Manage and develop communications resources and toolkits including but not limited to key message documents, power point presentations, and training materials.
• Represent the company with the utmost integrity and abides by the LyondellBasell Code of Conduct.
• Act as a company spokesperson and manage media / stakeholder interactions, as well as serve as an incident response communications focal point.
• Develop, review and edit communications materials from other functional areas where applicable (e.g., external, marketing communications, internal) for accuracy and consistency.
• Maintain and enhance client / stakeholder relationships, as well as develop and execute engagement plans and activities in support of the business objectives.
• Must demonstrate excellent interpersonal communication and presentation skills, both oral and written. 
• Demonstrates strong organizational skills, the ability to be detail-oriented and set priorities to meet deadlines.
• Resilient in tackling opportunities and challenges of the job.
• Excellent collaboration and listening skills and the ability to impact and influence across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Ability to analyze any situation, adapt to a rapidly changing environment, and develop a path forward for improving efficiency.
• Effective business partner with strong stakeholder / client engagement, media relations and reputation management capabilities.
• Strategically focused in support of the company’s reputation plan, as well as individual business / client objectives.
• Demonstrate strong drive to achieve superior results. 
• Drives a solution-oriented approach. 
• Command of AP Style, while having strong and efficient writing competencies across digital and print platforms.
• Function autonomously balancing quality of work and meeting deadlines. 
• Skilled at managing multiple tasks simultaneously and effectively.
• Models diversity, equity and inclusion behaviors, including engendering trust, respect and confidence. 
• Proven self-starter, willingness to assume management of complex projects, paying attention to detail and setting priorities to meet deadlines.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality and manage sensitive materials. 

Min. Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or public relations or related field.
• Minimum of 5 or more years of relevant working experience as a communications professional in external affairs, marketing or public relations.
• Preferred prior experience working in the chemical, manufacturing or related industry in a communications related field with strong writing capabilities. 
• Knowledge of the Incident Command System (or similar) structure a plus.
• Languages: English; Fluent in Spanish preferred.

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Competencies