Global Director External Communications

Supervisory Relationships

Reports To: VP, Branding, External Communication & Global Digital Marketing

Supervises: A team of experienced communicators, supporting Wolters Kluwer globally. The role oversees both the External Communications, and the Thought Leadership teams.

Basic Function

Wolters Kluwer is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the health, tax & accounting, governance, risk & compliance, and legal & regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. The Company serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 22,000 people worldwide. Every day, our customers make critical decisions to help save lives, improve the way they do business, and build better judicial and regulatory systems.

The Director of External Communications will lead the development and execution of comprehensive communication strategies that drive high visibility and value, as well as protect company's reputation. This leadership role involves overseeing all external communication efforts, managing media relations, and collaborating with executive leadership to align communication initiatives with business objectives.

As a direct report to the Vice President Branding, External Communications & Global Digital Marketing, the Director is a member of the Global Brand, Communications and Marketing (GBCM) team and responsible for raising the overall visibility of Wolters Kluwer. This includes the company, as well as its executives, products, services, thought leadership, and financial results and reporting, primarily in Netherlands based media. The role serves as the Global Communications' team point person on crisis communications matters.

This role is based out of corporate headquarters in Alphen aan den Rijn , the Netherlands. Candidates must have a strong background in PR and Media Relations, ideally for a Euronext traded company, with a good network of contacts in the Netherlands, the USA, European countries and globally. Must demonstrate experience in leading a team of PR professionals and external PR agencies. Additional requirements include but are not limited to good communication and interpersonal skills to establish strong relationships with cross-functional teams, an ability to quickly adapt to changes in business requirements, and a desire to learn new skills and areas of responsibility.

Essential Duties and responsibilities

Media Relations

• Develop and execute comprehensive external communications/media relations strategies, plans, and activities in support of the Company's strategic objectives.
• Provide strategic communications counsel to the Executive Team as a seasoned, confident external communications professional with an excellent sense of judgment and the ability to earn trust.
• Oversee externally focused communications materials to include but not be limited to press releases, stand-by statements, news alerts, media briefings, targeted emails to editors/reporters, FAQs, blog and social media posts, and bylined articles.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with key media outlets, industry publications and other influencers - pitch stories to key publications with a planned and regular cadence.
• Create media/analyst meeting opportunities for executives and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), in support of strategic divisional plans and objectives.
• Define desired outcomes of external communications initiatives, including quantitative and qualitative measures.
• Monitor media coverage and public perception, providing insights and recommendations to executive leadership.

Crisis Communications

• Manage crisis communication efforts, developing and executing response plans to protect the company's reputation.
• Govern all crisis communications documents include templates, plans and messaging.
• Partner with the Business Continuity Team as needed.
• Meet assigned deadlines and deliver on goals and objectives.

Thought Leadership

• Developing and executing a strategic thought leadership approach for key topical and domain areas, such that the various teams (communications, digital, and branding) can develop, refine and distribute the content in alignment with the GBC strategy to support the business.
• Strategically position Wolters Kluwer as a future-ready thought leader in key topical and domain areas that are of long-term importance for the business in partnership with the brand, communication, and digital marketing teams
• Work closely with local and corporate management, and direct colleagues to produce a strong and consistent pipeline of the company thought leadership
• Curate and collect strategic content across businesses to align with global thought leadership campaigns and key domain areas Wolters Kluwer seeks to increase its share of voice in the conversation
• Participate in the management of the company's editorial approach, including content plans, by working across the organization and with the managing editor
• Explore content delivery methodology on multiple platforms, and this could include traditional website, marketing automation, social and other third-party distribution working in conjunction with other GBC teams
• Lead editorial meetings with GBC leaders in partnership with the managing editor of
• Review produced content to ensure quality control and brand compliance and provided feedback for content created in key topical campaigns
• Measure the value and effectiveness of thought leadership

Leadership

• Lead and manage the external communications team, as well as the thought leadership team, providing guidance and support to ensure effective execution of communication strategies.
• Collaborate with internal departments and functions to ensure consistent messaging across all external channels.
• Stay informed about industry trends and best practices in external communications to continuously improve strategies and tactics.

Other Duties

Special projects as appropriate

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in external communications or public relations, with at least 5 years in a leadership role, ideally in a Euronext public company.
• Proven track record of developing and executing successful external communication strategies.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, both in English and Dutch.
• Strong media relations experience and established network of media contacts.
• Ability to work flexible hours
• Detail oriented approach to work; ability to maintain confidentiality; strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while also functioning as an integral part of a team.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to take initiative and to follow through on assignments

Travel requirements

Some travel might be required (aproximately 25% of time)

Physical Demands

This is a hybrid role with a requirement of being in Alphen office a minimum of 8 days a month, or more as needed, depending on PR activities related to being a stock listed company.

Our Interview Practices

To maintain a fair and genuine hiring process, we kindly ask that all candidates participate in interviews without the assistance of AI tools or external prompts. Our interview process is designed to assess your individual skills, experiences, and communication style. We value authenticity and want to ensure we're getting to know you—not a digital assistant. To help maintain this integrity, we ask to remove virtual backgrounds and include in-person interviews in our hiring process. Please note that use of AI-generated responses or third-party support during interviews will be grounds for disqualification from the recruitment process.

Applicants may be required to appear onsite at a Wolters Kluwer office as part of the recruitment process.