Head of External Communications & PR
One of Germany’s best-known, most used, and most loved platforms, we are on a mission to change trade for good!
We’re seeking an experienced, strategic, and hands-on Head of External Communications & PR to lead reputation, media relations, public affairs, and our corporate narrative — including investor and board-facing communications.
You will shape how Kleinanzeigen appears to the world, protect our brand in moments of risk, and leverage AI-native communications workflows to make our function faster, smarter, and more predictive.
As a core member of the Marketing Leadership Team, you’ll partner closely with senior leaders across the business.
Responsibilities
Reputation & Risk Management
- Lead media crisis communications and brand-risk management, especially around trust, fraud, and consumer protection.
- Own playbooks, training, and rapid-response protocols.
Media Relations & Storytelling
- Develop and execute PR strategies for consumers, SMBs, and real estate partners.
- Cultivate relationships with top-tier journalists and opinion leaders.
- Drive share of voice to support and accelerate business growth.
Public Affairs
- Engage with policymakers, regulators, and industry associations.
- Track relevant policy trends and align positions with company goals.
Investor & Board Communications (IR)
- Partner with the C-Suite on investor and board narratives.
- Ensure strong preparation, briefing, and message alignment.
AI-Enabled Communications Operations
- Operationalise AI in communications to maximize workflow automation and efficiency.
- Establish governance for accuracy, ethics, and brand safety.
Strategy & Leadership
- Serve as a trusted advisor to executives on positioning and narrative.
- Translate company strategy into compelling external storytelling.
- Actively shape and influence the Marketing Leadership Team.
Team & Agency Leadership
- Develop a small in-house team and manage agency partners.
- Define vision, objectives, and measurement frameworks, and lead execution.
Spokesperson Duties
- Act as a senior spokesperson on behalf of the business.
- Coach and prepare other spokespeople.
What You’ll Bring
- 10+ years of experience in PR, communications, or public affairs, ideally in consumer tech, marketplaces, platforms, or regulated sectors.
- Proven track record handling high-stakes media issues and crises.
- AI experience applying automation, monitoring, alerting, LLM-assisted workflows, sentiment analysis, and governance for accuracy, privacy, bias, and safety.
- Investor relations competency: crafting financial/strategic narratives, preparing leaders for investor Q&A, coordinating with Finance/Legal, understanding disclosures and quiet-period protocols.
- Exceptional German-language writing and editing (native level) with fluent English.
- Strong executive presence and ability to simplify complexity.
- Familiarity with comms/PR analytics (SOV, sentiment, coverage quality, reputation indices).
- Experience leading cross-functional stakeholders across Legal, Trust & Safety, Product, Tech, Marketing, Business Development, and Finance.
- Calm, sound judgment in ambiguous or sensitive situations.
Additional Information
Life at Adevinta comes with perks!
- An attractive base salary.
- Participation in our Short-Term Incentive plan (annual bonus).
- Work From Anywhere: Enjoy up to 20 days per year — just make sure you have internet!
- A 24/7 Employee Assistance Program for you and your family.
- A collaborative environment where we win together and lose together.
- Locally relevant benefits depending on work location.
Want to learn more? Apply and speak with our recruiters!
Company Description
Kleinanzeigen is the leading online classifieds market in Germany, hosting more than 50 million ads across numerous categories. With over 36 million monthly users, it has the widest reach of all online selling platforms in the country.
Most items traded are second-hand, helping users contribute to sustainability. Kleinanzeigen also enables companies to easily offer their services online.
Launched in 2009 as eBay Kleinanzeigen, the platform became part of Adevinta in 2021 and rebranded to Kleinanzeigen in 2023.
Kleinanzeigen is part of Adevinta — a global online classifieds and sustainability leader with 25+ products in 10 countries.
Diversity & Inclusion
Adevinta is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.
If you feel you don’t meet every requirement but are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply.
We welcome candidates from underrepresented groups and look forward to speaking with you.
