Director, Brand Strategy and Advertising

Requisition ID # 162700 

Job Category: Corporate Affairs / Communication 

Job Level: Director/Chief

Business Unit: Customer & Enterprise Solutions

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

The Marketing and Communications team at PG&E shapes how the company communicates with the 16 million people it serves in Northern and Central California. We keep customers informed about PG&E’s progress in delivering safe, reliable energy at the lowest cost possible. We explain how PG&E is harnessing innovation to achieve it and the State of California’s bold climate goals. This team also drives marketing efforts to encourage customer participation in programs that promote energy efficiency, provide income-qualified bill discounts, and advance the electrification of transportation, homes and industries.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, this position provides a unique opportunity to guide the company’s brand strategy. PG&E aims to recapture hearts and minds by showing the world how the company has changed in ways that matter to our customers. In January 2025, PG&E unveiled a new brand position (“See Our Progress”) and a brand campaign titled ‘Open Lines’ which aimed to show customers that PG&E is actively listening to their concerns, taking action and delivering progress on the issues that matter most them.

This new leader will have the opportunity to build and evolve the Open Lines campaign, and to design a multi-year journey to rebuild trust in the safety, reliability, affordability and sustainability of PG&E’s energy system, and in the company and its leaders.

The role requires exceptional leadership and operational management skills. You must be innovative, proactive and passionate about both PG&E customers and the brand. You must be hands-on with a passion for diving into data, a master of budget management, and able to lead various agencies to deliver breakthrough outcomes as part of your extended team. You will be held to the delivery of key brand performance indicators and managing performance through a data-driven Lean operating process.

You will be successful through engaging, inspiring, and galvanizing the organization around the brand position and strategies so that others are clear in bringing them to life in their areas of functional expertise. This will require coordination with various internal departments and teams to execute the brand integration plan. This role is also responsible for driving and maintaining public safety awareness through an annual, multi-channel campaign focused on gas and electric safety.

The ideal candidate will have extensive prior experience in brand management and advertising, in developing strategic plans, and managing multiple cross-functional projects concurrently. In addition, having enthusiasm that inspires others and diplomatic persuasive skills are pluses.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The assigned work location will be within the PG&E Service Territory.

Reporting Relationship

Reports into the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer.

Job Responsibilities

Brand Advertising

• Deliver an effective and measurable annual brand advertising plan by working with agency partners, senior management, business partners and Marketing and Communications team members.
• Lead agencies in the creation of campaigns and the development of media plans
• Develop and deliver a process for disseminating advertising materials across the organization
• Act as a consultant and breakthrough thinker focused on ideas and following them through to execution

Brand Strategy/Management

• Oversee the consistent delivery of our brand experience across all PG&E internal and external channels, including owned properties and through partnerships.
• Lead a team of four staff responsible for video production, graphic design and brand management.
• Drive the present and evolve the future expression of the Brand
• Design and develop standards for brand success and measurement partnering with Customer Insights and Measurement
• Manage the Brand budget to corporate priorities and provide leadership to focus spending against company objectives. Effectively cost control agency fee, production, media and other related expenses.
• Maintain and educate co-workers on the Brand style standards
• Partner with the Coworker Communications and Social Media teams to enable  coworker brand advocacy programs
• Ensure company-wide brand compliance with guidelines by providing expert review and recommendations
• Act as a brand ambassador and conduct semi-annual brand training for new hires or business unit/functional area
• Work with Legal to protect company trademarks

Emergency Operations Support

• Participate in representing the communications function within crisis and emergency response situations and serves on the PG&Es formal emergency response team

Leadership Qualities

PG&E expects its leaders to conduct themselves with the highest ethics and integrity and to embody specific leadership qualities.

Strategic Mindset

• Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear.

A Leader in the Community and Industry

• Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.
• Anticipating and balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders.

Demonstrates Safety Leadership

• A safety champion in words and deeds with respect to both employee and public safety.
• Maintaining an environment of open dialog and free of retaliation.

Influences and Inspires

• Using various- communications that convey a clear understanding of the needs of different audiences.
• Maneuvering comfortably through complex policy, process, and people-related dynamics.

Optimizes Team Performance

• Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
• Creating a climate where people are developed and motivated to do their best to help the organization.

Values Diversity and Creates Inclusion

• Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.

Fiscally Responsible

• Interpreting and applying understanding of key financial indicators to make better business decisions.
• Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.

Leads Ethically and in a Compliant Manner

• Sponsoring and sustaining a high integrity speak-up corporate culture which prioritizes ethics, safety and compliance.
• Building on necessary level of industry, company and subject-matter expertise, including laws and regulations.

Provides a High Level of Customer Service

• Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.

Compensation

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job.  The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity.  Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed towards the middle or entry point of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.​

A reasonable salary range is:

Bay Area Minimum: $170,000

Bay Area Maximum: $290,000

Background Qualifications

Minimum

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in branding or related
• BA/BS or equivalent in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field
• Experience working across a wide range of industries and markets is a plus. Consumer and utility/regulated industry experience a plus.

Desired

• Advertising experience including client management, either internally or with an agency (major agency and corporate marketing organizations preferred).
• Demonstrated management experience in areas of strategic messaging development, brand planning, target audience insights, advertising and web marketing, media planning and budget management
• Excellent leadership, collaboration, communication, and negotiation skills
• Demonstrated experience in working with senior management and ability to influence decision making
• Development of internal operational procedures and processes that support the development of great communications
• Ability to integrate and drive projects across an extended organization
• Experience in or knowledge of employee communications and how to extend the company brand to employees
• Flexibility to jump into tasks that may be outside of one’s core skills
• Skilled at managing multiple projects simultaneously, maintaining momentum and timelines.