Director of Communications

Director of Communications - Capital One Travel

Capital One Travel is a face-paced, growing business focused on building a comprehensive travel ecosystem designed to meet the needs of Capital One cardholders. As a top 10 travel agency, we curate exclusive hotel programs, deliver tailored perks, and continue to expand our offerings across the travel landscape. To support this ongoing growth, we are seeking a communications leader to amplify our narrative and future strategy. The ideal candidate brings deep experience across consumer and business/trade media, a strong understanding of strategic partnerships and B2B communications, and a proven track record of constructing impactful thought leadership.

The Director of Communications for Capital One Travel will be responsible for building and expanding Capital One Travel’s reputation among key stakeholders internally and externally. 

Responsibilities

• Protect and Promote the Brand: Lead the overarching external communications strategy for Capital One Travel, driving a narrative that elevates our reputation from a value player to a highly sought-after premium travel brand.
• Executive Communications & Thought Leadership: Serve as the strategic external communications lead for the Head of Capital One Travel. Craft compelling external communications with a heavy emphasis on message development, positioning and speechwriting. Ability to build a thought leadership platform that establishes our leadership at the forefront of the travel industry.
• Media Relations & Strategic Positioning: Leverage deep, established relationships within top-tier travel and lifestyle media to secure high-value earned media. Use this elevated brand positioning to help attract and secure major partnerships with luxury hotels, premium cruise lines, and elite tour operators.
• Competitive Intelligence & Trend Spotting: Continuously monitor global events, macroeconomic shifts, and industry trends that impact the travel space. Use these insights to strategically position Capital One Travel against competitors and proactively adapt our narrative.
• Crisis Management: Anticipate, assess, and manage communications surrounding global crises or travel disruptions, ensuring the brand is protected and our response is swift, empathetic, and strategic.
• Product & Platform Support: Develop creative, impactful communication campaigns to support and drive adoption of the Capital One Travel app, highlighting its premium features and seamless user experience.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as a collaborative, connective partner across the broader Premium Products and Experiences business, ensuring the travel narrative is seamlessly integrated with Capital One’s premium lifestyle portfolio.

Who You Are

• Great Judgment: You thrive in stakeholder management and can read the room (and the data) to make high-stakes decisions with confidence.
• Relationship-based leadership: You have a proven track record of building deep, trusting relationships with executive leaders and "rolling up your sleeves" to get the job done.
• Problem-Solver: You don't just see obstacles; you see opportunities to innovate and find a "better way." You are solutions backed and insight driven.
• Business Savvy: You have an ability to identify and deeply understand business needs and can speak the language of the business fluently.

Location: This role is designated as a hybrid position. You are expected to adhere to Capital One's hybrid policy regarding required on-site presence at your designated office location.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or military experience
• At least 8 years of experience in External Communications or Public Relations
• At least 8 years of experience in People Leadership
• At least 5 years of experience in the travel industry 

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in External Communications or Public Relations for a leading Travel Brand
• 4+ years of experience managing large-scale change management and crisis communications
• Proven ability as a strategic thinker and problem-solver
• Strong collaboration, interpersonal, and coaching skills 
• Strong organizational and prioritization capabilities

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization, or offer any immigration related support for this position (e.g. H1B, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1, TN, E-3, and O-1, or any other forms of work authorization that require immigration support from an employer).

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

McLean, VA: $190,300 - $217,200 for Director, CommunicationsNew York, NY: $207,600 - $236,900 for Director, Communications

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at theCapital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.No agencies please. Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at [email protected]. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to [email protected]

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Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).