Head of Communications, ANZ

The Community You Will Join:

The Airbnb Communications team is responsible for telling Airbnb’s story around the world.  We help drive consideration and usage of our products and services in addition to generating buzz, driving legitimization of our community, and promoting trust in our brand.  We lead the communications strategy to make Airbnb synonymous with magical travel and the world’s leading platform for hospitality entrepreneurs.  

We speak to media, hosts and guests, industry commentators, thought leaders and the wider community - we are the voice of Airbnb. We're a fast-paced, high-energy team with a passion for people, places and great stories. If you'd like to be part of one of the world's greatest teams, come tell us your story.

The Difference You Will Make:

We are hiring a Head of Communications, ANZ (Communications Lead) who will be based in Australia. The role reports to the APAC Communications Director.

As the Communications Lead for Australia and New Zealand, you will be responsible for developing our communications strategy in both markets. The successful candidate will work closely with cross-functional partners to help maintain and advance the company’s position with relevant stakeholders and tell our story to a wide range of journalists and community members. You must be comfortable and confident working directly with journalists, content creators,  and developing and delivering communications plans that support consumer, business and policy objectives. We’re looking for an effective and creative communications leader who has the ability to proactively show how Airbnb makes cities better places to live, work and visit.

A Typical Day:

• Leads the ANZ Communications Team, setting a Communications strategy and plan that aligns with the global and regional comms strategy and local business priorities


• Oversees the development and execution of plans supporting Corporate, Policy, Consumer, and Product Communications.


• Takes global and regional strategies and priorities and turns them into communications plans that meet local business needs


• Provides strategic Communications advice and counsel to the ANZ leadership team


• Displays strong leadership and project management skills, setting high standards in work across the market and ensures results are measurable


• Oversees the management of the ANZ Comms budget and finance processes across operations, agencies, and comms programs and projects.


• Motivates and leads the ANZ Comms team and agency partners to set clear priorities and strategic direction and enable creative communications approaches


• Represents Communications on the ANZ leadership team, ensuring effective cross functional collaboration with other departments and within the overall policy and communications function


• Responsible for maintaining a clear organizational structure in the market and overall team performance and career development

Your Expertise:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher


• 12+ years experience in the communications field, either working in-house or in a PR agency


• Deep understanding of the ANZ media and influencer market and relationships with key media across print, broadcast and online outlets


• A strong and effective people manager with proven ability to lead and develop teams effectively


• Offers deep expertise to provide strategic communications approaches to the biggest and most business critical problems and projects. Regularly creates holistic strategies and narratives for newsworthy stories 


• Forward thinking, innovative and creative - proactively shares perspective at all levels of the organization


• Able to build successful relationships with senior stakeholders across the business. Has outstanding presence when dealing with executives and a strong ability to influence business decisions


• Decisive where decisions need to be made in comms


• Always thinking several steps ahead to anticipate where the business is going and how comms can adapt itself to best support


• Ability to inspire and motivate team members to deliver major press moments and campaigns


• Excellent problem solver with ability to unblock the most complex situations and facilitate drama-free environments