New job Senior Community Relations Representative in Indiana

Summary of Principle Functions

The Community Relations Representative is responsible for managing and coordinating community relations initiatives in support of Cleveland-Cliffs’ steel operations in the Calumet Region, with a primary focus on the Indiana Harbor and Riverdale facilities. The Community Relations Representative is charged with leading and maintaining a community stakeholder identification and outreach program to ensure that Cleveland-Cliffs is adequately engaging and communicating with local government officials, resident organizations, environmental/conservation non-profits and various civic groups. This individual will coordinate closely with government relations leadership, plant management and related corporate functions, including environmental affairs, sustainability and corporate communications, to ensure consistency of messaging to external stakeholders. In addition, the Community Relations Representative is charged with overseeing the community inquiry and grievance program for the Northwest Indiana mills and assisting with the administration of Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation grants and other corporate philanthropic programming in the Northwest Indiana region.

Specific Responsibilities/Essential Functions

• Primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining productive, collaborative relationships with community stakeholders in the Northwest Indiana region, including local government officials, resident organizations, environmental/conservation non-profits and various civic groups.
• Conduct a stakeholder mapping process and establish a stakeholder outreach program in support of Cleveland-Cliffs’ facilities in the Calumet Region.
• Execute periodic outreach to community stakeholders in order to share Cleveland-Cliffs messaging and to learn of community feedback/concerns.
• Frequently communicate community feedback to management.
• Maintain the community inquiry and grievance program for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Northwest Indiana facilities. Act as liaison between operations and aggrieved community members.
• Coordinate with government relations leadership, plant management, environmental affairs, sustainability, corporate communications and other corporate departments as needed to ensure consistency of external messaging.
• Assist operations in facilitating mill tours requested by government officials and community stakeholders.
• Provide support for the administration of Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation grants and other corporate philanthropic programming in the Northwest Indiana region, including the administration of the corporate contributions budget and the matching gifts program.
• Manage Cleveland-Cliffs’ relationships with local civic organizations, including the Northwest Indiana Forum and various local chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.
• Contribute to corporate initiatives such as the drafting of the annual sustainability report and assist with the development of communications for key stakeholders both inside and outside the organization.
• Draft Community Relations content for inclusion in the quarterly Take Pride newsletter.
• Assist the Sr. Manager – State and Local Government Relations with government relations matters as assigned.

Education/Experience Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor’s in Political Science, Communications, Public Policy, Environmental Affairs or related fields

Experience:

• Ten or more years of experience in community relations, non-profit work or public affairs
• Experience managing stakeholder outreach processes
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Past professional experience in manufacturing or heavy industry strongly preferred

Competencies

Core Business Skills

• Job Knowledge- Demonstrates a clear understanding of policies and procedures of operation; complies with and applies policies and procedures appropriately. Keeps current with and effectively applies new work methods, skills and technologies to complete work. Assesses situation accurately and determines appropriate action.
• Business Acumen- Makes decisions with a clear understanding of how these decisions affect efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately financial results or how they are tied to the organization's goals and objectives.
• Continuous Improvement Skill Set- Focuses on processes contributing to positive outcomes. Looks for ways to streamline work processes, reduce rework, eliminates redundancies. Motivates others to translate ideas into actions. Champions incremental improvements in work processes and results.

Working with People

• Integrity– Is known for honesty with team and management. Follows through answering questions and requests. Does not dodge or ignore issues. Acts on outstanding and poor performance. Does not "walk by" uncomfortable situations.
• Trust, Respect, and Open Communications– Treats fellow employees and subordinates with respect; willing to actively listen to others. Follows through on your promises, or explains when cannot do so. Does not ignore problems, is clear in expectations. Seeks honest input subordinates, allows decision making authority whenever possible, and explains to others the basis for decisions affecting them.
• Recognize and Reward Achievement– Publicly recognizes the effort put forth by team members during regular crew/department meetings. Provides training and developmental assignments for team. Completes Balanced Scorecards reviews in a timely and meaningful manner. Submits promotion materials as appropriate for direct reports. Recognizes extra effort put forth by individuals both informally and by letters to employee(s).
• Teamwork– Insures Leader Standard work practices in work area are well understood and direct reports work together to carry the specific tasks out. Participates on BI teams as a leader or team member. Demonstrates cooperation with all departments during planning sessions and provides resources to other areas when needed.

Making a Difference

• Bias for Action- Values action over theory. Demonstrates desire to move beyond ideas. Self generated action.
• Group and Individual Accountability- Acts as role model. Consistently lives by company values. Does not play favorites. Is candid and willing to make unpopular decisions. Clearly defines what expectations are, measures individual work performance against those expectations and gives balanced, consistent feedback.
• Customer Focus- Commits team to meeting the expectations of internal and external customers. Seeks customers' needs. Acts with customer in mind. Receives firsthand stakeholder information and assesses it to measure stakeholder satisfaction. Builds and maintains effective relationships with stakeholders and gains their trust and respect
• Creating Economic Value- Marshalls resources efficiently and effectively in pursuit of functional or operational goals. Utilizes and promotes current business improvement processes and procedures to improve current operating methods and techniques identifying and eliminating waste.
• Environmental Stewardship- Ensures all site and local environmental related policies, procedures and laws are followed and updated. Gives feedback on policies and procedures based on job knowledge and experience.
• Safe Production- Learns, understands and trains others in safety policies, procedures and tools. Shows commitment to personal safety plan. Never violates a company policy or guideline regarding safety. If appropriate to job, expects and inspects for utilization of tools such as Take 5, Workplace Design and Interactions.; plans emphasize execution to accomplish continual improvement to Zero; and holds crew and peers accountable for same.
• Thinks and Acts Strategically- Takes time to step back and look at big picture before taking action. Develops 1-year plans to produce results. Able to simplify issues and implement a plan to address.
• Change and Adaptability- Strives for continuous improvements in processes. Constantly challenges current thinking regarding people and processes and recommends changes to improve. Treats change as an opportunity for learning and growth.

As a company, we are doing what we can to keep all our employees safe and healthy. It is the current expectation that all Cleveland-Cliffs employees will be vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible. Before accepting an offer of employment you must certify that you are fully vaccinated. Cleveland-Cliffs reserves the right to require proof of vaccination.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 1-(312) 899-3097 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Do not email your application materials to this email address. Application materials sent to this email address will not be considered.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. The following links provide information regarding your Equal Employment Opportunity rights and protections: EEO is the Law & EEO is the Law Supplement. We are a drug-free workplace and conduct pre-employment screening as a condition of employment.