Public Relations Account Supervisor

The Account Supervisor is a well-rounded, polished and integral member of the senior staff who has mastered all baseline PR programs, drives projects with enthusiasm and organization, and has developed strong crisis communications / issues management skills. Responsible for overseeing three to four accounts, they strategy for client initiatives, while managing 1-3 team members to ensure tactics are delivering the best possible results. They are also responsible for one or more agency operational tasks (i.e. monthly meetings, reporting, new business, training, etc.), can successfully manage the profitability of an account, and understands how that fits into the broader agency financials. The Account Supervisor has developed a rapport with the client, who feels comfortable calling upon them to act as a trusted advisor and partner, but also with colleagues, encouraging others to be creative, confident and proactive. They can man the ship with little oversight, but knows when to loop the leadership team in on issues that need extra attention. A wide degree of creativity and initiative is expected from the Senior Manager. And, like all Merritt Groupers, they have an insatiable curiosity and interest in technology and business, social media and digital marketing.

KEY FUNCTIONS

• Account Management: Manage three to four accounts, and act as trusted, strategic advisor and partner to client. Oversee / mentor team to ensure client objectives are met, and that team members are receiving proper guidance and opportunities for growth. Identify opportunities to integrate other agency services (creative services, demand generation, etc.) into accounts where it will advance a client’s goals. The integration should be seamless to the client and the Account Supervisor should play the client facing-role to the client on the solution area - working behind the scenes with other team members.

• Client Relations: Act as a trusted advisor and strategic partner, and think beyond what is expected by the client. Stay on top of industry trends pertinent to the client’s industry - and whenever possible, ahead of them - and provide insightful recommendations on how to proactively leverage the information. Help facilitate client interactions for mentees, and advise team members on how to build their own relationships with the client.

• Deliver Tangible Results: Has both a strong desire and the ability to chase big-picture campaigns that are thoughtful and positive for the client. Committed to creating “media champions” on client’s behalf, but also think more broadly about the social, marketing and creative ideas we could bring to the table.

• Planning: Drive internal team meetings and continuously bring new creative ideas to the table. Actively participate in new client kick-off meetings and, when relevant, drive them. Play a strong role in annual, quarterly, and monthly client planning meetings. Handle all client reporting, including monthly reports and meeting agendas. As needed, integrate other agency solution areas (creative services, demand generation, etc.) into account plans.

• Content Creation: Able to identify and recommend content generation campaigns that will help advance the business objectives of our clients. Able to write a full range of documents with little to no editing from leadership team. Edit and provide direction on writing work of other team members. Manage the writing and development of higher-level strategic documents, including messaging platforms and PR plans.

• Media Relations: Instrumental in driving media relations campaigns that shape clients’ reputations and help them achieve their business objectives. Has very strong relationships with media, and is able to translate those connections into coverage. Helps foster creativity amongst team members, and brainstorm new ideas effectively. Work with the team to meet client goals and maximize media attention around key announcements and proactive campaigns. Able to handle crisis situations and manage issues.

• Analyst Relations: Work with clients to develop analyst relations programs that educate key analysts on client initiatives, to establish relationships and position clients as a player in their respective industry. Identify hot topics analysts are monitoring; present thoughtful recommendations to clients and facilitate briefings as appropriate. Work with the team to maximize analyst attention around key announcements and proactive campaigns.

• Speaking & Awards: Provide strategic counsel and insight to teams and clients. Ensure the team is tracking to results.

• Social Media: Understand strategy and execution of relevant social media channels for our clients; work with the team to identify new tools and trends that enhance our understanding of the social media landscape and how to better execute on social media strategies for our clients.

• Marketing: Have an understanding of marketing methodologies, including online content strategy and development, multimedia and social media production and management, email communications, electronic database and content management, and web analytics. Learn best practices across various marketing channels.

• Measurement; Create measurement strategies given the measurement tools and methodologies available to us. Have the ability to analyze measurement reports and make adjustments to ensure positive progress of our strategic communications campaigns across paid, earned and owned channels. Work with the team to identify new tools and trends that enhance our understanding of measurement tools and methodologies so we can create compelling measurement reports for our clients.

• Agency Operations: Help drive new business leads and participate in evaluation of prospective clients. Support new business proposal development, and participate in pitches and related meetings as appropriate. Take ownership of at least one operations program.

KEY SOFT SKILLS

• Client-Focused: Ensure commitments to clients are met, while seeking new, effective ways to reach the audiences important to them. Brings new ideas and creative thinking to the team and the client. Is the client’s go-to for strategic counsel. Work with client to identify and help achieve business goals; manage expectations on an ongoing basis to ensure they are realistic and achievable.

• Action-Oriented: Has both a strong desire and the ability to chase big-picture campaigns that are thoughtful and positive for the client. Committed to creating “media champions” on client’s behalf, but also think more broadly about the social, marketing and creative ideas we could bring to the table.

• Inspire a Shared Vision: Shares the mentality that a team will always deliver better results than individuals working in silos, and inspires others to work effectively toward common, positive goals.

• Communicate with Candor: Offers guidance and mentorship to team members, and communicates about difficult topics in a diplomatic and respectful way. Able to provide constructive feedback in an empathetic manner, while exerting an assertive approach when necessary.

• Challenge Processes For Innovation and Efficiency: Has the ability to recognize and flag business inefficiencies, and provide insightful recommendations to improve upon existing operations.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree

• Six to eight years of working experience

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• Prior PR agency or in-house experience

• Degree in in communications, journalism, public administration, English, or related field