Director of Communications – Americas (Touring & Corporate)
Sales, Marketing and Communications
Permanent Position
Location: Montreal — International Headquarters
Reports to:Senior Vice President, Communications
Scope: Americas touring shows+ Corporate Communications + Public Affairs
We were born from an eclectic troop of performers. Come live the experience of being yourself every day to create the extraordinary.
OUR MISSION
Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has been focusing on ever more creative and magical work in order to constantly push the limits of the imagination and surprise spectators! Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our shows and will continue to transcend our upcoming productions around the world.
YOUR MISSION
The Communications Director, Corporate & Global owns the story Cirque du Soleil tells about itself, as a company, an institution, and a cultural brand, and makes sure every hub tells a version of it that holds together.
The role has two halves. The first is a portfolio: corporate reputation, public affairs, partners, executive visibility and global brand elevation. The second is an enterprise mandate that runs across the whole function: the standards, calendar, crisis protocol and message architecture that let three hubs move fast without pulling in different directions.
This is the SVP's deputy. Not through line authority , the Americas, Europe & International and Social & Editorial directors are peers, all reporting to the SVP, but through ownership of the frameworks everyone works inside, and the judgement to hold the line when a market wants to break them.
The role does not run show PR. That sits with the hubs. What it runs is everything above and around the shows: the corporate narrative, the institutional relationships, and the brand elevation work that makes Cirque matter beyond the box office.
Core Mandate
- Own global corporate communications, reputation and public affairs for the enterprise
- Lead global brand elevation: the collaborations and cultural initiatives that grow brand equity beyond show cycles
- Set and police the standards every communications hub operates within: message house, calendar, crisis protocol, approval routes, measurement
- Act as the SVP's deputy: chair the global forum, hold the function together in their absence, and arbitrate where the SVP is not needed
- Build institutional credibility across government, partners, funders and the Québec ecosystem
- Position the executive team as defining voices in live entertainment, culture and innovation
- Lead crisis and issues communications with authority, across business units and time zones
Core Mission
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Drive anticipation, urgency, and sustained demand for touring shows
- Lead corporate communications and reputation management from HQ
- Leverage public affairs as a growth enabler to unlock market access and partnerships
- Ensure communications is a core driver of revenue and brand equity
- Orchestrate cross-functional alignment to deliver cohesive outcomes across markets
Key Responsibilities
1. Corporate Narrative & Reputation
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Own the corporate narrative and the announcement architecture that carries it, what the company says about itself, in what order, and to whom
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Lead all corporate announcements, from results and strategy to organisational and leadership news
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Ensure message consistency across business units, so that shows, ventures and corporate all sound like one company
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Work closely with Internal Communications to align the internal and external story, nothing lands outside that has not landed inside first
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Protect and build enterprise reputation with media, partners, institutions and the wider industry
2. Global Brand Elevation
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Create and deliver initiatives that grow global brand equity beyond campaign and show cycles
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Build and land collaborations across culture, sport, fashion, music and design that put Cirque in conversations it would not otherwise be in
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Own the strategy and the campaigns; partner with Social & Editorial on channel execution and with the hubs on market activation
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Bring proactive ideas to the SVP and CMO rather than waiting for a brief — this is the generative part of the role
3. Public Affairs, Partners & Institutions
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Lead public affairs and stakeholder engagement across Québec, municipal, provincial and federal levels
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Own institutional relationships anchored at International Headquarters
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Lead communications for strategic corporate partnerships and special projects — the Royal Canadian Mint collaboration, the Innovation Hub, and the initiatives that arrive or that we choose to create
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Own sponsorship communications, working with the commercial team to make partnerships legible to media and stakeholders
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Coordinate and host IHQ media visits with the Communications Manager
4. Executive Visibility & Thought Leadership
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Build and run visibility strategies for the CEO, CMO and wider executive team
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Secure and prepare media opportunities, interviews, speaking engagements and thought leadership platforms
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Own the company's presence at priority industry moments — Cannes Lions, SXSW and equivalents — as a communications programme, not an attendance list
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Brief, prepare and protect executives; own the quality of what they say and where they say it
5. New Productions, Ventures & Experiences
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Lead the corporate and enterprise narrative for new productions and ventures, including BT2027 — the reveal, the strategic story and the announcement architecture
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Hand over cleanly to the relevant hub for market show PR, and stay the owner of the enterprise layer through the lifecycle
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Oversee PR for Experiences + Events in partnership with Laurence, delivered with the Senior Communications Manager in Montréal — supporting partners with traditional media relations while finding the creative earned opportunities
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Bring a communications view into new business initiatives early, while the shape of them can still be influenced
6. Crisis & Issues Leadership
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Own the global crisis and issues protocol, the duty rota and the single spokesperson chain
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Lead the response on enterprise-level issues and align messaging across business units in sensitive situations
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Anticipate and mitigate reputational risk across shows, partners, ventures and markets
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Run the escalation framework so hubs know exactly when to act locally and when to hand up
7. Global Standards & Operating Rhythm
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Own the message house for every production and corporate story — hubs localise and build out, they do not rewrite
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Own the global PR calendar: what is announced, when, and in what sequence, with visibility for every business unit
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Set corporate approval routes and hold them
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Chair the fortnightly global communications forum; drive the monthly review with the SVP
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Deputise for the SVP when they are in market or in transition, with the standing to make calls that stick
8. Agency Leadership
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Own the corporate PR agency relationship — brief, direct, challenge and evaluate
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Drive proactive media strategy and top-tier outreach rather than reactive coverage management
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Hold the agency to strategic contribution, not activity reporting
9. Communications Infrastructure & Calendar
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With the Communications Manager, own and continuously improve the corporate communications toolkit: the Corporate PR Portal, the online Press Room and the MediaInfo inbox
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Maintain the global PR calendar as a living instrument the whole function actually uses
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Make the infrastructure good enough that hubs choose to work through it rather than around it
10. Measurement & Accountability
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Own the earned-media measurement model used across all hubs, and report it into the commercial scorecard
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Track corporate share of voice, tier-one penetration, reputation indicators and stakeholder sentiment
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Report performance, insight and risk to the SVP and, where required, to executive leadership
Profile & Experience
Required
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10+ years in senior communications, with real depth in corporate communications and reputation
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Proven crisis and issues leadership in a complex, multi-market organisation
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Public affairs and institutional stakeholder experience, ideally including government at more than one level
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Track record of building executive visibility and thought leadership programmes that landed
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Experience setting standards for teams you do not manage — influence without line authority is the core operating condition of this role
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Strong tier-one media relationships and the judgement to know which stories are worth spending them on
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Fluent English and French
Preferred
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Entertainment, culture, luxury or premium brand background
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Experience with brand collaborations across culture, sport, fashion or music
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Exposure to major IP launches, touring productions or high-profile events
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Familiarity with a hub-based global operating model
Create with us
Our employer proposition stands out. Here's an overview:
- A collaborative work environment with an in-office presence of four days per week, designed to support teamwork, learning and delivery: with flexibility in how we organize our work.
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Professional growth focused on high-quality projects to propel your career, as well as personalized support tailored to your professional ambitions;
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Group insurance, retirement savings and other benefits that we'll be happy to introduce to you;
A culture focused on the development of equitable practices and rallying events.
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As a proud ambassador of equality in employment, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is committed to eliminating discrimination based on age, skin color, origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and neurodiversity. Neutral and inclusive language is now preferred for job postings.
Throughout the recruitment process, accommodation is provided for candidates who require it.
