Summary/Objective

Job Description

About the BSO

Founded in 1881, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is one of the foremost orchestras in the world and a leading cultural institution dedicated to artistic excellence, education, community engagement, and civic leadership through music. Through the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Tanglewood, Symphony Hall, educational initiatives, and community partnerships, the BSO serves local, national, and global audiences while advancing the future of the art form.

As a highly visible and mission-driven institution, the BSO operates within an increasingly complex public environment requiring sophisticated communications strategy, stakeholder engagement, and institutional reputation stewardship.

About the Role

The Associate Director of Public Relations and Communications serves as the senior operational and strategic communications partner to the Senior Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications and plays a critical role in translating enterprise communications strategy into coordinated institutional execution.

This role functions as the department’s second-in-command and serves as a key operational leader responsible for advancing strategic communications initiatives, strengthening departmental capacity, supporting executive communications efforts, and helping operationalize institutional messaging, media strategy, crisis response, and stakeholder communications across the organization.

While the Senior Director owns enterprise communications strategy and executive-level communications leadership, the Associate Director focuses on implementing strategy, driving cross-functional execution, managing communications initiatives, expanding operational depth, and helping ensure organizational responsiveness during periods of institutional visibility, complexity, or change.

The Associate Director operates as both a strategic communications leader and a highly execution-oriented partner capable of moving seamlessly between strategic planning, message development, operational coordination, media engagement, and stakeholder communications support.

This role also serves as a successor-track leadership position intended to strengthen long-term communications bench depth and organizational continuity within the function.

The role requires strong strategic judgment, exceptional writing ability, operational agility, organizational maturity, and the ability to perform effectively in fast-moving and highly visible institutional environments.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Communications Execution

Partner with the Senior Director to operationalize enterprise communications strategy across institutional initiatives, leadership priorities, and organizational communications efforts.
Translate high-level communications direction into actionable messaging plans, communications initiatives, and coordinated execution strategies.
Help ensure organizational messaging remains aligned, consistent, responsive, and strategically integrated across departments and stakeholder groups.

Crisis Communications and Issues Management Support

Support execution of institutional crisis communications strategies and rapid response communications efforts.
Develop statements, FAQs, talking points, stakeholder messaging, response frameworks, and supporting communications materials.
Monitor emerging issues, reputational dynamics, and public narrative trends while helping coordinate institutional response efforts.
Assist in maintaining organizational readiness during periods of heightened visibility or complexity.

Executive Communications Support

Draft, edit, and coordinate communications on behalf of executive leadership.
Support executive visibility, thought leadership initiatives, speaking engagements, interviews, and stakeholder communications preparation.
Help ensure executive messaging aligns with enterprise communications strategy and institutional priorities.

Media Relations and Institutional Storytelling

Manage proactive media engagement efforts and support institutional visibility initiatives.
Develop stories, pitches, messaging opportunities, and communications campaigns that elevate the BSO’s artistry, mission, civic role, educational work, and institutional priorities.
Cultivate relationships with journalists, media contacts, and external communications partners.
Support execution of media strategy established by departmental leadership

Internal Communications and Cross-functional Coordination

Help lead the organization’s internal communications strategy during periods of organizational change, institutional visibility, leadership transition, or reputational sensitivity.
Partner with Human Resources and executive leadership to develop communications approaches that strengthen employee trust, organizational clarity, alignment, and transparency.
Support development of internal messaging frameworks that reduce ambiguity, improve communication consistency, and reinforce organizational cohesion during complex institutional moments.
Coordinate cross-functional communications planning to ensure alignment between internal stakeholder communications and external institutional messaging.
Help operationalize a more proactive and strategically integrated internal communications capability across the institution.

Department Leadership and Operational Depth

Serve as deputy communications leader and acting departmental lead as needed.
Help strengthen departmental processes, execution standards, communications workflows, and operational coordination.
Mentor junior staff, interns, and operational team members while helping build long-term departmental capability.
Provide additional strategic depth and leadership redundancy within the communications function.

Required Education and Experience

8–10 years of experience in communications, media relations, executive communications, or public relations.
Experience supporting complex organizations or high-visibility leaders strongly preferred.
Crisis communications experience preferred.
Experience in arts and culture, nonprofit, higher education, media, or mission-driven organizations preferred.
Exceptional writing and editorial skills.
Strong strategic judgment and interpersonal maturity.
Ability to manage sensitive communications with discretion and professionalism.
Strong media relations and storytelling capability.
Comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous, and high-pressure environments.

Work Environment

This position is based in Boston with regular in-person presence required at Symphony Hall and institutional events. Evening and weekend work is required as needed. Summer work at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts is required during the Tanglewood season.

Salary Range:$96,000 - 115,000/year

The BSO is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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