Director of Communications - FlightStory in London

COMPANY: FLIGHTSTORY

REPORTING TO: Global VP of Communications Steven.com (dotted line to CEO, FlightStory)

LOCATION: London, with international travel as required

ABOUT FLIGHTSTORY

We are a media and investment company, and we are on a mission to elevate the stories, build the communities, and support the founders that inspire a happier, healthier humanity. We scale creator-led media, ventures and communities.

ROLE MISSION

This is your chance to define what communications looks like in the creator age - at the moment the entire media industry is being rewritten. You will build and lead a modern comms function from the ground up: one that grows FlightStory's reputation, powers its shows, creators and commercial partnerships, sharpens its executive positioning, and protects the business when the spotlight turns hot.

This is not a traditional press office. A broadsheet profile, a creator post, a partner reveal, a Substack thread, a podcast clip and a live community moment can all move reputation - and your job is to see how they connect and own the lot: the corporate narrative, media strategy across the UK, US and priority international markets, executive profiling, launches and commercial moments, risk and issues, and the AI-enabled systems that let the whole thing move at pace.

KEY OUTCOMES

• The narrative is owned. FlightStory's story is clear, differentiated and understood by the people who matter - media, creators, brand partners, investors and cultural tastemakers.
• The category is understood. Tier-one editorial and industry audiences across the UK, US and EMEA get what FlightStory is, why creator-led media matters, and why we are one of the companies building the future of it.
• Audience comms becomes a real discipline. Shows, creators and brand worlds grow through the channels where their audiences actually spend time.
• Commercial moments land for everyone. Major brand partnerships, sponsor activations and announcements are positioned for maximum impact - for the partner, the media, FlightStory and the creators involved.
• Executive positioning is category-defining. Sharp and consistent across editorial, industry platforms, events and owned channels.
• Relationships are real. Press, creator and cultural relationships are active, current and trusted.
• Risk is managed on the front foot. Clear thinking, calm execution and strong judgement when issues arise.
• AI moves us faster. Woven through the workflow to monitor, draft, brief, synthesise, measure and accelerate - without ever replacing editorial judgement or strategic thinking.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Exceptional comms judgement. You know what to say, where, when - and when to say nothing at all.
• Editorial taste and real writing ability. You think structurally and spot the angle nobody else has clocked.
• Creator-economy fluent - not as a buzzword, but as a fundamental shift in media, influence and audience behaviour.
• Fluent across the full media spectrum - from tier-one editorial to creator platforms, newsletters, podcasts, communities and owned channels.
• Audience-builder, not just press-getter. You understand how shows and creators actually grow.
• Commercially literate. You see how shows, creators, brands and partnerships become bigger business stories.
• Calm and credible under pressure - your judgement improves under stress rather than degrading.
• Highly organised and operationally strong. You finish things and move at pace.
• Low ego and collaborative across internal teams, agencies, creators and senior stakeholders.
• Ambitious, curious and genuinely plugged into culture.
• Comfortable with pace, ambiguity, international work and shifting priorities.
• A trusted operator. You challenge thoughtfully, and you are disciplined enough to work within clear approval structures.

YOU'LL THRIVE HERE IF

• You believe comms is being reshaped right now by creators, audiences, platforms, technology and community - and you want to be the one doing the reshaping, not catching up to it.
• The idea of moving between a media launch in LA, a community event in New York, a brand partnership reveal in London, an executive keynote and a live reputational issue - all in the same week - without losing clarity or standards makes your heart beat faster.
• You are energised by building a function, not inheriting one.
• You care about the upside and the downside in equal measure: building profile, and protecting reputation.
• You are as comfortable writing a sharp positioning memo as you are deep in the detail of a briefing note, media list or launch plan.
• You use AI as a thought partner and accelerator, but you know judgement, taste and trust are still the job.
• You are not precious about ego, hierarchy or job descriptions.
• You want a front-row seat in a category-defining business - and you are up for the work that comes with it.

IDEAL BACKGROUND

• Significant experience (10+ years) in communications, media relations, reputation, publicity, corporate affairs or founder/executive communications.
• A track record in media, creator, entertainment, technology, consumer brand or other high-performance environments where the bar was high and the pace was thrilling.
• Evidence of launching, building and delivering high-profile work to an exceptional standard.
• A strong, current network across journalists, creators, commentators and industry voices in the UK and/or US.
• Experience working with senior leaders, founders, creators, talent or culturally visible businesses.
• Experience managing reputation risk and sensitive issues with maturity and judgement.
• Strong AI fluency - with evidence of using new tools to sharpen the quality, speed and intelligence of your work.