Senior Account Director, Integrated PR (Traditional & Digital) in London

Group42 is one of the UK's leading independent agencies for scale-ups, challenger brands and high-growth businesses. For almost a decade, we have helped ambitious brands build awareness, authority and commercial growth through integrated communications programmes spanning traditional PR, Digital PR, thought leadership, creative campaigns and proprietary research.

Our clients range from venture-backed technology businesses and global consumer brands through to category-defining scale-ups operating across travel, AI, sustainability, health, education and lifestyle sectors. This includes working with some of the fastest-growing AI companies, technology innovators and venture-backed businesses looking to build market leadership, increase visibility and accelerate growth through integrated communications.

Based within our private office at Soho Works, 180 House on The Strand, we combine the agility of a boutique consultancy with the strategic thinking and media ambition typically associated with larger agencies.

The Role: This is a senior client leadership and management role responsible for driving integrated communications programmes across the agency. The successful candidate will oversee both Traditional and Digital PR delivery, ensuring clients benefit from campaigns that generate meaningful media coverage, strengthen search visibility, improve brand authority and support commercial growth.

Working directly with the CEO and senior leadership team, you will shape client strategy, mentor account teams, contribute to agency growth and play a central role in evolving our service offering. While design and creative teams will support campaign delivery, this role will maintain oversight of integrated campaign execution to ensure consistency across PR, Digital PR and creative outputs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead integrated Traditional and Digital PR strategies across multiple client accounts.
• Function as one of the senior day-to-day strategic leads across key agency relationships.
• Oversee the planning and execution of proactive media campaigns, thought leadership programmes and data-led Digital PR activations.
• Drive national, trade and international media coverage across client portfolios.
• Lead Digital PR initiatives designed to improve organic visibility, earn authoritative backlinks and strengthen AI search visibility.
• Oversee AI and LLM-related communications strategies, ensuring clients are positioned effectively across evolving search, discovery and AI-driven information environments.
• Monitor developments across AI platforms, large language models and search ecosystems, translating emerging opportunities into client strategies and agency best practice.
• Manage and mentor account teams, supporting development, quality control and progression.
• Work alongside creative, design and content specialists to develop campaign concepts, reports, research programmes and visual assets.
• Provide oversight across creative and design workflows to ensure campaigns are delivered cohesively and in line with client objectives.
• Oversee campaign measurement, reporting and KPI performance across Traditional and Digital PR programmes.
• Support agency growth through participation in new business pitches, strategic planning and service development.
• Maintain strong relationships with journalists, editors, influencers and industry stakeholders.
• Identify emerging trends and opportunities across media, search, AI discovery and audience engagement.

What We're Looking For:

• 6–8+ years' experience within agency or in-house communications environments.
• Strong track record delivering both Traditional and Digital PR campaigns.
• Experience managing teams and developing talent.
• Strong understanding of media relations, search visibility, Digital PR and reputation management.
• Commercial awareness and confidence operating within senior client environments.
• Excellent writing, editing and strategic planning skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-moving agency environment.
• Experience working with founder-led businesses, scale-ups, AI companies or high-growth brands is highly desirable.

Bonus Experience:

• Experience overseeing creative or design delivery.
• Experience working with proprietary research, white papers and thought leadership programmes.
• Understanding of AI search visibility, organic growth strategies, large language models and evolving search behaviours.
• Experience contributing to agency growth, new business pitches and service development.

What Success Looks Like:

• Strong retention and growth across client accounts.
• Consistent delivery of high-quality Traditional and Digital PR campaigns.
• Increased visibility and authority for clients across media, search and AI-driven discovery environments.
• Effective management and development of junior team members.
• Contribution towards agency growth, service innovation and operational excellence.

Additional Requirements:

• Candidates must be available to start within four weeks.
• Occasional travel between London and New York may be required.

This role offers the opportunity to take a senior leadership position within a dynamic and ambitious agency environment. Working directly with founders, high-growth businesses and some of the most exciting scale-ups operating across the UK and internationally, you will play a central role in shaping strategy, driving media impact and helping evolve the next phase of Group42's growth.

If you're excited by the opportunity to build integrated communications programmes, elevate client profiles across traditional media, search and AI-driven discovery, and lead high-impact campaigns within a collaborative and entrepreneurial team, we'd love to hear from you.