Vice President, Director

Golin Chicago is hiring a savvy Vice President, Director to be a lead business strategist for a fast-paced, industry-leading retail brand.  

Golin has been on a winning streak of recognition: PRWeek’s Best Place to Work, Provoke Media’s Global Agency of the Year, PRWeek’s Large Agency of the year and winning two Grand Prix at Cannes.  

Riding the wave of recognition and award-winning work, the Vice President, Director has an incredible opportunity to work as a trusted advisor to client leadership to deliver exceptional client service and sharp counsel that helps promote and protect the brand in Chicago and keep Golin on top.  

It’s an exciting time for the agency to continue to deliver impactful earned work that builds brands and reputations, and we know other brands can benefit from the award-winning work we create. 

You will work with an integrated team of specialists to develop strategies and lead programs that generate strong results and drive the business. You’ll develop and motivate a best-in-class internal team to go above and beyond for one of the agency’s largest clients and one of the world’s most recognized retailers. 

We are looking for a strong leader and counselor with the ability to think cross-platform and contribute to an integrated team. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Serve as a day-to-day lead for a share of the client portfolio, representing a diverse mix of businesses to drive earned-first programming that deliver media and social results  

• Drive strategy and client relationships, leading projects, clients and team and providing ongoing counsel on business and media strategies 

• Showcase a strong command of both digital and traditional communication practices and strategies, focusing specifically on consumer media relations and influencer engagement 

• Partner directly with senior leadership to ensure cohesion in strategic planning across multiple portfolios under one master client account  

• Manage all respects of finance and staffing including budgets, forecasting, hiring and developing scopes of work 

• Bring contagious, positive energy to guide and motivate staff and supervising staff members, ensuring the team's success by managing work quality and productivity level  

• Lead, mentor, coach and support team members in their goals, development and career pathing 

• Harness skillsets across Golin’s G4 model to ideate and flesh out ideas as they relate to client objectives, bringing them to life in presentations and written proposals and sell them to our clients 

• Contribute to the growth of our client portfolio, both through organic business development for the account you will serve on, as well as for the agency as needed 

• Serve as a leader within the agency to further develop our offerings, capabilities and growth trajectory 

Growth Opportunities: 

• Direct access to a large team of seasoned and talented professionals who will not only help improve your work but establish a path for you to grow within Golin long term 

• Ability to work and learn cross-functionally within a large, diverse account with many different workstreams 

• Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hone and execute best-in-class media and client relations for a global retailer 

Qualifications: 

• 10+ years relevant experience in communications; earned media expertise and retail or strong CPG experience is a must. 

• BA/BS in Journalism, English, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing or related field is preferred  

• Strong hold of the consumer media landscape and a tactfulness for knowing what drives consumer news cycles 

• 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 

• Demonstrated experience working directly with clients on day-to-day activities, managing teams to execute public relations plans effectively, and drafting and implementing communications programs within budget 

• Expert problem-solving skills and an ongoing sense of resourcefulness to address multiple competing issues under tight deadlines 

• Advanced knowledge of top-tier business and national consumer media, and well-developed-skills in building and maintaining traditional and digital media relationships 

• Superior writing skills, expert in Associated Press style with the ability to develop and edit high-quality materials including; communications plans, media POVs, press materials, fact sheets, bylined articles, trend analysis summaries, executive correspondence, and presentations. 

• Ability to motivate and lead a team with experience fostering team growth and development 

• Collaborative spirit and ability to mobilize others to achieve a common goal, while also recognizing when it’s needed to roll up your sleeves and do the job yourself  

• Willingness to challenge clients and team members, recognizing when and how to resolve, gain consensus and move forward 

• Experience managing all financial aspects of client business with creative ideas on how to achieve revenue goals internally  

• A “make it possible” attitude that propels you to find an answer or solution, no matter the circumstances 

• Knack for building trusted relationships with clients and prospects that lead to additional, incremental new business opportunities 

• Versed in AI 

• Open to travel 

About Us: 

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 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. 

Golin is a progressive public relations agency designed to reach a profoundly diverse market. Inclusion is a core value for Golin, and we are focused on establishing a culture that is intentionally inclusive, potently diverse, and uncompromisingly equitable.   

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 integrated team model.  

We tend to Go All In, in everything we do. We’re especially committed to going all in for our people, with a comprehensive benefits and time off program. Our culture is built around happy people who are the best at what we do!  

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. 

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. 

Golin is an Equal Opportunity Employer – M/F/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. 

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