Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at ACI Worldwide in Mumbai

Job description

Powering the world’s payments ecosystem ACI powers the payments ecosystem – globally, and you power ACI. You’ll innovate, collaborate, and grow – in an energetic technology culture with decades of proven success. ACIers – in all roles and levels – are truly your colleagues and many are your friends. Our size and reach allow you to see the global impact of your work. You are visible, your talents are valued, and you are empowered to shape the future of payments. As a Communications and Corporate Affairs Director in Mumbai, India, you will join a diverse, passionate team, dedicated to powering the world’s payments ecosystem! Job Purpose Reporting to the Global Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs, the Communications and Corporate Affairs Director leads the development, implementation and coordination of communications strategy across assigned regions. The role builds and protects ACI Worldwide’s reputation with the audiences who shape growth in these markets: customers, media, industry and investor analysts, regulators, policymakers and opinion leaders. Earned media is the primary outcome of this role. Coverage in the publications that ACI customers and prospects actually read, driven by journalist relationships this role builds and holds, is what the position is expected to produce. Distribution and social channels support that work rather than substitute for it. Crisis capability is the second requirement. Payments infrastructure runs continuously, and ACI customers are banks, billers and merchants operating under regulation across a wide span of time zones. This role is the regional communications lead within ACI’s global crisis and incident response framework, working alongside the global team, Legal, Security and the account teams under pressure and on short clocks. The successful candidate is a leader with a bias to action who works effectively across a complex, matrixed organization. They are a trusted advisor to regional leadership, comfortable in front of senior executives and comfortable saying what they think. They write fast and well, they are current on how communications work is produced today, including the use of AI, and they exercise judgment about when a tool is not a finished product. Essential Functions and Responsibilities Earned Media and Press Relations • Lead ACI’s earned media program across assigned regions, building and maintaining direct relationships with the payments, banking, fintech, technology and business journalists covering priority markets. • Secure coverage in priority outlets, delivering against agreed targets for placement quality, message pull-through, interviews and feature opportunities, and reporting against them. • Build a media plan for every external announcement before distribution, with a defined story angle and a named target list; distribution is the start of the process, not the end of it. • Direct regional agencies with a complete brief: priority targets, the story, suggested pitches, quotes and proof points that did not make the release. • Maintain regular in-person engagement with journalists, executives and priority industry events in assigned regions. • Source, secure and prepare spokespeople for interviews, panels, podcasts and bylines. Crisis and Issues Communications • Serve as the regional communications lead within ACI’s global crisis and incident response framework, covering service incidents, security matters, regulatory inquiries and materially or reputationally significant customer escalations. • Maintain regional crisis materials, escalation paths and spokesperson readiness, and keep them current rather than dormant. • Work with Legal, Security, Product and the account teams to establish facts before language is drafted; security and vulnerability communications follow CISO, Legal and incident governance approval, market-sensitive matters involve Investor Relations and Legal, and regulatory outreach goes through approved Legal, compliance and public affai