Golin Chicago is hiring a savvy VP, Director to be a lead business strategist for a fast-paced, industry-leading retail brand.

You will work with an integrated team of specialists to develop media strategies and champion brave, earned-first campaigns that drive business and media results. You’ll work as a trusted advisor to client leadership across communications and marketing functions to counsel and ensure client satisfaction over programming for numerous business categories. You’ll develop and motivate an inclusive, best-in-class internal team that roll up their sleeves and go above and beyond to deliver for one of the agency’s largest clients and one of the world’s most recognized brands.

We are looking for a strong leader and counselor with the media sensibilities and the ability to think cross platform by contributing to an integrated team.

You will:

Serve as the day-to-day lead for a proportionate share of the client portfolio, representing a diverse mix of businesses to drive earned-first programming that deliver media and social results
Drive strategy and client relationships, leading projects, clients and team and providing ongoing counsel on business and media strategies
Showcase a strong command of both digital and traditional communication practices and strategies, focusing specifically on consumer media relations
Develop and bring forth communications strategies to drive earned media – ability to pitch earned media and lean on relationships is a must
Partner directly with senior and executive directors to ensure cohesion in strategic planning across multiple portfolios under one master client account
Bring contagious, positive energy to guide and motivate staff and supervising staff members, ensuring the team's success by managing work quality and productivity level
Lead, mentor, coach and support team members in their goals, development and career pathing
Harness skillsets across Golin’s G4 model to ideate and flesh out ideas as they relate to client objectives, bringing them to life in presentations and written proposals and sell them to our clients
Contribute to the growth of our client portfolio, both through organic business development for the account you will serve on, as well as for the agency as needed
Serve as a leader within the agency to further develop our offerings, capabilities and growth trajectory

GROWTH OPPORTUNTIES:

Direct access to a large team of seasoned and talented professionals who will not only help improve your work but establish a path for you to grow within Golin long term
Ability to work and learn cross-functionally within a large, diverse account with many different workstreams
Opportunity to help build and lead a new remit from the ground up including directing annual strategy and plan, developing processes and growing the team
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hone and execute best-in-class media and client relations for a global retailer

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

10+ years relevant experience in communications; earned media expertise is a must – retail experience a plus!
BA/BS in Journalism, English, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing or related field
Strong hold of the consumer media landscape and a tactfulness for knowing what drives consumer news cycles
Develop and cultivate consumer and B2B media relationships and an ability to pitch media regularly and bring proactive stories to the table
Ability to engage with and counsel senior level decision-makers across the client’s business, and deliver connective insights to assist clients in driving alignment and execution of cross-company initiatives
Demonstrated experience working directly with clients on day-to-day activities, managing teams to execute public relations plans effectively, and drafting and implementing communications programs within budget
Expert problem-solving skills and an ongoing sense of resourcefulness to address multiple competing issues under tight deadlines
Advanced knowledge of top-tier business and national consumer media, and well-developed-skills in building and maintaining traditional and digital media relationships
Superior writing skills, expert in Associated Press style with the ability to develop and edit high-quality materials including; communications plans, media POV’s, press materials, fact sheets, bylined articles, trend analysis summaries, executive correspondence, and presentations.
Ability to motivate and lead a team with experience fostering team growth and development
Collaborative spirit and ability to mobilize others to achieve a common goal, while also recognizing when it’s needed to roll up your sleeves and do the job yourself
Willingness to challenge clients and team members, recognizing when and how to resolve, gain consensus and move forward
Experience managing all financial aspects of client business with creative ideas on how to achieve revenue goals internally
A “make it possible” attitude that propels you to find an answer or solution, no matter the circumstances
Knack for building trusted relationships with clients and prospects that lead to additional, incremental new business opportunities.
Open to travel

About Us:

Golin is a progressive public relations agency designed to reach the profoundly diverse market. Inclusion is a core value for Golin, and we are focused on establishing a culture that is intentionally inclusive, potently diverse, and uncompromisingly equitable.

Our expertise ranges from brand-building and cutting-edge digital content to corporate reputation, healthcare advocacy and measurement. Golin aligns earned-first, data-driven creative with the customer journey through our collaborative G4 Model to deliver maximum impact for clients. Our roster includes many of the largest CPG, retail, food, healthcare technology and consumer service companies in the world.

We tend to Go All In, in everything we do. We’re especially committed to going all in for our people. We challenge our employees to be Courageously Happy and have empowered them to do so by offering our LifeTime benefits program. LifeTime offers unlimited time off, enhanced family care, generous health and wellness benefits, the ability to work remotely, and a monthly LifeTime stipend for the gym or hobbies. Our culture is built around happy people who are the best at what we do!

Salary Range: $120,000 – $219,000

Golin has included the base salary range or hourly rate for this role. Actual compensation offered within the range will depend upon, among other factors: a candidate’s skills, qualifications, and experience; actual ranges for current or former employees in the role; and market considerations.

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