Account Director - Corporate Affairs - 3 month FTC in London

At The Weber Shandwick Collective, you are welcomed, valued and empowered to grow. We create cultural value and help brands navigate the ever-changing age of earned: an age where consumers actively say no to advertising; an age where everyone is an influencer that can make or break your brand; an age where content can be turned into commercial opportunity. Our talented team builds brands by finding connection points in the real world. We energise the right mix of talent, using the right platforms and latest technology to choreograph stories that make a real and meaningful impact for some of the world’s leading brands and businesses. We earn affection, attention, affinity and purchase by delivering value to people around the world, with deep specialisms across food & drink, travel & tourism, consumer tech, consumer health, automotive, sports sponsorship, entertainment & lifestyle and energy.

Weber Shandwick is looking for a talented Account Director to join the Corporate Enterprise practice in our London office on a freelance basis. The practice is made up of smart, dedicated, and fun team members with expertise spanning B2B, Corporate, Public Affairs, Crisis/Issues, Social Impact/ESG and Technology. The ideal candidate will be an experienced practitioner who is curious, ambitious, proactive and friendly. The successful candidate will enjoy working on a portfolio of well-known global brands, executing integrated campaigns involving earned media, strategy, creative, analytics and digital.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following key attributes:

• CLIENT AND WORK
  • Develop and draft content to meet account deliverables, including but not limited to: press releases, bylines, media strategies, reactive media statements, media pitches.
  • Proficient understanding of corporate communications.
  • Oversee project management, maintaining overall account tracker and other trackers as needed.
  • Oversee and execute proactive media outreach and reactive media relations strategies as needed.
  • Own responsibilities for executional leadership of multiple client programs, timelines and plans.
  • Proactively support and suggest improvements/new ideas to exceed client expectations by leveraging industry knowledge.
  • Complete and present quality work that exceeds client expectations.
• LEADERSHIP AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
  • Mentor, coach and develop junior members of account team to deliver high performance.
  • Contribute to an inclusive team environment and consistently display behaviours that support integration.
  • Build productive relationships internally, with interagency teams, and a diverse array of agency colleagues.
  • Participate in trainings that would specifically enhance cultural competency and ability to lead, coach and develop diverse teams.
  • Actively participate in office or agency DEI initiatives to attract and retain diverse talent.
• GROWTH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
  • Participate in new business development, organic business growth efforts and collaborate among practice areas in support of new business.
  • Gain understanding of all capabilities and offerings within the firm.
  • Develop understanding of clients’ businesses to spot organic growth opportunities.
• BUSINESS ACUMEN
  • Manage programs and activities, allocating agency resources to match client budgets.
  • Collaborate with project management to support development of new scopes of work and updates on scope management.
  • Build understanding of agency offerings beyond own area of expertise.

Ideal Experience Required:

• A strategic and growth mindset for our clients’ businesses and a nose for hunting opportunities.
• An interest in the complex world of B2B/corporate comms.
• Proficiency in both media relations and the delivery of an exceptional client experience.
• A comprehensive roster of journalist contacts and vertical sector beats at titles covering international, national and trade/vertical sector publications.
• A proven ability to manage large and multi-market teams to deliver work of the highest quality.
• Experience working with multiple disciplines and specialists to deliver integrated campaigns.
• Mastery in copywriting a range of external and media materials including press releases, key message documents, pitches, social media content, etc.
• Experience developing and managing campaigns and being a day-to-day lead for account teams.

Join us and help make an impact. Together, we'll set the bar, cheer each other on and multiply your potential. At Weber Shandwick we are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.