VP, Communications

XPRIZE Overview 

XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. As a 501(c)3, our unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all.  Since our founding in 1994, we’ve launched $519 million in prize competitions that are driving more than $31 billion in social and economic impact — a 60x return on philanthropic investment. These competitions not only de-risk early-stage breakthrough ideas but also mobilize capital, talent, and momentum to accelerate solutions from concept to real-world scale.

We operate across 5 areas of impact, including: 

• Deep Tech + Exploration
• Energy + Climate + Nature
• Food + Water + Waste
• Health
• Learning + Society

Join XPRIZE to help create meaningful impact as we strive to empower humanity to achieve breakthroughs and architect a more equitable and abundant future for all.

The Opportunity

XPRIZE is at an extraordinary moment. For over 30 years we have been engineering breakthroughs that others thought impossible — transforming bold ideas into scalable solutions that reshape industries and shift entire systems for the benefit of humanity.

The world is grappling with its hardest problems, and XPRIZE exists to solve them. To continue doing that work and attracting the funders, partners, and innovators who make it possible — the world needs to know we exist.

The Vice President, Communications is a senior, strategic leader with deep media relationships, a bias toward action, and the experience to know how to get XPRIZE into the rooms and conversations that matter. 

Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer and working in close partnership with the Vice President, Content, this executive owns how XPRIZE's story reaches the world — through earned media, external narrative, and donor-facing communications — and makes sure it reaches the right people at the right time. 

What Success Looks Like

• XPRIZE is consistently present in the media conversations that matter to its donors, sponsors, and scientific community
• Prize milestones — launches, finalist announcements, winner reveals — land with coordinated, high-impact earned media coverage
• Philanthropic investors understand the stakes and impact of XPRIZE's work with clarity and urgency
• The communications function runs with its own systems, relationships, and standards — not dependent on agency support for strategic direction

Key Responsibilities

Earned Media and External Narrative

• Own global media strategy and cultivate relationships with journalists, editors, and producers across science, technology, business, and philanthropy
• Position XPRIZE executives and domain leads as credible, authoritative voices through media, speaking, and editorial opportunities
• Build and maintain an always-on communications presence that keeps XPRIZE visible between prize milestones
• Manage the existing PR agency and establish the long-term agency partnership model

Prize Lifecycle Communications

• Lead communications strategy across the full prize lifecycle — from pre-launch positioning through winner announcement and impact storytelling
• Ensure every major prize milestone has a coordinated earned media plan that integrates with owned content strategy
• Translate complex scientific and technical subject matter for two distinct audiences simultaneously: domain experts who already understand the science, and philanthropic donors and sponsors who need to feel the urgency and stakes

Advancement and Donor-Facing Narrative

• Partner closely with Advancement leadership to align communications strategy with fundraising priorities and donor engagement goals
• Shape the narrative strategy that connects XPRIZE's scientific breakthroughs to philanthropic investment decisions
• Develop high-impact communications assets — impact reports, donor materials, executive messaging, and campaign narratives — that serve Advancement's outreach and deepen donor relationships
• Position communications as a strategic driver of institutional credibility and philanthropic growth

Executive and Organizational Communications

• Serve as communications advisor to the CMO on messaging strategy, stakeholder engagement, and reputation
• Oversee executive communications, including speeches, keynote content, op-eds, and thought leadership
• Lead crisis communications and reputation management, establishing protocols and leading response in coordination with executive and legal leadership

Owned-to-Earned Integration

• Work in close partnership with the VP, Content, to ensure owned content strategy and earned media strategy are integrated rather than siloed
• Provide the narrative foundation — messaging frameworks, story angles, briefing materials — that enables the owned content function to produce work that earns media attention
• Ensure major prize milestones are supported by a unified content and communications approach

Team and Operational Leadership

• Build the communications function from the ground up — establishing systems, standards, and agency relationships that scale with the organization
• Manage external agency partnerships with clear accountability for performance and outcomes
• Oversee the communications budget with discipline and transparency

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of communications leadership experience, including senior ownership of earned media strategy and executive communications
• Demonstrated success translating complex scientific, technical, or policy subject matter into compelling narratives for multiple distinct audiences simultaneously
• Established relationships with top-tier media across science, technology, business, and philanthropy
• Proven ability to build communications infrastructure from scratch — systems, processes, and partnerships — not just maintain inherited ones
• Experience developing donor-facing or philanthropic communications for sophisticated investor audiences
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive messaging and spokesperson experience
• Comfort operating in a lean, fast-moving environment where strategic and executional demands coexist

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in science, health, climate, technology, or innovation communications
• Background in journalism, science communication, or editorial leadership
• Experience working alongside or within a content and creative marketing function
• Familiarity with prize models, incentive competitions, or philanthropic venture approaches
• Passion for XPRIZE's mission to solve humanity's greatest challenges through incentive competition
• Preference for Los Angeles-based applicants

Why Work at XPRIZE:
In addition to working for a mission-driven company that catalyzes industries, pushes innovation forward, and is creating an abundant and equitable future, we offer the following benefits:

• Remote-first environment (must live and work in the United States)
• Quarterly company-paid All-Hands meetings in Los Angeles for frequent in-person collaboration
• Employee and dependent medical, dental, and vision options
• A 401(K) program with employer match
• Ample paid time off, including vacation, floating holidays, sick days, and company-paid holidays
• An Employee Assistance Program for confidential, professional support with personal, family, or other challenges
• Employee stipends/reimbursements for cell phone, internet, health & wellbeing, and learning & development
• Generous Paid Parental Leave for all employees welcoming a new child to their family
• One meeting-free block per week and four focus weeks per year to ensure uninterrupted time for strategic projects

The anticipated base salary for this position is $190,000 to $210,000 and may also qualify for an annual incentive. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors including the qualifications of the individual applicant, years of relevant experience for the role, level of education attained, and certifications and/or other licenses held. XPRIZE is a remote-first environment. All employees must be authorized to work in the United States and work from within the United States full-time.

The XPRIZE FOUNDATION is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate in employment. Equal access to employment, services, and programs is available to all persons. Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application and/or interview process should notify a representative of the organization. 

Please note: Though submitting a resume to the XPRIZE FOUNDATION implies that you are interested in a position(s), it does not imply that you are an applicant. You are not considered an applicant until you have been contacted directly by a Talent Acquisitions representative requesting that you begin the designated application process, which may involve phone and/or in-person interview(s), job-related testing, and background checks.

Note: if you experience any issues with the application, please try clearing your cache and cookies or applying through a different browser (for example, Safari instead of Google Chrome). If you continue to experience issues, please reach out to our People & Culture Generalist, Tatum Rapa, at Tatum.rapa@xprize.org.