Account Director, Public Relations

We're Growing Seeking an Account Director, Public Relations & Social Media Marketing

af&co. is a full-service integrated communications agency with a passion for the hospitality industry. Our clients include top restaurants, hotels, food and beverage brands and special events. We specialize in public relations, influencer relations, marketing, social media and launch strategy. Our goals are to provide personalized and expert guidance, build brand awareness, and generate results for our clients. For more information, please see our website at

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Here's the scoop

Job Title:

Account Director, Public Relations & Social Media Marketing 

Department:

Public Relations and Marketing

Reporting to:

Managing Director and CEO

Salary Range:

$105,000 - $115,000

FLSA Status:

Full time, Non-Exempt

This position requires eight to 10 years of in-house or agency experience, with public relations and social media marketing expertise complemented by sharp communication and leadership skills. This role is a leader in the public relations and marketing departments at the agency, responsible for leading campaign strategy and planning for their clients, mentoring, training and developing individual team members, driving the new business process, and achieving and maintaining client satisfaction through client leadership. The Account Director supports department operations, including performance reviews, contractor agreements, and scopes of work. A passion for restaurants and the hospitality industry as well as a desire to lead cross functional teams in public relations, marketing and brand strategy are a must. 

While our team works 100% remotely, this position must be based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

af&co. Fundamentals

To thrive as an af&co. team member, you are:

• Detail-oriented, creative, empathetic, resourceful, tenacious, strategic, an assertive goal-setter and excellent communicator
• Keenly interested in and passionate about food, restaurants, cocktails, travel, and the hospitality arts and culture in general
• An excellent writer
• A natural networker and team player with strong social skills who can juggle multiple projects with finesse
• A born story-teller with strong persuasion skills
• A knowledgeable mentor
• Excited to assist company with new business outreach
• Highly productive and efficient with time management
• Adaptable and able to respond quickly to internal and external communication
• A solutions-oriented thinker who looks for opportunities to make work more effective

In this position, you will play a significant leadership role at the agency, in partnership with the Managing Director,  CEO, and other account directors, working with the leadership team on agency management and operations. You will be the central point of communication for eight to twelve clients. You will build confidence with your clients that strategic solutions, project details, process steps, billings and deliverables are well organized, communicated and managed. Additionally, you will ensure that correspondence, materials, presentations, proposals seen by prospective and existing clients are error-free, of highest quality, relevant to the client's business challenges, and reflective of af&co.'s approach. 

People & Team

• Directly manage 4-5 team members
• Lead agency meetings, project check-ins, and performance reviews as a member of the leadership team
• Supports operational needs of the public relations department
• Bring out the best in others by interacting with colleagues and clients in a positive, professional and motivating manner
• Thoughtfully delegate work to junior-level talent with their career development in mind, providing clear direction and feedback
• Collaborate with Managing Director, CEO, and other account directors on team leadership and agency culture initiatives
• Organize and assign team breakdowns and assignments together based on client needs
• Assign all action items and next steps for their team in Asana
• Initiate six-month plans for each account, leading account team to add strategies and initiatives based on individual client needs
• Attend client/company events two to three times a week in the Bay Area

Client Relationships

• Client lead, trusted advisor and central point of communication for eight to twelve clients
• Oversee the success of accounts, ensuring all deliverables are creative, of the highest quality and relevant to the client's business challenges
• Communicate in a clear and compelling manner in written, oral and presentation forms
• Drive timelines and account results effectively using internal project team meetings as appropriate

Strategic, Creative & Innovative Thinking

• Competent at providing executive level clients with strategic counsel
• Highly creative and competent at communicating ideas; consistently brings "Bright Ideas" for driving revenue and increasing client relevance to key audiences
• Strong integrated communications skills and knowledge across a broad spectrum of tactics
• Up-to-date on hospitality, marketing and public relations trends
• Actively identifies inspirations and benchmarks for projects and share with team
• Writes thought leadership pieces through the af&co. blog, newsletter or by contributing to the agency's annual trend report

New Business Development

• Help drive business development, responding to agency leads and generating leads independently
• Comfortably uses a consultative sales approach to sell new business
• Create and contribute to proposals to meet the needs of potential new clients while showcasing the value of the agency
• Sets up initial calls with potential new business prospects and assigns next steps to the team
• Delegate proposal assignments based on suggested proposal team and interest from other team members with clear deadlines

Project/Financial Management

• Establish and clearly communicate project priorities to team members
• Oversee activities including updating status reports, meeting agendas, summaries, audits, etc.
• Develop and drives timelines and action steps to drive successful program development
• Be a part of budget and state of the agency discussions

Public Relations Expertise

• Lead public relations planning, identifying objectives, strategies and tactics for their clients
• Consistently build new media relationships on behalf of the agency
• Lead the creation of creative public relations initiatives that drive relevance and revenue
• Secure features, mentions and round-ups for clients on a regular basis
• Ideate, write, edit, and execute pitches that achieve PR goals for clients and agency
• Research/write press releases
• Create targeted media lists for client pitches that lead to results
• Ensure capture of editorial calendar opportunities for clients
• Measure ROI and utilize data to make informed strategic or tactical recommendations
• Develop engaging brand content
• Ensure smooth execution of photo shoots for clients
• Provide art direction and shot lists for professional photography
• Contribute to agency-wide public relations strategy and best practices
• Oversee and staff media FAMs as needed

Social Media and Influencer Marketing Expertise

• High level of strategic abilities and a strong understanding of integrated marketing, including paid and organic social media, influencer relations and partnerships
• Oversee development of social media content; manages posting, engagement and reach to achieve identified goals
• Ensure team members are posting as contracted on Instagram and Facebook daily
• Lead team to develop engaging brand content
• Analyze and track statistics for each platform and utilizes findings to improve results
• Drive strategy and campaign development for influencer programs to achieve clients goals and awareness of key messages
• Stay up-to-date with social media news and digital trends and shares knowledge and training with team

Events

• Lead restaurant and hotel openings with the team
• Manage event RSVPs, confirmations and guest communications
• Coordinate with venue teams to ensure flow, timing, and media/influencer experience
• Brief staff and leadership on key media attendees and talking points
• Ensure photo/video capture aligns with brand and post-event PR needs
• Support post-event follow up, including sending photography, coverage tracking, and nurturing media/influencer relationships

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, or a closely related field OR an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Eight to 10 years of successful work experience of increasing responsibility that has included social media marketing and PR
• Trained in AP Style and has deep experience writing and editing press materials
• Experience managing the work of others
• Has strong, personal relationships with top tier food, beverage, travel and lifestyle media, locally and nationally
• Resident of the San Francisco Bay Area
• Possession of a valid California Driver's license and the ability to drive to client and event locations

Perks

• Working with a fantastic, tight team of communications and marketing pros who are passionate about our industry and clients
• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Business development bonus
• Paid vacation with additional comp time
• Work remotely
• Partial reimbursement for cell phone and internet service
• 401K retirement plan
• Pre-tax transit benefit, as applicable
• Cell phone and internet stipend
• Team retreats
• Use of trade at client establishments
• The thrill of working with and experiencing our amazing clients, which often includes enjoying delicious food and beverages

To Apply

Please send your resume and cover letter to

. Please include two to three examples of your recent related work as well as links to social media profiles, blogs, websites or other relevant content. Please note that finalists  are also required to complete a timed writing test and will be asked to arrange calls with references.

Salary is based on experience, accomplishments and skills. If selected as a top candidate, you will be asked to share professional references for final consideration. 

af&co. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.