Assistant Vice President / Deputy Vice President - Corporate Communications

Corporate Communications-SUPPORT SERVICES-Marketing HO

Role: AVP / DVP – Group Corporate Communications

Location: Mumbai (BKC)
Reporting To: VP – Group Corporate Communication
Employment Type: Full-time

Join Our Group Corporate Communications Team

We are looking for a dynamic professional to be part of the team that drives Corporate Communications and PR for Kotak Mahindra Group businesses. In this role, you will shape and advance Kotak’s reputation narrative through impactful storytelling across multiple platforms, enhance leadership visibility, deliver measurable outcomes, and ensure robust risk and crisis preparedness.

The ideal candidate is a creative storyteller with a passion for big initiatives—someone who understands media and content deeply, can solve business communication challenges, and consistently delivers high-impact reputational outcomes. They must have 10+ years of cumulative experience in media, communications, and public relations. Experience in BFSI, while advantageous, is not a prerequisite. What truly matters to us is intent, adaptability, and a strong drive to achieve reputational excellence.

 

 

Key Responsibilities

1) Integrated Communications Campaigns

• Plan and deliver memorable media campaigns aligned to priority businesses at the bank and its subsidiaries.
• Architect messaging, creative angles, spokesperson maps, and earned-first distribution.
• Drive multi-platform outcomes across print, digital, new-age, podcasts, and radio.

2) Stakeholder & Media Relationship Management

• Maintain ongoing engagement with senior journalists and editors; cultivate relationships across print, digital, broadcast, and new-age media.
• Manage PR agencies; ensure alignment to narrative, outcomes, compliance, and governance.

3) Leadership Visibility & Communications Counsel

• Build and maintain a Leader Connect Map (CXOs/Business Heads/Functional Heads) across banking businesses.
• Integrate leadership visibility into campaign outcomes; embed PR as a standing item in business leadership forums.

4) Launch Support & Event PR

• Provide PR support for major launches/events aligned to Kotak’s reputation narrative.
• Orchestrate spokesperson prep, message landing, and multi-platform coverage.

5) Editorial & Content Leadership

• Develop high-quality content: media releases, social media posts, announcements (long & short copy), features, op-eds, expert bytes, long-form, podcasts.
• Contribute to annual report, website, and thought leadership programs; ensure editorial quality control and consistency.

6) Measurement, Analytics & MIS

• Define baselines, track media outcomes, share of voice, and platform mix.
• Use tools for PR measurement and analytics; prepare dashboards and insights for leadership.

7) Reputation Risk & Crisis Communication

• Maintain a risk register.
• Document crisis protocols (roles, approvals, holding statements, escalation paths) and tabletop test quarterly.
• Deliver zero major unmitigated issues; capture and share learnings from near-misses.

8) CSR, Digital & Social PR

• Lead external communications, CSR communications, leadership communications, and digital/social PR; ensure compliance with regulatory and brand standards.
• Calendarize programs, manage resourcing, and ensure governance across initiatives.

9) Business Partnership

• Work closely with product/service teams and marketing to understand offerings and position them effectively for customers, investors, and media using PR as a lever.
• Proactively contribute PR POVs to strategic initiatives (product launches, platform modernization, employer brand).

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Graduate in any stream; Postgraduate in Mass Communications/PR preferred.
• Experience:
  • AVP: ~10–12 years (exceptional profiles with 8–9 years and strong BFSI/journalism mix may be considered).
  • DVP: 13–16+ years; 15+ years strongly preferred for complex Group mandates.
• Demonstrated success in communication campaigns, media management, leadership positioning, and reputation management.
• Prior experience in crisis communication, risk mitigation, and regulated environments.
• Background combining journalism, PR agency, and in-house corporate communications is valued.

 

Competencies & Skills

• Strategic Narrative & Positioning: Customer-first, innovation-led, insight-driven.
• Editorial Leadership: Content planning, thought leadership, long-form quality control; proficiency in English (spoken & written).
• Writing & Presentation: Releases, announcements, op-eds; compelling presentations for internal stakeholders.
• Media Relations: Senior journalist relationships across print, digital, new-age, podcast, radio.
• Measurement & Analytics: Define baselines; track media outcomes, SOV.
• Stakeholder Influence: Engage CXOs/Business Heads; provide counsel; manage agencies.
• Crisis Readiness: Playbooks, training, escalation discipline; risk registers.
• Programme Management: Calendarization, resourcing, agency orchestration, governance.
• Compliance Orientation: Alignment with regulatory and brand standards.

 

Tools & Platforms (Experience Preferred)

• Media monitoring & analytics, social listening tools.
• Newsroom CMS, editorial workflows, podcast/webinar production.
• Spokesperson training frameworks, crisis playbooks.
• PR measurement and reporting dashboards (messaging, message landing, SOV, outcomes).

 

Key Interfaces

• Internal: CXOs/Business Heads (Private, 811, Tech, HR), CSR, Product/Platform Engineering, Data & Analytics, Risk, Legal/Compliance, Brand/Marketing, HR (Employer Brand).
• External: PR agencies, media houses, podcasters, influencers/new-age platforms, industry bodies, third-party validation partners.

 

Candidate Profile (What Good Looks Like)

• A storyteller with strong business journalism exposure and hands-on experience with external communications.
• Comfortable operating in complex, regulated BFSI contexts; brings earning-first discipline and measurement mindset.
• Trusted advisor to CXO-level stakeholders, adept at translating strategy into message architectures, editorial assets, and multi-platform outcomes.

 

Experience Level

Senior Level