VP, Public Affairs
Entergy · Jackson
PS Job Title: VP, Public Affairs
Work Place Flexibility: Onsite
Legal Entity: Entergy Mississippi, LLC
Job Summary/Purpose
The VP of Public Affairs provides strategic leadership in developing and executing long-term corporate communications and stakeholder engagement strategies that align with enterprise business objectives and industry trends. This role drives strategic execution across complex political and social environments through external stakeholder relationship management, policy landscape analysis, and thought leadership positioning—The role requires deep expertise in local political dynamics, competitive positioning, and multi-stakeholder alignment.
Job Duties/Responsibilities
- Strategically design and drive the coordination and management of anticipated issues in the regulatory and governmental arenas, using a cross functional organization and matrix leadership influence. Drive proactive coordination for the use of regulatory affairs, governmental affairs, communications, consultants, third party and allies (advocates), and other relevant key stakeholders in order to achieve strategic outcomes
- Leads in the design and implementation of long-range campaign strategies aligned with business plans and enterprise wide business strategic outcomes.
- Identify, prioritize, and drive the coordination of current and future issues facing the OpCo in the jurisdictional communities, regulatory and legislative arena. Identiftma bd monitor, and proactively address special interest groups issues in communities, varying customer relationships, regulatory, and legislative arena.
- Develop and implement strategies to improve public opinion and improve reputational capital and influential relationships. Drive a coordinated and focused effort on PSC and Legislative issues by executing short & long term legislative strategies.
- Effectively utilize varying communication strategies and other resources to manage public perception and response to adverse public opinion. Develop and manage grassroots' organizations of employees, retirees and allies to proactively address company issues.
- Leads strategic pursuit of several strategic initiatives including but not limited to low-income, grant and contributions, employee volunteer programs, event coordination and participation, social responsibility program, The Power to Care, and retiree programs for the OpCo.
- Responsible for identifying and managing the coordination of volunteer opportunities for all BU employees working within the service territory through community, board and association participation to develop employees and promote Entergy's presence and commitment to the communities we serve.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Planning & Execution
- Develop and execute enterprise public affairs strategy aligned with 3-5 year corporate objectives and industry benchmarks
- Conduct environmental scanning to identify emerging trends, competitive positioning opportunities, and stakeholder sentiment shifts
- Translate external insights into strategic recommendations for executive leadership
Long-Term Campaign Leadership
- Lead multi-year strategic communications campaigns focused on [specific initiatives: energy transition, operational excellence, community trust, etc.]
- Establish campaign objectives, success metrics, and accountability measures; track progress against KPIs
- Manage campaign evolution based on stakeholder feedback and market dynamics
External Stakeholder Management
- Build and maintain relationships with key external stakeholders: community leaders, media, industry peers, academic institutions, policy influencers
- Design and execute stakeholder engagement strategies that drive alignment around corporate initiatives
- Gather and synthesize stakeholder feedback into strategic insights for leadership
- Manage the engagement strategies of the EML Advisory Board
Local Political & Regulatory Expertise
- Monitor local political environment, electoral dynamics, and regulatory trends across service territories
- Brief executive leadership on political risks, opportunities, and implications for corporate strategy
- Develop positioning and engagement strategies that account for local political dynamics
Cross-Functional Alignment & Execution
- Collaborate with corporate strategy, regulatory affairs, legal, HR, and operations to ensure integrated messaging and stakeholder approach
- Resolve conflicts between functional perspectives; drive consensus around strategic direction
- Ensure consistency of corporate positioning across all external communications
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead and develop public affairs team; establish processes and capabilities aligned with strategic priorities
- Mentor team on strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, and complex problem-solving
Core Competencies
- Strategic Foresight – Ability to anticipate trends and translate into business strategy
- Stakeholder Influence – Ability to build trust and drive alignment without direct advocacy
- Complex Problem-Solving – Navigating multi-stakeholder environments with competing interests
- Executive Communication – Thought leadership and executive-level messaging
- Business Acumen – Understanding financial, regulatory, and operational trade-offs
- Change Management – Driving organizational alignment around strategic direction
Minimum Requirements
Minimum education required of the position
Bachelor's Degree required; Master's degree or equivalent preferred; or equivalent combination of training education and experience, which provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for the job.
Minimum experience required of the position
5 years of progressive responsibility in senior executive-level management positions in Governmental Affairs, Public Relations, Communications or a related field in a private and/or public organization. 10 years experience working directly in the Mississippi political environment preferred. Highly desired experience in developing and executing political issues or campaigns.
Minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required of the position
Comprehensive knowledge of the inner legislative workings of local, state and federal government. Must have strong written and verbal communication skills. Strong interpersonal relationship building skills across diverse mix of constituents. Commitment to participative management and open decision making, with emphasis on strategic and pragmatic conceptual thinking. Experience working with political campaigns and/or grassroots organizations preferred.
Any certificates, licenses, etc. required of the position
None
#LI-NC1
Primary Location: Mississippi-Jackson Mississippi : Jackson
Job Function: Corporate
FLSA Status:
Relocation Option: Level I
Union description/code: NON BARGAINING UNIT
Number of Openings: 1
Req ID: 125241
PS Job Title: VP, Public Affairs
Travel Percentage:25% to 50%
An Equal Opportunity Employer, Minority/Female/Disability/Vets. Please click here to view the EEO page, or see statements below.
EEO Statement: The Entergy System of Companies provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Entergy System of Companies complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
The Entergy System of Companies expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of the Entergy System of Company employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated.
Accessibility: Entergy provides reasonable accommodations for online applicants. Requests for a reasonable accommodation may be made orally or in writing by an applicant, employee, or third party on his or her behalf. If you are an individual with a disability and you are in need of an accommodation for the recruiting process please click here and provide your name, contact number, the accommodation requested and the requisition number that you are requesting the accommodation for. Employee Services will contact you regarding your request.
Additional Responsibilities: As a provider of essential services, Entergy expects its employees to be available to work additional hours, to work in alternate locations, and/or to perform additional duties in connection with storms, outages, emergencies, or other situations as deemed necessary by the company. Exempt employees may not be paid overtime associated with such duties.
Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal
The non-confidential portions of the affirmative action program for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans shall be available for inspection upon request by any employee or applicant for employment. Please contact HRCompliance@entergy.com to schedule a time to review the affirmative action plan during regular office hours.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
As a provider of essential services, Entergy expects its employees to be available to work additional hours, to work in alternate locations, and/or to perform additional duties in connection with storms, outages, emergencies, or other situations as deemed necessary by the company. Exempt employees may not be paid overtime associated with such duties.