[Hiring] Senior Director of Community Engagement @DataBank (DataBank Holdings)

Role Description

DataBank is seeking an experienced community engagement professional to lead the company's non-elected stakeholder engagement strategy across established markets, expansion sites, and new market entries. This role owns the relationship between DataBank and the schools, homeowner associations, sports leagues, chambers of commerce, labor organizations, faith communities, and civic groups that shape how a community experiences a new or growing data center. The role executes DataBank's Community Engagement Playbook end to end:

• Building stakeholder maps
• Running listening tours and open houses
• Translating community feedback into charitable and volunteer commitments
• Sustaining those relationships over time

This is a highly cross-functional role. The successful candidate will coordinate closely with DataBank's Construction team on project milestones and site-level impacts, with Corporate Development on the community context of newly acquired sites, and with Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability on aligning local commitments with broader environmental and community priorities. The role reports to the SVP of Marketing and will be expected to operate with a high degree of independent judgment while keeping internal stakeholders aligned.

DataBank operates in a sector where public sentiment toward new infrastructure can shift quickly and where a small number of vocal opponents can materially affect a project's timeline and reputation. Candidates with direct experience managing community engagement in the face of organized public opposition, in comparable industries such as wireless and telecommunications infrastructure, energy and utilities, or other industrial or power infrastructure development, are strongly preferred.

The role also carries a light regulatory-monitoring responsibility:

• Tracking Data Center Coalition (DCC) communications and meetings
• Flagging developments that could affect corporate development, construction, or community engagement strategy to leadership

Qualifications

• 8+ years (Director) or 12+ years (Senior Director) of experience in community engagement, community relations, public affairs, or corporate communications, with a track record of designing and running structured stakeholder engagement programs.
• Direct experience engaging communities around a physical infrastructure project that faced, or had the potential to face, organized public opposition.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including the ability to run multiple concurrent, multi-stakeholder engagement processes across geographically dispersed markets.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical or industry-specific concepts into plain language for non-technical community audiences.
• Comfort operating cross-functionally with legal, government relations, construction, and sustainability colleagues.
• Willingness to travel frequently, including to markets outside the candidate's home base.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, public affairs, urban planning, political science, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Comfort tracking and synthesizing regulatory, legislative, or industry-association communications for a non-specialist business audience.

Requirements

• Build and maintain detailed non-elected stakeholder maps for each active or prospective DataBank market.
• Plan and lead listening tours, one-on-one stakeholder meetings, facility open houses, and community update events.
• Synthesize stakeholder feedback into documented community needs assessments.
• Own the stakeholder tracking log and feedback intake process for every market.
• Manage relationships with existing charitable and community partners.
• Work with the Construction team to understand project timelines and site-level impacts.
• Partner with Corporate Development on newly identified sites.
• Align local charitable and volunteer commitments with Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability priorities.
• Coordinate all charitable giving and community volunteer activities with the rest of the Marketing team.
• Brief the SVP of Marketing and other executive stakeholders regularly on community sentiment, program status, and emerging issues.
• Monitor Data Center Coalition (DCC) communications and meetings.
• Maintain a simple log of monitored items and their disposition.
• Develop plain-language materials for community audiences.
• Prepare internal and external reporting on community engagement activity.
• Manage the community engagement and charitable giving budget across markets.
• Evaluate and manage relationships with any external vendors supporting engagement activity.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Generous paid time off and holiday schedule.
• Opportunities for professional development and growth.