Community Engagement Lead - Effingham County / Savannah MSA
WFA Digital Insight
Openai's Community Engagement Lead role stands out for its unique blend of community affairs, public engagement, and corporate communications. What makes this role particularly interesting is the requirement to build and maintain relationships with local leaders, community organizations, and residents in Effingham County and the greater Savannah Metropolitan Area. The successful candidate will need to be adept at developing proactive communications to address concerns and highlight benefits, making this a challenging yet rewarding opportunity for those with a passion for community engagement and stakeholder management.
Job Description
About the Team OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital partners, is embarking on a journey to build the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The Industrial Compute team is central to this mission, setting the core infra strategy and implementing this vision. From site selection to the buildout process, this team sits at the intersection of commercial, technical, strategy, and operations, interacting with teams and executives inside and outside of OpenAI. About the Role The Community Engagement Lead will serve as the primary liaison between OpenAI and the communities where it plans to develop data centers, including Effingham County and the greater Savannah Metropolitan Area. This role ensures that OpenAI builds strong, trust-based relationships with local stakeholders, communicates proactively about our projects, and integrates community priorities into our development approach. The role spans engagement, communications, and reputation management, and will partner closely with the Economic Development and Environmental leads. Key Responsibilities - Build and maintain relationships with local leaders, community organizations, NGOs, and residents.
- Develop and execute community engagement strategies for new and existing sites.
- Represent OpenAI in public forums, hearings, and community events.
- Partner with the Economic Development Lead on incentive compliance and community benefits.
- Partner with the Environmental Lead on communicating environmental stewardship and sustainability efforts.
- Develop proactive communications to address concerns, highlight benefits, and reduce risk of opposition.
- Monitor community sentiment and advise executives on risks and opportunities.
- Create a community engagement playbook that can scale across geographies.
- Proven track record engaging diverse community stakeholders for large infrastructure or technology projects.
- Strong public speaking and facilitation skills.
- Ability to manage sensitive political and reputational issues.
- Experience integrating community benefits (workforce, education, infrastructure support) into development strategies.
- Collaborative and adaptable, with experience working across government, community, and corporate teams.
How to Stand Out
- Develop a strong understanding of Openai's mission and values, and be prepared to articulate how your skills and experience align with these.
- Research the local community and stakeholders in Effingham County and the greater Savannah Metropolitan Area, and be prepared to discuss your approach to building relationships with these groups.
- Highlight your experience with community engagement software and tools, and be prepared to discuss how you would leverage these to develop and execute community engagement strategies.
- Be prepared to provide specific examples of your experience with public speaking and facilitation, and how you have managed sensitive political and reputational issues in the past.
- Consider creating a portfolio or examples of your previous community engagement work, to demonstrate your skills and experience to the hiring team.
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