Group Leader, Regional Communications (Middle East and Asia Pacific)

Group Leader, Regional Communications, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, Dubai, UAE

Are you an experienced Communications Leader?  Are you motivated by working with leadership teams to create innovative communication campaigns that position Western Union as an innovative and trusted leader in its field?  Do you want to influence and develop strategies and work for a global company on a high performing team that is at the forefront of global money transfer and payments and compelling new product propositions? Join Western Union as the Group Leader, Regional Communications Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Motivated by our values: purpose driven, globally minded, and trustworthy & respectful

The Western Union Company is a publicly traded (NYSE: WU) company based in

Denver, Colorado. We are a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Our omni-channel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for individuals, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), financial institutions, and other organizations to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. Western Union’s platform transcends borders, making it possible for individuals and businesses to move money easily and quickly across borders and currencies – in person or with a few clicks or swipes. We take the complexity out of moving money around the world by making the global feel local. Our global platform combines our robust digital footprint, settlement infrastructure, treasury and compliance capabilities, a 550,000-location retail network, and the ability to send money and payments to billions of bank accounts and millions of wallets. Our technology portfolio, range of application programming interfaces (APIs), foreign exchange and settlement engine, agent network, and anti-money laundering and fraud-detection capabilities combine to make Western Union one of the largest money movers for consumers and businesses. As our business strategy evolves, we have recently opened our platform to power other companies – including financial institutions and payment providers – to move money and make payments. It is a decisive step towards a new incremental growth opportunity.

Better is enabled by trust and respect

We are looking for a tenured, experienced storyteller and leader with extensive corporate experience, deep media relationships (in the Middle East and Asia Pacific), and the gravitas to influence and counsel senior leaders. This position will represent Western Union’s Corporate Affairs & Communications Office in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region, reporting to the Head of Global Communications and PR.

In this critical position we will look to you to direct and deliver 360-degree communications strategies and execution across all initiatives designed to successfully raise the company’s profile internally and externally across the MEA and Asia Pacific region and enable us to deliver on our vision. 

You will serve as a Communications partner to senior business leaders in-region (including those leading our MEA APAC region (Digital & Retail Consumer Money Transfer, Enterprise Partnership Commercial Development, and Product & Platform functions), delivering positioning/messaging, talking points, speeches, etc., providing strategic communications counsel and direction to leaders, leading on all in-region media activations and overseeing representation of leaders on influential speaking platforms.

Leveraging a wide range of tools, strategies, and tactics – including traditional earned, compelling organic content creation, owned social channels, speaking engagements and conferences – you will create a compelling communications program that delivers consistent messaging and shares Western Union’s story. This role will act as the lead for our consumer communications Agency Partner in the region

Additionally, you will support with issues and crisis management for the region, working collaboratively with the wider Global Communications and Social Channels team, and collaborate with the wider team, including Regional Leaders for the Europe & CIS and Americas regions, to share best practices cross-regionally. This role will also support the development and execution of global corporate initiatives as needed. This role will have one direct report

You will couple your industry experience in payments, financial services, technology, banking (specific areas) or insurance sectors with astute knowledge of the fast-growing, technology driven real-time cross-border money transfer and payments sector to bring a unique skill set that will inspire current and potential customers to choose Western Union. This includes knowledge across C2C, C2B, B2C and B2B. You are a strategic thinker and can bring a global view and yet execute locally seamlessly, write compelling content, influence and integrate with leadership with business and functional maturity, create a convincing news agenda, manage issues and crises in support with global leaders and deliver outstanding communication project management. You exude passion and enthusiasm and are a thought leader who is known for excellence in communications. Your ability to operate strategically and tactically is critical for the success of this role. You must be fluent in English. Previous experience of agile working methodologies is also desirable.

Join us, and let’s connect the world

Western Union is transforming its business and shaping the financial services sector by driving quality, convenience, and customer service to new levels of excellence. It’s an exciting time for our organization, as the largest cross-border money transfer operator, trusted by millions of consumers around the world. If you’re ready to unleash your potential to help drive change through bottom-up innovation, apply now.

We’re a company on the move, and we want our people to grow and develop. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and build a career, as well as a great salary and benefits package.

We are passionate about our diversity. Our commitment is to provide an inclusive culture that celebrates the unique backgrounds and perspectives of our global teams, while reflecting the communities we serve. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, political affiliation, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or veteran (U.S.) status. The company will provide accommodation to applicants, including those with disabilities, during the recruitment process, in accordance with applicable laws.

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