About The Role

FirstEnergy at a Glance

We are a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger.

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to safety, reliability, and operational excellence. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy includes one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, more than 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and a regulated generating fleet with a total capacity of 3,780 megawatts.

About the Opportunity

This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Co., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. [SC00]

Position Summary

The State Communications Representative is an individual contributor responsible for advancing FirstEnergy's reputation through strategic media relations, external communications, digital engagement and stakeholder communications at the state level. Serving as a trusted communications advisor, this role develops and delivers proactive storytelling, earned media strategies and public-facing communications that support business objectives and strengthen relationships with customers, community stakeholders, policymakers and the media.

The Representative partners closely with the Head of State Communications and collaborates with Operations, External Affairs, Regulatory, Customer Accounts & Local Engagement, and Corporate Communications teams to identify news opportunities, manage emerging issues and communicate effectively during both routine and high-profile situations.

The ideal candidate is a strong writer and media-savvy communications professional with demonstrated experience working with reporters, developing compelling stories and leveraging social, digital and multimedia channels to engage audiences. Experience producing video content and managing multimedia projects is highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

External Communications & Media Relations

Serve as a primary media contact within the assigned state.
Develop and execute proactive media relations strategies that enhance FirstEnergy's reputation and increase positive visibility.
Build and maintain strong relationships with reporters, editors, producers and other media contacts.
Identify, develop and pitch compelling stories that showcase company initiatives, employees, customer programs and community impact.
Draft news releases, media statements, talking points, briefing materials and executive messaging.
Monitor news coverage and emerging issues, recommending communication strategies and response plans.
Support crisis, outage and emergency communications, including participation in after-hours media on-call rotations.

Stakeholder, Community & Customer Communications

Develop customer-facing communications related to reliability, safety, energy efficiency, operational updates and major company initiatives.
Support communications for community events, public meetings, sponsorships and stakeholder engagement activities.
Assist with communications related to regulatory proceedings, public policy issues and legislative engagement.
Translate complex business, technical and regulatory topics into clear, compelling messaging for external audiences.

Digital, Social Media & Multimedia Communications

Create engaging content for social media, websites, digital platforms and external communications channels.
Monitor social media conversations, media coverage and audience sentiment to identify opportunities and risks.
Utilize emerging communications technologies and AI-enabled tools to enhance content creation and audience engagement.
Produce or support development of videos, visual stories, graphics and multimedia assets that strengthen messaging and engagement.
Manage and contribute to content calendars that support communications priorities across channels.

Strategic Communications Counsel

Serve as a communications advisor to business leaders on media interactions, messaging and public-facing communications.
Collaborate across departments to align messaging and ensure communication consistency.
Anticipate communications challenges and recommend proactive solutions.

Regulatory, Stakeholder & Operational Support

Support communications related to regulatory filings, public open houses, legislative engagement and stakeholder issues.
Collaborate across departments to maintain alignment in messaging.
Attend community or public meetings as needed.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing or related field.
3-7 years of experience in public relations, media relations, corporate communications, journalism or a related communications field.
Demonstrated success building media relationships and securing positive earned media coverage.
Experience serving as a spokesperson or preparing leaders for media interactions.
Exceptional writing, editing and storytelling skills.
Strong understanding of media relations, news cycles, social media trends and reputation management.
Experience creating digital and social media content for external audiences.
Ability to translate complex or technical information into clear, audience-focused messaging.
Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
Experience with AI-enabled communications tools, digital content platforms and emerging communications technologies.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in video production, video editing, visual storytelling or multimedia content creation.
Experience supporting crisis communications, emergency response communications or issues management.
Utility, energy, government, public affairs or regulated industry experience.

Benefits, Compensation & Workforce Diversity

At FirstEnergy, employees are key to our success. We depend on their talents to meet the challenges of our changing business environment. We are committed to rewarding individual and team efforts through our total rewards philosophy which includes competitive pay plus incentive compensation, a company-sponsored pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution, a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs, as well as skills development training with tuition reimbursement. Please visit our website at www.firstenergycorp.com to learn more about all of our employee rewards programs. FirstEnergy proudly supports workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. No recruiters or agencies without a previously signed contract. Unable to sponsor or transfer H-1B visas at this time.

Safety

Safety is a core value for FirstEnergy and is essential to all of our business activities. We ensure employees have the tools, information, and processes to perform their duties in a manner that assures safety for themselves, their co-workers, our customers and the public. Our goals are to provide a safe work environment, to maintain an accident-free, injury-free workplace, and to promote and maintain public safety. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety standards.