VP, Executive Communications 

Role is location neutral with a preference for NY or Chicago.

About Golin’s Corporate Affairs Practice:

Whether your company’s brand is consumer-centric or a business-to-business, you have a story to tell. As the impact and speed of change continues to accelerate rapidly, blurring the lines between corporations and consumers, internal and external, media and brands, and employees and customers, telling that story to your key stakeholders gets more challenging. 

We use bold, creative thinking to change how the world sees and thinks about companies, businesses, and brands – and how they perceive the world. 

Informed by data, we take real-time storytelling to the next level, earn the attention of audiences that matter and drive reputation and business results. We Go. All. In. 

Our Corporate Affairs Practice is comprised of former reporters, government staffers, in-house communicators and storytellers, digital and social media gurus and analytics experts offering a full suite of corporate communications capabilities, including: 

• Corporate reputation counsel 

• Corporate positioning, narrative and creative platform development 

• Competitive landscape and positioning research & counsel 

• Corporate issues & crisis management, including litigation, transaction support, strategy changes, pre-/post-crisis recovery, leadership change 

• Corporate media relations 

• Corporate digital & social engagement

• EV360: Executive vision, communications & social engagement 

• Transformation & engagement 

• Integrated Corporate-Consumer program development  

• Social impact and inclusion

• Public affairs: policy & influencer engagement

• Earnings Communications; IPO, M&A, SPAC, restructure 

• B2B and Enterprise newsroom & content strategy 

About the Opportunity:

The rise of companies as change agents and world problem-solvers is one of the most influential shifts in corporate reputation in the last decade—and executive communications as never been more essential. In our mission to help companies create change that matters, Golin provides holistic strategic thought leadership services to position executives and their companies as visionaries, influencers, and conveners of conversation.

Golin Corporate Affairs is looking to add a strategic, self-starting, and experienced VP to one of its fastest-growing and most in-demand offerings on the Executive Communications team. As VP, Executive Communications you will develop reputation-building thought leadership programs for a variety of high-profile clients across industries. You will oversee strategy and account teams, while maintaining an intimate understanding of your clients, their business and outside influences. 

Foundational to this role is a passion for corporate and executive storytelling, deep experience delivering results-driven thought leadership programs, and an understanding of the holistic nature of executive communications tactics. You are a relationship-builder and a creative problem-solver. You add value to any conversation and always have an Agency POV. You can identify and know how to bring great ideas and programs to life.

If you’re interested in creating the best work of your life and leading this high-performing team – we want to hear from you! 

What You’ll Do:

• Develop holistic executive communications and thought leadership strategies that drive results and reputational impact for a range of clients across industries. 

• Serve as the day-to-day account lead across a variety of high-profile clients, overseeing the account team and well-being of each program. Ensure executional excellence and high-quality deliverables.

• Provide team leadership and guidance to shepherd external communications opportunities with excellence, such as speaking, award nominations and rankings, media interviews, and executive social media.

• Work with your teams to manage daily communications and reporting to your clients on industry developments, the results you are securing, progress against objectives/plans/tactics; apply learnings as real-time diagnostics of account activity to address challenges or leverage opportunities.

• Cultivate confidence and a trusted relationship with client leads, developing an intimate understanding of them, their business, goals, key stakeholders and competitive landscape.

• Provide smart counsel on strategic plans and tactical matters. Show an unrivaled understanding of public perception; and the media, corporate reputation and executive communicationslandscape—and how they impact our clients.

• Collaborate with Golin teams across multiple disciplines (e.g., insights, research, digital, creative, planning, paid) to successfully manage complex, fast-moving and unexpected communications challenges around executive communications and corporate reputation.

• Grow and cultivate relationships with key conveners of conversation at some of the world’s leading business conferences such as WEF, Fortune, Bloomberg, SXSW, CES, Cannes Festival of Creativity, Fast Company and beyond. Stay on top of developments in conferences, awards/rankings and executive communications.

• Maintain a strong operational understanding of Golin’s Executive Communications service offering, EV360 and its signature thought leadership, CEO Impact Index. Serve as an agency thought leader and partner to Golin’s Executive Communications practice lead to build network resources and expertise. 

• Create and maintain project budgets and collaborate with Golin Corporate Affairs Leadership team on monthly staffing and allocations. Exhibit fiscal responsibility and partner with Finance team.

• Serve as a role model and mentor to junior team members.

• Drive existing and new business for Golin’s portfolio, finding new ways to partner and provide services. 
  

What You Have:

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in PR, marketing communications, journalism or related field.

• 8-10 years of corporate PR experience amassing growing responsibilities, with at least half of that time spent agency-side.

• Deep demonstrable experience developing and executing corporate reputation programs, with an emphasis on thought leadership and executive communications

• Strong existing relationships with top conference/stage, awards/rankings, community, and media contacts.

• An understanding of the role of social media in executive reputation and building digital influence.

• Demonstrable experience working directly with clients on day-to-day activities, managing teams, and driving results.

• Superior writing skills, with the ability to develop and edit high-quality materials such communications plans, messaging, media materials, presentations, and client/executive correspondence.

• 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. 

• Entrepreneurial attitude with a knack for building trusted relationships with clients and prospects that lead to additional, incremental new business opportunities.

• Comfort with ambiguity with understanding of how to leverage active listening to create clarity.

• High passion and enthusiasm, a positive spirit, and ability translate that energy into generating results.

• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with internal and client teams at all levels.

• A high degree of professional polish, and a drive to bring your “A” game to work every day.

What You Are:

• Passionate & results-driven

• Self-starting with a can-do attitude

• Collaborative

• Decisive

• Pragmatic

• Adaptable

• Inspired & inspiring

• Strong leader and mentor

• Detail & solution-oriented

• Dynamic communicator

• Voracious reader of news & lover of culture

• Unique and quirky in your own way

Who is Golin?

Golin is a global public relations agency that helps companies create change that matters. Together, we discover powerful human truths that bind us, create with bravery and collaborate inclusively and obsessively. Golin’s 1,700 global employees operate across 50+ offices worldwide, allowing us to provide our clients with comprehensive solutions for multi-market, regional and global communications programs. Golin was named PR Week’s 2024 Outstanding Extra Large Agency of the Year and Outstanding Agency Overall; PRovoke and PR Week’s 2024 Best Place To Work;  AMEC’s 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 Communications Research + Measurement Team of the Year and the first PR agency to win a PR Lions Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. 

Why Work for Us?

We reward our employees for creating the best work of their lives, providing the following benefits that we highly encourage our employees to utilize:

• Flexible, hybrid culture that encourages work/life balance, self-care and collaboration

• Unlimited time off

• Year-round Flexible Fridays

• Extended leave

• Monthly wellness stipend

• Tuition reimbursement

• 401K matching program

• Training and career pathing

• Community service opportunities

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.

Golin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability or protected veteran status.

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