Director of Community Affairs

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. Consumers Energy knows job number one is to keep the lights on for customers. We are committed to delivering reliable, clean, and affordable energy to our customers 24/7.

This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship, e.g., H-1B, TN, etc. Please do not apply if you will need immigration sponsorship for a work visa now or in the future, including sponsorship for H-1B, TN, etc., now or in the future. We are unable to hire individuals with CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT for this position as the position is not eligible for participation in the H-1B lottery program and is not eligible for current or future immigration sponsorship for a work visa.

Location

This is a hybrid position (remote/onsite) with minimum required onsite days on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday assigned to One Energy Plaza located in Jackson, MI.  The candidate must be within a commutable distance to the location or willing to relocate (relocation package is available to those who qualify).

General Summary of Job Responsibilities

The Director of Community Affairs is responsible for building and sustaining strong relationships with individuals and organizations within the communities served by Consumers Energy (CE). This role collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders, including government officials, community leaders, and members of the media. The Director will develop and implement comprehensive community outreach programs, organize impactful community events, manage CE’s social media presence, and foster partnerships with key stakeholders. Additionally, the Director will proactively identify and pursue new opportunities to enhance community engagement. This role plays a pivotal role in translating corporate initiatives into actionable community impact. This leader will drive forward thinking initiatives at the intersection of customer relations, community engagement, and environmental justice- ensuring that strategic priorities are aligned, measurable and sustainable.

This position will shape and execute high impact relationships and projects that reflect the company’s long-term vision, strengthen public trust and elevate how we serve communities. The role requires a strategic mindset, strong operational acumen, and the ability to execute cross-functional efforts that span the customer, community, and enterprise with transformational outcomes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Translate the organizations long-term strategy into actional plans that advance equity, improve grassroot relationships and deepen community trust.
• Lead the design execution of cross functional enterprise-level initiatives that address systemic community needs and align with the company’s transformational agenda.
• Identify gaps and negative sentiment, assessing impact and lead continuous improvement efforts across environmental justice and community- facing strategies.
• Leverage customer feedback, behavioral data, and frontline experience to design solutions that are responsive, equitable, transformational, and future- focused.
• Anticipate and mitigate community -related impacts of operational changes or regulatory shifts.
• Champion equity-centered approaches that strengthen access, affordability, and representation across our service territories.
• Lead efforts to align customer experience, community impact, enterprise transformation, and equity into a strategic framework.
• Manage the company’s community storm activation process, relationship with vendors and On-Call team member process who engage in activations.

• Ensure the voice of all customers and communities that we serve are reflected in all enterprise strategies and execution plans.
• Supervise community relations staff and volunteers, providing guidance, mentorship, and ongoing support to ensure effective team performance and professional development.
• Manage the budget for community relations programs, closely monitoring expenditures and ensuring all activities remain within established financial parameters.
• Prepare comprehensive reports on community relations activities, outcomes, and impacts for presentation to senior management and the Board of Directors.
• Identify innovative opportunities for community engagement, and present strategic recommendations to senior management to enhance program reach and effectiveness.
• Track and analyze key metrics related to community engagement programs, including volunteer hours contributed, donations received, media impressions, and other relevant performance indicators.
• Monitor social media channels actively, identifying and leveraging real-time opportunities to interact with the community and strengthen the organization’s online presence.
• Write and distribute press releases, media advisories, and other communications materials to effectively promote the organization’s work and accomplishments within the community.
• Develop and maintain strong, positive relationships with local media outlets, proactively seeking opportunities to secure coverage for community initiatives and organizational milestones.
• Serve as a liaison between the organization and the broader community, building and sustaining trusted relationships with key stakeholders, including government officials, community leaders, and advocacy groups.
• Develop and implement comprehensive community relations programs, encompassing volunteerism, philanthropy, and corporate sponsorship of local events.
• Plan and execute community outreach initiatives such as donation drives, public awareness campaigns, and community events to foster engagement and support for organizational goals.
• Perform other duties as assigned or as may be necessary to support the organization’s mission and enhance its impact within the community, adapting to emerging needs and opportunities as they arise.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• The ability to translate bold ideas into executable strategies that deliver measurable impact across community, customer, and enterprise.
• Skilled in long-term planning, scenario analysis, and aligning customer and community transformation efforts with corporate objectives.
• Knowledge of environmental justice, energy equity, and social impact principles.
• Strong command of business operations, customer experience, and process improvement- with the ability to connect community impact to enterprise strategy.
• Ability to lead initiatives through an equity lens, embedding inclusive practices into strategy, to ensure customer and community voices shape decisions.
• Ability to cultivate trust, navigate sensitive conversations, and build log-term partnerships that drive mutual value.
• Experienced at using data to drive decisions, measure outcomes and frame opportunities or risks.
• Skilled at connecting micro-level details with macro-level strategy.

• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders.
• Proven project management skills, including the capacity to manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading abilities.
• Comprehensive knowledge of community relations, public relations, and marketing principles.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, marketing or related field with a minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience.
• (OR) Associate’s degree in communications, public relations, marketing or related field with a minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant experience.
• (OR) High school diploma with a minimum of fourteen (14) years of relevant experience.

Why should you join our team?

At Consumers Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.

What we offer: 

• Competitive compensation packages
• Medical, Dental and Vision
• 401k with company match
• Paid parental leave
• Up to 13 paid Holidays
• Paid time off
• Educational Assistance Program

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: 

We, at CMS Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don’t discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY, capABLE, Interfaith and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.

All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.