Senior Communications Manager, Korea

The Community You Will Join:

The Airbnb Communications team is responsible for telling Airbnb’s story around the world.

We help drive consideration and usage of our products and services in addition to generating buzz, supporting the legitimization of our community, and promoting trust in our brand. We lead the communications strategy to make Airbnb synonymous with magical travel and the world’s leading platform for hospitality entrepreneurs.

We speak to the media, influencers, hosts and guests, industry commentators, thought leaders and the wider community - we are the voice of Airbnb. We’re a fast growing, high-energy team with a passion for people, places and great stories. If you’d like to be part of one of the world’s greatest teams, come tell us your story.

The Difference You Will Make:

We are hiring a Senior Communications Manager for Korea. This role leads policy and corporate reputation communications in Korea. It identifies and develops the key issues and narratives that shape how Airbnb is understood by media, policymakers and the public, builds the relationships beyond the newsroom that give those narratives weight, including the host community, academia, think tanks, and industry and professional associations, and runs the ‘always on’ press office that keeps Airbnb visible and accurately represented in Korean media every day.

The role works closely with the Korea Communications team members and cross-functional partners to make sure Airbnb’s position on the issues that matter in Korea is clear, credible and heard. It also provides press strategy and media counsel for consumer campaigns led by the wider team, so that those moments strengthen Airbnb’s reputation as well.

We’re looking for a seasoned communications professional with strong judgment on policy and reputation issues, a strong grasp of the Korean news and regulatory landscape, the ability to turn complex topics into clear narratives, and the relationship skills to engage journalists and external stakeholders with credibility. Disciplined on the daily basics, strategic on the issues that count.

The role is based in Seoul and reports to the Senior Communications Lead, Korea.

A Typical Day:

• Lead policy and corporate reputation communications in Korea, shaping the team’s strategy on key issues and turning it into plans and delivery.
• Develop narratives that shape how Airbnb is understood by media, policymakers and the public, including short-term rental regulation, trust and safety, corporate reputation, thought leadership, and Airbnb’s economic and community contribution.
• Develop messaging, holding statements, Q&A, and executive briefing materials on key corporate issues, and lead reactive media handling in partnership with the Public Policy team.
• Build relationships beyond the media that lend credibility to Airbnb’s narratives, including host community representatives, academics, think tanks, industry and professional associations, and local government, and drive third-party partnerships such as research, forums and speaking opportunities that put Airbnb’s issues on the public agenda.
• Lead spokesperson preparation for media interviews, public speaking and stakeholder engagements.
• Strategize and run the ‘always on’ press office with local agencies: daily monitoring and issue flagging, proactive data and trend pitches, inbound media handling, and a steady drumbeat of host and community stories.
• Build and maintain core relationships with reporters across policy, business, economy, tech and travel beats, and manage the journalist database and media engagement calendar.
• Set press strategy and provide media counsel for for consumer campaigns, and localise global campaigns and launches into Korea-appropriate press materials, so campaign moments also strengthen reputation and avoid issue risk.
• Run Communications team operations in Korea: agency and vendor management, budgets, purchase orders and payments, planning cadences, and compliance with financial policies and key processes.
• Own measurement and reporting: set and track KPIs, run coverage and sentiment analysis, and deliver regular data-based reports to local and regional stakeholders.

Your Expertise:

• At least 8 years communications or public affairs experience in an agency, in-house or public sector role; preference to those with experience working with global tech/ platform/ travel brands
• Strong understanding of the Korean media and regulatory landscape, with an established network of journalist contacts across relevant fields.
• Ability to turn complex regulatory or data-heavy topics into clear, credible narratives and written materials such as messaging, Q&A, op-eds and briefings, with good judgment and composure on sensitive issues and reactive media situations
• Experience engaging stakeholders beyond the media, such as community groups, academia, think tanks, industry associations or government
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with multi-functional leads in a matrix organization, in particular with Public Policy