Senior Manager, Brand & Communications

About MCU

At Municipal Credit Union, we believe that an incredible culture helps create a happy and motivated team that works hard to achieve the best results for themselves and their members. For more than 100 years, MCU has provided affordable financial products and convenient services to a membership base that is now comprised of over 600,000 individuals. With each new generation we have the pleasure of interacting with, we maintain the credit union promise of people helping people.

Our Mission

To help hard-working New Yorkers build better tomorrows

Our Vision

Be New York's most loved financial institution by helping our members build their best financial futures

Overview: The Sr. Manager, Brand and Communications is responsible for shaping, protecting, and elevating MCU's brand and reputation through strategic brand leadership, public relations, thought leadership, and enterprise communications. This role serves as the senior owner of MCU's brand and communications function and works closely with executive leadership and external agency partners to deliever cohesive, high-impact messaging aligned with MCU's business objectives, values, and growth strategy.

This leader oversees key external relationships, including the marketing and public relations agencies, and directly manages a team responsible for partnerships, creative execution, and internal communications.

Responsibilities

Specific duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Own and lead MCU's brand and communications strategy, ensuring consistent, high-quality messaging across all external and internal touchpoints.
• Manage and work closely with our advertising agencies and partners to deliver creative work that builds our reputation and business. This includes responsibility for our creative strategies, campaigns and media plans.
• Lead, plan, and execute enterprise-wide Town Halls and Leadership Connections meetings, including content development, executive coordination, messaging alignment, production oversight, and post-event communication.
• Develop MCU's annual public relations strategy in partnership with the external PR firm, including media relations, planning, storyline development, executive visibility, and proactive opportunity identification.
• Work closely with executive leadership to develop and manage thought leadership platforms for the CEO and members of the Executive Leadership Team, including speaking opportunities, interviews, podcasts and bylined content
• Develop and execute a scalable executive visibility and thought leadership strategy across relevant media and industry platforms.
• provide strategic counsel to executive leadership on reputation management, brand positioning, and external communications.
• Prepare, manage, and oversee all corporate communications related to brand, reputation, and public relations, including messaging frameworks, content development, governance and approvals, performance analysis, and enterprise internal communication.
• Work with the PR firm to prepare press releases and media materials for MCU and the MCU Foundation
• Oversee and manage external agency relationships, including MCU's marketing agency and public relations agency, ensuring clear scopes, accountability, performance measurement, and alignment with enterprise priorities.
• Directly manage and develop the Manager of Partnerships, Graphic Designer, and Internal Communications Manager, providing clear priorities, performance expectations, and ongoing coaching.
• Ensure strong cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Product, Digital, HR, Legal, Compliance, and the MCU Foundation.
• Perform other related duties as requested and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor or advanced degree in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in brand, communications, and public relations, with demonstrated leadership responsibility.
• Public relations experience preferred.
• Experience managing external PR agencies and/or content creators strongly preferred.
• Ability to manage sensitive or confidential information with sound judgement.
• Strong written, verbal, and digital communications skills.
• Comfortable working with executive management, employees, media and the larger MCU community.
• Impeccable copywriting and copy-editing abilities.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Technologically proficient.

Leadership Competencies

• Strong ability to influence without authority
• Ability to navigate reputational challenges and work with executives through complex communication decisions
• Proven ability to manage change
• Capacity to take calculated risks and innovate
• Experience in setting vision and strategy
• Successful in communicating effectively
• Proven ability to build, manager, and develop high-performing teams

Why you'll be a good fit

Our Core Values are an integral part of who we are and who we hire. By living our Core Values, every day, we continue to attract the best and brightest talent, achieve unsurpassed results and continuously challenge ourselves to be better than yesterday. These values are at the heart of our organization and within every teammate. To be a great fit, you’ll bring the following

Results - We are passionate about winning.

Agility - We proactively anticipate, respond and pivot to ensure MCU wins.

Integrity - We operate with the highest ethical standards and highest degree of honesty.

Belonging - We cultivate a culture of inclusion and teamwork.

Ownership - We take personal responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for the results.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

The pay range for this position is between $121,300-208,170 annually. Actual base pay offered may vary depending on a number of factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Employees in this position may also be eligible for a discretionary bonus, 401(k) with an 6% employer match per pay period. Benefits for this position include Medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance, flexible paid time off and 11 paid holidays annually.

Municipal Credit Union (MCU) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Municipal Credit Union provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

We are committed to hiring, training, cultivating, promoting, and celebrating an environment where we have a welcoming and fulfilling place for all people to call home. Diversity of race, thought, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, religion, and disability will empower us to thrive as individuals, as teams, and as an organization.