Senior Public Relations Manager, Risk & Crisis Management

The Intersection of Calling & Career

World Vision is now hiring for Senior Public Relations Manager, Risk & Crisis Management.

01 At a Glance

Role: Senior Public Relations Manager, Risk & Crisis Management

Level: Senior (8 years minimum experience required, individual contributor)

Must-Have Experience: A bachelor's degree or 8 years of equivalent work experience. In addition, this senior-level role requires at least 8 years of work experience in journalism, public relations, crisis management, or communications including professional media relations experience for a large, complex organization or church in the US. Must include 3 years of risk or crisis communications experience. To be a strong candidate for this role, you must bring direct, hands-on experience managing medium to high-level reputation or crisis issues that resulted in working with journalists at major national news organizations. This experience should reflect your ability to build and maintain trusted media relationships, particularly in high-stakes, fast-moving situations. Additionally, you will need to be a spiritual role model who fosters collaborative risk mitigation and consensus-building among diverse stakeholders. Your written communication skills must be exceptional, paired with deep investigative and research capabilities, keen intuition, and strong analytical judgment.

Success in this role will also require the ability to influence critical decision-making and counsel senior leaders on effective responses to complex humanitarian issues, program challenges, and sensitive organizational policies. You should be comfortable with “speaking truth to power” in a way that reflects compassion and humility, offering guidance that both upholds our mission and demonstrates God’s love in all interactions.

Salary Range: $84,600 - $135,400. Applies to locations with a market similar to our U.S. HQ in the Greater Seattle area. A different range may apply based on your work location. The typical hiring range is $90,000 - $110,000. See the “Salary Range & Benefits” section below for more details on our compensation and benefits.

02 The Job As Senior Public Relations Manager of Risk & Crisis Management at World Vision USA, you’ll be the strategic lead in addressing and navigating reputational risks and crises that impact our mission to serve the world’s most vulnerable populations. This role is uniquely situated within World Vision's U.S. office, where you’ll support high-stakes initiatives that connect with donors, church partners, and other supporters in the U.S. across multiple channels. Reporting to the Senior Director of Public Engagement and working as part of our 9-member Public Engagement Team, you’ll be at the forefront of protecting and reinforcing the trust in our work through effective risk and crisis communication.

In this role, you’ll be expected to handle complex and sensitive issues that may arise due to our Christian identity and unique position within the humanitarian sector. You’ll work on cases involving topics such as religious hiring rights, donor trust, financial accountability, and issues where social and cultural beliefs may intersect with the organization’s values, such as LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The right candidate will navigate these challenges with a calm, strategic approach, developing comprehensive risk mitigation plans that guide our organization in upholding its integrity and mission.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Crisis Planning & Response: Lead the development of strategic crisis plans that include assessing the situation, identifying key stakeholders and consulting with subject matter experts across World Vision on specific issues. Create responses that protect and restore trust, ensuring that the organization’s voice remains authentic and aligned with its values.
• Messaging & Communication: Craft timely, empathetic messaging on sensitive topics, aimed at de-escalating situations while maintaining transparency. As a trusted advisor, you’ll have a knack for synthesizing complex information and translating it into clear, impactful statements for diverse audiences, including the media, supporters, and senior leadership.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Media Relations: Build strong collaborative working relationships across the organization and with external media to support clear, trusted communication. You’ll regularly engage with media on fast-moving issues and develop effective, agile messaging in response to complex narratives, using your expertise in social media and public relations to navigate rapidly evolving situations.
• Leadership & Integrity: Work with grace and integrity under pressure, demonstrating a commitment to transparency, accountability, and owning mistakes when they arise. Your work will embody the values of humility, service, and integrity at the core of our faith-based mission.

Who You Are

You bring senior-level expertise in public relations, with deep experience managing sensitive, high-impact issues. You excel in environments where quick, strategic thinking is essential, and you have a gift for managing relationships and building trust in complex, matrixed organizations. You’re skilled at anticipating challenges and working proactively to navigate reputational risks that require a nuanced, thoughtful approach. A seasoned communicator, you’re ready to lead on sensitive risk issues that impact our organization’s mission, integrity, and alignment with the larger humanitarian and Christian community.

In this position, your expertise in crisis management will not only protect our organization’s reputation but also affirm our commitment to truth and service in line with our calling to serve the world’s most vulnerable communities.

What the Role Involves

In a world where narratives shape perception, you’re the bridge between what we do and how the world sees us. You’ll be charged with defending World Vision’s reputation across a diverse and complex U.S. faith community. Whether responding to questions on denominational differences, our stance on Christian hiring practices, or the occasional allegation, your work will be to articulate our mission clearly, empathetically, and with unshakable integrity.

Key Areas of Focus

• Crisis Stewardship: Lead immediate response strategies for sensitive issues impacting our organization’s brand and reputation. You’ll bring a calm, clear voice to crises that involve everything from faith-based diversity to financial accountability.
• Reframing Challenges: Lead the thinking on our communications approach for nuanced topics, including Christian hiring rights and LGBTQ+ matters. Craft messages that resonate with both our supporters and those who question our practices, always anchored in respect and transparency.
• Network Building: Develop a network of trusted media contacts, crisis consultants, and faith-based leaders who can help shape and amplify our message in moments of both calm and crisis. Your relationships will become a shield and a platform for truth.

03 What success looks like

1. Effective Crisis Response & Mitigation: Successfully develop and execute crisis response strategies that de-escalate issues promptly and preserve World Vision’s reputation. This includes achieving clear, consistent messaging and handling sensitive situations with agility, particularly when addressing crises related to religious rights, financial integrity, and alignment with social and cultural expectations.
2. Strengthened Stakeholder Relationships: Cultivate strong, trusting relationships between internal and external stakeholders, including senior leadership, media, and key partners. A key measure will be positive feedback from these groups on responsiveness, clarity, and collaboration during both proactive risk management and crisis response efforts.
3. Media & Public Perception Management: Demonstrate skillful handling of public narratives, achieving positive outcomes in media coverage of crises and mitigating negative press where possible. This includes effectively managing complex or controversial issues and representing the organization’s perspective clearly and consistently in alignment with our values.
4. Proactive Risk Identification & Prevention: Develop and implement proactive measures to identify potential risks before they escalate into crises. Success will be measured by the ability to prevent crises, manage early risk indicators, and prepare the organization with advance communication strategies for high-risk topics.
5. Impactful Process Improvements & Innovation: Lead the thinking on emerging risk topics and prepare the organization for potential risks on the horizon. Bring process innovations and improvements to risk and crisis management practices, enhancing World Vision USA’s ability to respond to evolving challenges. This includes creating or refining systems for crisis management, stakeholder engagement, influencer vetting, and media engagement that increases efficiency, speed, and effectiveness in high-pressure situations.
6. Proactive Risk Assessment & Mitigation Frameworks: Establish robust risk prevention frameworks that systematically identify, assess, and mitigate potential reputational and operational risks associated with World Vision’s identity as a Christian organization and its work both domestically and internationally. Success will be measured by the ability to implement and maintain processes that anticipate and address sensitive issues—such as denominational alignment, ethical standards, and cultural sensitivities—in ways that strengthen stakeholder confidence, safeguard our reputation, and align with our mission and values. This includes ongoing scenario planning, risk forecasting, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to uphold a high standard of accountability and public trust.