Senior Vice President

We are seeking a seasoned and dynamic Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, to join our Issues and Crises Practice, a critical component of our Corporate Affairs Group. This role is pivotal in helping our clients identify, mitigate, and respond to potential issues before they escalate into crises, as well as implementing effective recovery strategies to safeguard their reputations.

The Senior Vice President will work across a variety of industries, with a strong preference for candidates with experience in the food and beverage sector. Our ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, is skilled at tackling highly sensitive issues under tight time constraints and is a strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to problem-solving.

A natural leader, committed to developing junior staff, who brings passion, expertise, and a calm demeanor to lead clients and teams through challenging situations with confidence and precision.This position will report directly to the Executive Vice President of Issues and Crises and includes the responsibility of training and managing junior staff to uphold our commitment to excellence.

What You’ll Do:

• Issue Mitigation:
  • Advise clients on strategies to detect and mitigate risks before they develop into crises.
  • Develop and implement proactive issue detection frameworks and monitoring tools.
• Response Strategy:
  • Lead the creation and execution of comprehensive response strategies during high-stakes situations.
  • Ensure timely, strategic, and culturally sensitive communication plans tailored to the specific needs of each crisis.
• Recovery Campaigns:
  • Design and implement recovery campaigns to restore brand reputation and stakeholder confidence post-crisis.
  • Collaborate with internal and external teams to deliver results that align with client goals and values.
• Staff Training and Management:
  • Train, mentor, and manage junior staff, fostering their professional growth and ensuring high standards of client service.
  • Provide ongoing feedback, development opportunities, and leadership to maintain a strong and cohesive team.
• Industry Expertise:
  • Provide counsel across numerous industries, leveraging extensive knowledge and expertise in the food and beverage industry as a significant advantage.
• Client and Team Leadership:
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to C-level executives and senior leaders.
  • Foster collaboration within cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of services.

What You’ll Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in areas such as Business, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field. 
• Must have 12+ years of experience in the public relations or communications-related field in corporate affairs or issues and crises management, either on the agency or client side, in a progressive leadership role. 
• Experience leveraging AI tools and data stacks for early issue detection, risk assessment, crisis prevention, and the development of informed and optimized client strategies.
• Proven track record of advising clients and executing response/recovery strategies in highly sensitive, high-pressure situations.
• Experience managing and resolving issues and crises on social media platforms and with traditional media outlets.
• Extensive experience in food and beverage industries,
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and clients simultaneously.
• Experience training, mentoring, and managing junior staff.
• Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Please note: This a hybrid role located in Chicago, IL. You will have an opportunity to collaborate in-person two to three days a week at our Chicago office while maintaining flexibility for remote work. 

About Golin: 

Golin is a progressive public relations agency designed to reach a profoundly diverse global market. Our ambition is to not only adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of AI but to lead the charge. We are committed to upskilling our workforce and integrating AI into our daily work to maximize the value we deliver to our clients. 

Together, we discover powerful human truths that bind us, create with bravery, and collaborate inclusively and obsessively. Golin’s 1700 global employees operate across 50+ offices worldwide, allowing us to provide our clients with comprehensive solutions for multi-market, regional and global communications programs.  

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.  

Salary range: $150,000 - $260,000 

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. 

Any request to schedule an interview and any legitimate offer of employment will only come from an authorized representative of Golin. We will never require an applicant to provide sensitive personally identifiable information in order to conduct an interview. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

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