Director of Public Sector Communication

The Basics:

The Director of Public Sector Communication will lead strategic communication to support Tanium's public policy, sales, marketing, legislative and regulatory priorities at the federal, state and local levels. As part of an integrated Global Corporate Communication function, this highly visible role partners closely with the Company's public sector and federal affairs teams, legal, and business unit leaders to develop compelling narratives and programs-including positioning, messaging, PR and thought leadership. The primary goal is to influence external stakeholders, and position Tanium as a trusted, strategic global asset in the public state market, delivering the most comprehensive solution for intelligently managing 34 million endpoints worldwide across industries, including 40 percent of the Fortune 100.  

The Public Sector Communication unit is focused on proactive positioning, strategic advocacy, and elevating Tanium’s policy voice through sustained, integrated campaigns to target government customers and industry influencers. 

The Director will supervise Public Sector Managers and work with external consulting partners, serving as a senior counselor to executives on public positioning related to legislation, regulation, public-sector infrastructure deployment, and national priorities. The Director of Public Sector Communication will report to the VP of Corporate Communication. 

This is a hybrid position, which will require in person attendance several days each week in one of the following locations: Addison, TX; Bellevue, WA; Durham, NC; Emeryville, CA; or Reston, VA.

What you’ll do:

• Strategic Communication Leadership
  • Develop and execute integrated public affairs communication strategies that align with Tanium’s corporate objectives, ensuring consistent messaging across all external-facing platforms and stakeholder engagements.
• Executive Counsel & Policy Alignment
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to government affairs leadership, providing strategic communication counsel on public policy, regulatory developments, and reputational risk. Translate complex policy issues into actionable communication strategies that support business goals. 
• Stakeholder & Government Relations
  • Cultivate and manage communication relationships with key stakeholders including local, state and federal media, government officials, regulatory bodies, industry associations, and community leaders. Work with internal subject matter experts to support advocacy for Tanium’s interests through proactive engagement and coalition building. 
• Media & Issues Management
  • Lead media relations efforts, including proactive story pitching, rapid response to inquiries, and crisis communication related to the public policy and regulatory environment. Monitor public sentiment and media coverage to inform decision-making and mitigate reputational risk. 
• Narrative Development & Content Strategy
  • Oversee the creation of high-impact communication materials-press releases, op-eds, speeches, Q&A briefs, and social media content-that articulate Tanium's position on key policy issues and elevate its public profile. 
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner with Legal, Regulatory, Marketing, and HR to ensure message discipline and alignment across all channels. Facilitate internal coordination to support unified external communications. 
• Crisis Preparedness & Response
  • Lead the development and execution of crisis communication plans. Act as a spokesperson during high-stakes situations, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and alignment with legal and regulatory standards. 
• Public Opinion & Reputation Monitoring
  • Leverage media analytics and stakeholder feedback to assess the effectiveness of public affairs initiatives. Continuously refine strategies to enhance Tanium's reputation and influence. 
• Practices & Processes
  • Build best-in-class public sector communication practices and processes that will drive efficiency in how Tanium communication team operates. 
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Mentor and lead a high-performing team of public sector professionals. Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

We’re looking for someone with:

• Bachelor's degree in communication, Public Relations, Political Science, or a related field; 
• At least 15 years of relevant work experience in public affairs, government relations, or policy advocacy, with a demonstrated ability to influence complex regulatory and legislative outcomes.
• Executive presence and consistent track record of influencing and leading cross-functional teams, ideally in the technology space.
• Proven track record of advising executive leadership and shaping public narratives in high-stakes, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Prior work on Capitol Hill, Executive Branch and/or experience in working with relevant reporters, influencers and policymakers.
• Strong media instincts with expertise in both traditional and emerging media channels to manage a fast-paced news cycle, including rapid response and crisis communications.
• Innovative thinking, not afraid to take risks and advance Tanium’s public policy positions, ensuring the company's freedom to operate and innovate.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and adapt in a fast-paced, dynamic environment-ideally within a company undergoing significant growth and organizational change.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional communication capabilities, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate nuanced issues, strategies, and briefs clearly.
• Inherent curiosity, looking for an exciting opportunity on a fun, collaborative team. 

About Tanium 

Tanium delivers the industry's only true real-time cloud-based endpoint management and security offering. Its platform is real-time, seamless, and autonomous, allowing security-conscious organizations to break down silos between IT and Security operations that results in reduced complexity, cost, and risk. Securing more than 32M endpoints around the world, Tanium's customers include Fortune 100 organizations, top US retailers, top US commercial banks, and branches of the U.S. Military. It also partners with the world's biggest technology companies, system integrators, and managed service providers to help customers realize the full potential of their IT investments. Tanium has been named to the Forbes Cloud 100 list for nine consecutive years and ranks on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information on The Power of Certainty™, visit www.tanium.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. 

On a mission. Together. 

At Tanium, we are stewards of a culture that emphasizes the importance of collaboration, respect, and diversity. In our pursuit of revolutionizing the way some of the largest enterprises and governments in the world solve their most difficult IT challenges, we are strengthened by our unique perspectives and by our collective actions.   

We are an organization with stakeholders around the world and it’s imperative that the diversity of our customers and communities is reflected internally in our team members. We strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels they have opportunities to succeed and grow because we know that only together can we do great things. 

Each of our team members has 5 days set aside as volunteer time off (VTO) to contribute to the communities they live in and give back to the causes they care about most.   

What you’ll get 

The annual base salary range for this full-time position is $145,000 to $430,000. This range is an estimate for what Tanium will pay a new hire. The actual annual base salary offered may be adjusted based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, location, education, skills, training, and experience. 

In addition to an annual base salary, team members will receive equity awards and a generous benefits package consisting of medical, dental and vision plan, family planning benefits, health savings account, flexible spending account, transportation savings account, 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match, life, accident and disability coverage, business travel accident insurance, employee assistance programs, disability insurance, and other well-being benefits.

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