Brand & Communications Lead

West Coast Community Bank is a top-rated community bank with a focus on serving the banking needs of businesses and individuals along the Central Coast, in Silicon Valley and throughout the Bay Area. We operate full-service branches in Aptos, Capitola, Cupertino, King City, Monterey, Salinas, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville.

Delivery of relationship-based service with a solutions-driven focus sets us apart from the competition. We offer direct access to decision-makers combined with modern banking technologies and digital tools. The Bank is a leading SBA lender in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley and a top USDA lender in the state of California.

Since opening in 2004, we have proudly upheld our commitment to support regional well-being by actively participating in and donating to local nonprofit organizations. We engage in impactful volunteerism and support the greater economic vitality within our four-county reach, contributing more than 2,000 hours of volunteering annually.

Our success is driven by our exceptional team — experienced, knowledgeable and focused on delivering results!

National, regional and local honors we’ve received include:

• Newsweek – America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025
• American Banker Magazine – Top 100 Best Performing Community Banks in the U.S., 10 years
• Good Times – Readers’ Poll, Best Bank in Santa Cruz County, 13 years
• Santa Cruz Sentinel – Readers’ Choice, Best Bank in Santa Cruz County, 10 years
• Farm Bureau of Santa Cruz County and Agri-Culture – Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award
• Second Harvest Food Bank – Big Step and Platinum Awards for Holiday Food and Fund Drive
• Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce – Business of the Year 2025, 2021 and 2018
• The Pajaronian – Best of the Pajaro Valley 2024 Readers’ Poll, Best Bank
• The Press Banner – The Best of Scotts Valley 2024 Readers’ Poll, Best Local Bank

Position Overview:

This position is on-site at our Santa Cruz location.   

The Brand & Communications Lead is integral to delivering the Bank's strategic voice by developing and executing comprehensive internal and external communication plans across owned, earned and digital channels. This role ensures narrative consistency across all platforms, including web, social media, email and investor communications, aligning messaging with the Bank's mission, regulatory requirements and growth objectives.

This fast-paced role requires a highly organized, detail-oriented strategist and storyteller who can manage executive-level messaging while overseeing the day-to-day tactical output of communications plans and vendors. The ideal candidate brings a strong blend of public relations, digital marketing, content strategy and analytics experience, with the ability to translate business objectives into measurable communications outcomes.

The Brand & Communications Lead will manage public relations, social media strategy, web content and internal communications while safeguarding the Bank's reputation in a highly regulated environment. This role supports the Bank's strategic growth from approximately $3 billion to $5 billion in assets by elevating brand visibility, deepening client engagement and enhancing investor and community confidence.

This role works cross-functionally with the SVP Director of Marketing, Marketing Manager, Community Engagement Lead and Design Lead to integrate communications into inbound marketing, advertising campaigns, promotions and community engagement efforts that support growth and brand differentiation.

Essential Job Functions:

Strategic Brand Communications & Growth Support:

• Develop and execute an integrated communications and content strategy that supports business development, deposit growth and brand differentiation.
• Align communications initiatives with marketing automation, CRM insights and revenue-driving campaigns to support measurable ROMI.
• Establish KPIs and reporting dashboards to measure engagement, reach, conversion and reputational impact.

Social Media Strategy & Management:

• Own the Bank's social media strategy, including content planning, publishing, monitoring and response across platforms.
• Manage social listening, brand reputation monitoring and real-time engagement, including escalation protocols.
• Create and oversee social content using tools such as Canva, Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud, including Illustrator and InDesign.
• Ensure all activity complies with regulatory guidelines and internal policies.

Web Content & Digital Experience:

• Lead website content strategy, development and management within the Bank's CMS and Notified CMS.
• Optimize content for SEO and emerging AI optimization best practices.
• Improve user experience, conversion paths and content performance. 
• Maintain editorial calendars for web, blog and landing pages.

