Communications Director

As a senior regional lead within our McDonald's practice, you are a critical pillar of the "Three-Legged Stool." You serve as the primary strategic counselor and brand protector for the Northwest Owner/Operator Cooperatives.

In this player-coach role, you own the NW account's strategic roadmap and accountability while providing field support to McDonald's Corporate. You lead a dedicated Tactician to ensure local insights and reporting are delivered to clients and corporate partners in real time, enabling data-driven action across the system.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Client Counsel & Accountability

• Serve as the primary agency face to the NW Owner/Operator Boards - own the relationship, lead boardroom presentations, and secure buy-in for regional PR strategies
• Full accountability for the regional PR budget; demonstrate clear value and ROI to Owners, ensuring investment drives local Brand Love and business growth
• Collaborate with agency leads in markets such as DC, Philly, and Chicago to align regional strategies with national goals

2. Corporate System Support: Recon & Liaison

• Act as eyes and ears for McDonald's Corporate Government Relations and Crisis leads; provide local recon (regulatory trends, local activism, stakeholder sentiment) that informs national strategy
• Synthesize and deliver critical field data to both clients and corporate partners - the connective tissue between local reality and corporate planning
• Identify and cultivate relationships with local community leaders and NGOs, managing the brand's license to operate in the NW

3. Crisis & Issues Support (Non-Media Lead)

• Oversee hyper-local media and social monitoring via the Tactician; report local developments to Corporate so they can lead media response
• Ensure local Owners are briefed on Corporate-mandated crisis protocols and synchronized with the national response

4. Brand Representation & Public Presence

• Serve as the visible, polished face of the agency and the brand at client meetings, community events, sports and nonprofit activations, and stakeholder engagements
• Demonstrate consistent, composed presence in unscripted settings - including field events, media opportunities, and board environments - where real-time judgment and credibility are paramount
• Represent client and agency interests with accuracy and clarity, particularly in high-visibility or high-stakes situations

5. Team Leadership

• Direct and develop a regional Tactician responsible for day-to-day execution; accountable for their growth, output quality, and reporting discipline

Travel & Field Presence Requirements

This role requires consistent in-person presence and is not suited to candidates who prefer primarily desk-based work. Travel and field activity are core to the job, not occasional asks.

Regional Travel

Expect an average of 2-3 business days of travel per month in lighter months, increasing to 5+ business days per month during busier periods (roughly every other month). Travel supports in-person client meetings, stakeholder engagement with local community and government partners, sports and nonprofit partnership obligations, and events and activations.

On-Site Activation Presence

As the regional point person, you are the face and name of the brand in the Northwest. You are expected to be on-site at client activations throughout the year. Activation volume is heavier in the summer months but spans the full calendar year.

This includes:

• Occasional evening and weekend field activity - this is the nature of event and activation work
• Day trips and local field assignments requiring in-person presence on short notice
• Multi-day travel for regional activations, partnership events, and board engagements

Candidates must be comfortable with and prepared for this level of field commitment as a standing expectation of the role.

Candidate Profile

• 12-15+ years PR, public affairs, communications, or marketing communications experience - deep background in QSR, franchise models, or CPG/Grocery is essential; you understand the speed of retail. Agency experience highly preferred.
• Boardroom presence - a confident, high-EQ counselor who can navigate a room of 20+ successful, independent business owners
• The Translator - able to take complex corporate policy and turn it into actionable, high-impact intelligence for local business owners
• Chameleon-like social intelligence - reads a room instinctively and adjusts accordingly; equally effective delivering a boardroom strategy briefing, navigating a tense owner conversation, or working a crowd at a community activation; knows when to push, when to listen, and when to defuse
• Strategically grounded - brings a clear point of view and long-horizon thinking; moves beyond tactics to advise clients on what matters and why
• Relentless accountability - takes personal pride in delivering the plan and managing budgets with total transparency
• Field-ready - genuinely comfortable with regular travel, on-site activation work, and evening or weekend field commitments as a standing part of the role