EVP, Communications

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

About the Job

This is an opportunity to build a communications function from scratch for a company entering the public stage. We're in the middle of today's big conversations: establishing the ocean as a new energy category, creating a clean alternative to data centers, developing renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, and setting the bar for environmental responsibility and ocean stewardship.

As EVP, Communications, you'll develop and execute strategies that serve Panthalassa's mission to supply planetary-scale, low-cost renewable energy to the global community. We're looking for a strategist and builder: someone who can distill long-term business goals, conceptualize multiple strategies to achieve them, shepherd the downselection of those strategies, and deliver on execution over a period of years. 

Reporting directly to the CEO, you'll partner with brand, strategy, product, and environmental leads to tell compelling stories about what we're building and why. You'll listen as much as you speak, maintaining a strong bottom-up awareness of our culture. You'll build Panthalassa's credibility and trust with investors, the media, policymakers, commercial partners, employees, and the general public. 

You and your team will be our primary organizational interface to the media, both traditional and online. You'll manage these relationships strategically and efficiently, drawing on past experience in settings with a major media and social media component.

To do all of this, you'll need to build teams. Strong candidates will have deep networks and years of experience in demanding professional contexts, enabling them to attract a small group of high-powered, excellent communicators and operators to work on their teams. Strong candidates will also have the demonstrated capability to carry out many of this role's functions as an individual contributor.

This role requires high empathy for disparate audiences, the ability to translate complex science and engineering into accessible language, a strong mind for business, and a strong intuition for heart and soul. Panthalassa is building a new global energy platform, composed of new technologies, operating on a new frontier. That requires a foundational reexamining of what it means for a company to build trust. Your work will inform the world about Panthalassa and keep a growing, distributed team informed, aligned, and connected to the company's mission.

Responsibilities

• Brand & Narrative
• Create and shepherd a clear brand and messaging strategy tied to mission, company values, and product roadmap.
• Partner with brand, strategy, product, environmental, legal/regulatory, and public affairs teams to define brand voice, positioning, and narrative.
• Develop proactive communications strategies that build awareness of our technology, mission, and team, defining messaging pillars across energy transformation, clean AI, renewable fuels, human welfare improvements associated with energy abundance, and environmental responsibility.
• Partner with environmental leads to showcase new scientific research and initiatives enabled by our platform.

• Media & PR
• Build relationships with traditional media and new media across energy, climate, technology, business, and culture.
• Pitch stories and gain earned media coverage across traditional, digital, and broadcast.
• Field inbound interest and build systems to manage hundreds of media relationships with good judgment while maintaining a high degree of trust.
• Draft, edit, and oversee a variety of written content, including press releases, statements, op-eds, media advisories, fact sheets, talking points, and promotional materials.

• Executive Communications
• Be a strategic partner to the executive team on company messaging, announcements, funding narratives, and industry moments.
• Craft and deliver executive comms that reflect leadership voice and organizational values.
• Secure speaking opportunities and help develop op-eds, social posts, keynote materials, and other content.

• Social Media Strategy & Content
  • Build a team to develop, own, and execute a social media content strategy aligned with company goals and audience growth targets.
  • Stay deeply engaged with current discourse to anticipate and strategically respond to emerging narratives, questions, and opportunities.
  • Produce content that educates, inspires, and drives engagement across technical and general audiences.

• Community Engagement
• Identify recurring themes, questions, and feedback from the community and build systems to address them.
• Create meaningful dialogue via email, comments, and forums and engage the right internal voices when a response is needed.
• Initiate, organize, and host in-person events.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant experience in media relations, journalism, public relations, or strategic communications, including senior leadership roles. Panthalassa values a proven record of extraordinary achievement, adaptability, and intelligence over strict years of experience.
• Experience managing press, both reactively and proactively.
• Ability to perform most aspects of the role as an individual contributor.
• Evidence of calm, credible leadership of high-powered teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex ideas clear and compelling.
• Strong relationships with relevant media and journalists.
• Experience managing agencies and building in-house teams.
• Strong judgment, presence, and ability to operate effectively in moments of ambiguity or rapid change.
• Ability to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company's direction on a regular basis.

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with policy and regulatory communications.
• Experience developing and implementing communications strategies for a global company, with tailored local and regional engagement across international jurisdictions.
• Experience supporting C-suite media training and preparation.
• Experience in high-growth, venture-backed, or founder-led environments.
• A proven track record of building brand awareness in energy, climate, deep tech, industrial projects, or adjacent industries.

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $230,000 - $350,000.
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold-level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled)
  • Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices are located in Portland, Oregon.