Salary Range: 90000 to 110000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis is proud to represent clients across many industries including entertainment, social good, tech and lifestyle and we tell their stories through a variety of mediums. We know that even during the toughest times, our responsibility to our clients and each other can bring meaningful and long-lasting impact for those affected the most. We’re proud of each and every campaign we execute, but you may be wondering why we don’t have more than a landing page as our website. While many of our clients are household names (you know them, we’re sure of it), our digital footprint is purposefully small. We fly under the radar and we like it that way.
If you are fired up and ready to do good, join us!
Are you passionate about the intersection of entertainment and social change? Are you interested in how media or influencers can shape perceptions and drive action? We have an immediate opening for an Account Director on our Entertainment Advocacy team. The ideal person for this role is a pop culture junkie who cares about making the world a better place. You are following the latest story that has permeated the cultural zeitgeist, keeping up with out of the box social impact campaigns developed by your favorite brand and taking note of talent who have championed the issues that they care most about. This position will play a pivotal role in driving messaging and campaigns that amplify social issues in or around the world of entertainment.
The ideal person for this role has deep relationships with talent publicists, managers and the Foundation teams at agencies. You know not just how to tell a company’s CSR story, but which entertainment trade might pick up an open letter signed by top talent. You can build an initiative or campaign and guide clients through to the end. You have previous experience in building or working with the entertainment arms in the nonprofit space, community engagement, events and storytelling. You have a creative and inventive voice and an opinion that matters (and you’re not afraid to voice it). You’re able to see the forest beyond the trees to develop truly integrated campaigns and manage a truly integrated team. You stay up late reading your feeds because you just can’t help yourself, and wake up reading everything from Politico and The Washington Post to Puck News and the Los Angeles Times.
Our candidate is curious. While they will work at the intersection of entertainment and advocacy clients, they are also likely to touch other clients such as events, lifestyle, CSR and other issue focused campaigns. They see this as a challenge and opportunity to grow their skills.
Our account directors lead accounts (no surprise there), counseling the client, providing fresh ideas, motivating the team, ensuring goals are being met and…they still pitch media! Our agency is integrated, and our Account Directors frequently work on accounts that involve aspects of media relations, brand integration, digital strategy, and more. While we don’t expect you to be fluent in all of these areas, we anticipate that this will excite you!
Responsibilities Include:
- Leading national and local social good and issues advocacy campaigns, including developing strategy and outreach on various client (brand and non-profit) teams across talent and influencer
- Working with nonprofit organizations and corporate clients to build CSR initiatives and full campaigns around these initiatives.
- Developing and executing comprehensive communications strategies that include taking complex issues and packaging them for the general consumer, including but not limited to pitching and placing news stories.
- Providing thought leadership opportunities for clients and serving as a senior leader within the agency
- Managing complex client issues and able to manage clients through stressful situations that will require thoughtful counsel.
- Training and mentoring junior staff on the inner workings and executions of talent/influencer integration, PR, media relations, social campaigns, and overall work approach.
- Managing and building on existing network of talent/influencer reps and entertainment/fashion/sports/tech industry contacts
- Planning, managing and executing talent/influencer moments such as large-scale launch events, influencer dinners, photo/PSA shoots and more.
- Achieving deliverables for a full roster of clients (average of 6 – 8).
- Participating in and/or leading new business meetings, creating proposals as needed.
- Regularly bringing new opportunities for clients – media meetings, key introductions, etc.
You should apply if:
- You have at least 8 years of media relations and talent/influencer integration experience with demonstrated success in the following areas: securing top-tier talent and influencers for paid/unpaid opportunities as well as working in CSR, non-profit, and/or the public sector creating advocacy campaigns that are focused on earned media.
- You’ve managed a team with direct oversight for at least 3 years (of those 8 mentioned above).
- You know how to navigate stakeholders, thought leaders, and media.
- You have a strong value and understanding of the rapid pace of consumer behavior and the influencer landscape.
- You have established press contacts and have your “go-to” folks to get that important message out.
- You have a growing list of relationships with talent/influencer representatives across a variety of verticals and know how to leverage those relationships to secure impactful talent.
- You have a genuine interest in developing junior talent and empowering them to be A performers!
- You are a strong writer – persuasive, concise, creative, and quick.
- You are a strategic thinker, bring new ideas to the table, and love a good brainstorm.
- You are incredibly organized, detail oriented and able to excel at managing multiple projects simultaneously.
- You’re willing to work select evenings/weekends and travel when necessary.
- You enjoy overdelivering rather than meeting expectations and take genuine pride in being part of something good.
You don’t HAVE to have this, but it sure would be nice:
- Previous experience working with & managing teams in multiple locations
- Experience serving as a project manager on integrated communications teams (overseeing talent integration, media relations, social media, creative, brand integration)
- Previous experience using influencer research tools like Celebrity Intelligence, IMDb Pro, HYPR.
- Political, regulatory, and government experience.
- If you have skin in the game. You’re incredibly passionate about various types of equity and believe that you can make a difference with your storytelling.
Benefits x Perks
We go well beyond the benefits that you’re looking for like medical, dental, and vision plans, 401(k) with matching, annual merit-based bonuses, PTO, fertility, FSA for medical, childcare, and commuter expenses. Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis offers those benefits and many perks including, a flexible work schedule, Work from Anywhere program, Summer Fridays, Wellness Days, and a 4-week sabbatical or trip to celebrate select anniversaries. We love to socialize so, we have collaborative workspaces, some offices even have rooftops, celebrations, networking opportunities, and community volunteering. We frequently mark opportunities to listen, learn and act throughout the year (Juneteenth, Election Day, International Women’s Day, etc.).
SSM&L is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and ability. We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, identity and expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
There’s more!
From day one, employees are carefully matched with a mentor to guide them on their path to success. Training and mentoring are a big deal here and since we are into promoting from within, we make sure to provide more than enough tools for you to learn and grow. We are proud to offer training throughout the year on topics for professional growth as well as personal growth. We have also developed a series of teaching workshops that are structured for each level of the company. Sunshiners also take love to take advantage of the monthly Meet the Media series where media contacts provide valuable insider info for pitching them and their colleagues.