Public & Investor Relations:

• Draft and distribute press releases and corporate communications via Notified/GlobeNewswire, PR Newswire or similar services.
• Support investor communications including annual reports, earnings materials and shareholder messaging.
• Manage media relationships and proactively pitch stories.
• Prepare executives for media engagement.

Executive & Board Communications:

• Draft talking points, speeches, reports, presentations and press statements for executives and board members.
• Ensure alignment with brand voice and regulatory expectations.

Internal Communications & Employee Engagement:

• Manage internal channels including e-newsletters and intranet content in SharePoint.
• Enhance employee engagement through effective messaging and content governance.

Marketing Technology & Campaign Integration:

• Partner with the Marketing Manager on inbound marketing and advertising campaigns, including digital ads, landing pages, email nurture streams and campaign messaging.
• Align communications with campaign strategy, audience segmentation and CRM insights, including HubSpot.
• Support measurable lead generation, client acquisition and deposit growth initiatives.

Community Engagement Amplification:

• Partner with the Community Relations Lead to amplify community initiatives through storytelling, public relations and digital content.
• Leverage sponsorships, events, nonprofit partnerships and volunteer activities as content and visibility opportunities.
• Reinforce the Bank's commitment to community investment and local economic vitality.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure all communications comply with FDIC, BSA, Fair Lending and related regulations.
• Partner with Compliance and legal teams to review and approve communications.
• Maintain audit-ready archives of communications and disclosures.

Crisis Communications & Reputation Management:

• Lead crisis communications planning and execution.
• Monitor risks and prepare proactive messaging frameworks.

Brand Stewardship & Collaboration:

• Ensure consistent tone, voice and visual identity across all channels.
• Collaborate with the Design Lead on creative assets and visuals to support communications, social media and web strategies.
• Maintain third-party vendor relationships and projects, where applicable.

Performs additional duties as assigned that are consistent with the business needs of the Bank and the scope, responsibilities, and level of the role. 

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in corporate communications, public relations or integrated marketing communications.
• 3+ years of experience in banking, financial services or another highly regulated industry strongly preferred.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills with mastery of grammar and AP Style.
• Experience managing and/or marketing brands
• Proven experience managing social media strategy, content development, publishing, monitoring and response.
• Proficiency with Canva, Adobe Express and/or Adobe Creative Cloud. 
• Experience with website CMS platforms and strong knowledge of SEO and emerging AI optimization best practices.
• Experience drafting and distributing press releases via GlobeNewswire, PR Newswire or similar platforms.
• Experience supporting investor relations communications, including annual reports, earnings releases and shareholder materials preferred.
• Experience writing executive-level communications, including speeches, reports, presentations and press statements.
• Proficiency with email marketing, marketing automation and CRM tools such as HubSpot.
• Experience managing internal communications platforms including SharePoint intranet and employee e-newsletters.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to measure and optimize performance.
• Experience with project management tools such as Asana or Monday.com.
• Advanced PowerPoint skills and strong presentation capabilities.
• Ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear, compelling narratives.
• Highly organized, proactive self-starter with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Collaborative, hands-on professional with a can-do spirit and a builder mindset suited for a growing organization.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Vacation, sick leave, paid Holidays
• Paid volunteer time
• Employer paid life insurance
• 401(k) with employer matching
• Ongoing training, professional development and career advancement opportunities

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teammate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use hands and fingers to operate typical office equipment such as a computer, telephone, mouse and keyboard.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work.
• Light to moderate lifting may be required.
• Regular, predictable attendance is required; including the occasional evening and weekend work as business demands dictate.
• Travel between company locations as needed.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teammate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Moderate noise (i.e., business office with computers, phone, and printers, moderate traffic).
• Ability to work in a confined area.
• Ability to sit or stand at a computer terminal for an extended period.

*To ensure a consistent hiring process, we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters or agencies. Submissions without prior approval will not be considered.