Risk & Reputation Communications Manager

WE POWER PEOPLE’S PROGRESS. At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact. We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led, AI-enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries - and we’re only getting started. As a category-defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale. Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day. MEET THE TEAM! We’re looking for a Risk & Reputation Communications Manager to help protect and strengthen our reputation as we continue to grow globally. In this role, you will own communications planning and response for emerging issues, reputational risks and sensitive topics across Preply. This can range from navigating day-to-day reputational considerations and stakeholder concerns to managing complex issues with the potential for broader reputational impact. You will work across the business to identify potential issues early, understand the facts and reputational implications, develop clear messaging and response strategies, and ensure Preply is prepared to communicate quickly and effectively with the audiences that matter. Just as importantly, you will help build the systems, monitoring and processes that allow Preply to move from reactive issues management toward proactive reputation management. This role sits within Brand and will work closely with Preply’s Corporate Communications & PR Lead, as well as Legal, Trust & Safety, Customer Experience, Product, People and senior leadership. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING ISSUES & REPUTATION MANAGEMENT - Identify, assess and manage emerging issues that could affect Preply’s reputation among key stakeholders. - Develop communications strategies for complex or sensitive issues across Preply’s business, products and marketplace. - Gather and synthesize information from relevant teams to establish the facts quickly and translate complex operational, legal or technical issues into clear external communications. - Develop clear recommendations on when Preply should respond, monitor, escalate or take no action. PROACTIVE RESPONSE - Draft and coordinate responses to emerging conversations across channels. - Develop a centralized library of approved messaging, talking points, statements, FAQs, holding lines, Q&As and other response materials for recurring and emerging reputation topics. - Adapt messaging appropriately for different audiences and channels while ensuring Preply’s underlying position remains clear and consistent. - Identify patterns in incoming questions, complaints and external conversations and recommend opportunities for clearer communications or proactive intervention. CRISIS PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE - Develop and maintain Preply’s crisis communications framework, protocols and escalation processes. - Identify Preply’s highest-priority reputational risk scenarios and develop communications playbooks for each. - Advise internal stakeholders on the potential reputational implications of decisions, policies and emerging issues before they escalate. - Establish clear roles, decision-making processes and communications workflows for crisis situations. - Lead crisis simulations and tabletop exercises with relevant teams and senior stakeholders. - Coordinate communications response during significant incidents or crises. - Conduct post-incident reviews and incorporate lessons into future processes and preparedness. REPUTATION MONITORING & INTELLIGENCE - Monitor media, social platforms, review sites and other relevant channels for conversations and emerging issues involving Preply. - Develop a structured approach for assessing issues based on factors including severity, velocity, credibility, audience, reach and potential reputational impact. - Distinguish between isolated complaints, recurring reputation themes and issues with the potential to escalate. - Identify patterns across learner, tutor, employee and public conversations that could signal broader reputation vulnerabilities. - Produce regular reputation and risk reporting for Communications and senior stakeholders. - Track how Preply’s responses and interventions affect the trajectory of reputation issues over time. MEDIA & EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS - Co-manage media inquiries involving sensitive, contentious or reputationally complex topics with the Corporate Communications & PR Lead. - Develop response strategies and messaging for journalists covering sensitive issues involving Preply. - Prepare spokespeople for challenging interviews and anticipate likely lines of questioning as needed. - Partner with Corporate Communications when reputational issues intersect with proactive media activity, company announcements or executive communications. - Ensure responses are consistent, factual and aligned across markets, audiences and channels. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP - Build strong working relationships across Legal, Trust & Safety, Customer Experience, Product, People, Brand and other teams. - Establish clear processes for teams to escalate emerging issues to Communications early. - Bring a reputation lens to relevant product, policy and business discussions. - Build relationships with internal subject-matter experts so Communications can establish facts and respond quickly when issues arise. - Balance legal, operational, customer and communications considerations while protecting Preply’s long-term reputation. - Help build a culture in which reputation is considered proactively rather than only after an issue emerges. WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED - 10+ years of experience in corporate communications, issues management, crisis communications or reputation management, ideally within a global technology, marketplace or consumer-facing business. - Demonstrated experience managing sensitive or high-profile communications issues across multiple stakeholder groups. - Excellent judgment, particularly when deciding whether, when and how an organization should respond publicly. - Strong understanding of how issues develop across traditional media, Reddit, social media, employee platforms, review sites and other online communities. - Experience developing communications for audiences beyond the media, including customers, employees, investors or business partners. - Exceptional writing skills and the ability to turn complex or sensitive information into clear, concise and human communications. - Experience advising senior leaders and working closely with Legal and other subject-matter experts. - Ability to anticipate how company decisions may be perceived by different audiences and identify potential second-order reputational effects. - Strong project management skills and the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders during fast-moving situations. - Comfortable challenging assumptions, asking difficult questions and providing clear recommendations. - Calm, pragmatic and highly collaborative working style. WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT AT PREPLY: - An open, collaborative, dynamic and diverse culture; - A generous monthly allowance for lessons on Preply.com http://preply.com, Learning & Development budget and time off for your self-development; - A competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance; - Not in Barcelona? We offer an attractive relocation package to join us in our Preply Barcelona Hub - Access to free mental health support platforms; - Access to Gympass-partnered wellness and gym centers throughout Spain to promote and support well-being and physical health;  - The opportunity to unlock the potential of learners and tutors through language learning and teaching in 175 countries (and counting!). #LI-XXX OUR PRINCIPLES - Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing. - We do it for learners - For both Preply and tutors, learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience. - Keep perfecting - To create an outstanding customer experience, we focus on simplicity, smoothness, and enjoyment, continually perfecting it as every detail matters. - Now is the time - In a fast-paced world, it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen. - Disciplined execution - What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals, focus on what matters, and utilize our resources efficiently. - Dive deep - We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories, unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions. - Growth mindset - We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe today's best performance becomes tomorrow's starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks. - Raise the bar - We raise our performance standards continuously, alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high-performing teams that can make a real difference. - Challenge, disagree and commit - We value open and candid communication, even when we don’t fully agree. We speak our minds, challenge when necessary, and fully commit to decisions once made. - One Preply - We prioritize collaboration, inclusion, and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together, we support and celebrate each other's progress. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Preply.com http://Preply.com is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe that the presence of different opinions and viewpoints is a key ingredient for our success as a multicultural Ed-Tech company. That means that Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or veteran status.