Vice Chair, US & DC Public Affairs

Edelman Public Affairs comprises over 300 team members across the globe and works across Edelman’s global roster of clients. Spanning the US, Canada, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, our team is truly global in nature and works on some of the world’s more exciting clients and work.

Nearly 100 team members work in the United States, in Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Sacramento and many other offices across the country. Our work compromises advisory public affairs – regulatory support and policy advice – as well as advocacy public affairs – digital PA, campaigning, and government work. We have fantastic talent across our offices and we are undertaking some impressive work. Edelman Public Affairs has an opportunity for a well-regarded, transformative leader to reinforce our dominance as a Public Affairs actor in the Washington market and shape our national strategy. You should have experience in both the advisory and advocacy side of our offering and an ability to drive both legislative and regulatory change at the state, federal and international level.
While we have excellent client and employee retention and strong financial performance year over year, we exist in a state of continual change: like our industry, we are constantly evolving. As leaders in the practice, we are engaged every day in a conversation about what it takes to reach the next level of growth, not only financially but just as importantly, in the boldness and ingenuity of the work we do for clients. Our strong and growing portfolio of business includes many of the most esteemed corporations, innovative start-ups, key Governments and Government departments and leading NGOs.

Overview of the OpportunityYou… are a seasoned leader with a strong communications/integrated marketing background and proven track record of business-building success. As the leader of the Public Affairs practice in the US and DC. You will demonstrate the skills and behaviors needed to build culture, up-level the work we do for clients, help expand our collective capability and drive revenue growth. You will drive a clear US “centers of excellence” strategy, building teams that are complimentary but providing clients with a different services and product. You are a big-picture thinker, but also able to turn big ideas into action. You demonstrate superior communication skills, charisma and executive presence. You are hungry to learn and evolve personally, and undaunted by change or complexity.
Core Responsibilities:

• Build strong, trusting relationships with clients as the senior counselor on your businesses serving within our senior clients’ trusted circle of advisors.
• Ability to engage and inspire confidence at the C-Suite level
• Inspire, coach, motivate and manage an accomplished senior team – in DC and across the US
• Open new doors and close business to build our portfolio in key sectors as well as contribute to organic growth
• Consistently work to up-level our work and teams
• Contribute to agency thought leadership, including our signature Edelman Trust Barometer
• Bring an integrated marketing mindset to your teams and to your colleagues
• Ensure your team’s client programs reflect the breadth of the Edelman approach: earned-centric; social by design; informed, optimized and measured by data; brought to life with stunning creative.
• Lead the strategy and culture-building of the practice in DC and the PA team across the US
• Actively manage profitability and staff utilization; ensure your leaders are stewards of their client budgets to limit write-offs and other debt
• Manage a regular call with US leaders driving actions , discussing new business and approach to client work and retention
• At least 20 years of experience in the marketing/PR agency world, with track record of senior leadership success
• Experienced client relationship leader who can be senior-level counselor to senior marketing clients/CMOs/CEOs and importantly key Public Affair leaders
• Experience at identifying client business problems and building integrated teams to provide a solution, including new Edelman tools, products or methodologies
• Demonstrated ability to nurture the professional and personal development of staff, with a “people-first” orientation
• Proven track record of success growing business (organic and new)
• Proven ability to think high-level as well as tactically: you are as comfortable defining a business strategy as you are a creative programming concept
• Entrepreneurial spirit balanced with the ability to function comfortably within a complex, matrixed organization
• Strong operational skills, ability to oversee efficient staff utilization, account profitability and annual budget planning
• Collegial, collaborative style; ability build relationships at all levels of seniority (internally and externally)
• Polished executive presence and inspiring, inclusive leadership style

Measuring Success:

• Work in concert with the US & PA leaders to create performance goals in support of the US Public Affairs team and the Public Affairs Practice in the DC office. The Vice Chair of US and DC PA will be evaluated on skill and behavioral competencies, with hard and soft measures including (but not limited to) revenue growth, personal leadership style, innovation and creativity, strategic thinking and contributions to the DC culture.

Core Competencies:

• Extraordinary communications - listening, influence, negotiation/persuasion, counsel
• High level of business acumen - one who is always a student of business, speaks the clients’ language and capitalizes on new, robust opportunities
• Exceptional consultative skills - delivering relevant insight grounded in data, analysis, and experience
• Conversant in integrated marketing fundamentals - with the ability to leverage them for our clients; a champion for Edelman’s creative storytelling approach that is earned-centric and social by design
• Cultivator of talent – identifying and fostering growth of top/senior talent while nurturing the potential and growth of younger staff
• Partner to all – recognizing the need to partner with specialist skill sets from within and around the business to better fuel the overarching growth of the firm
• Leads from the front – inspires others to do their best work, pushes us into new territory and is on the frontlines within Edelman and with our clients
• Diverse and inclusive – build diverse and inclusive working environments for all members of the team

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Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Data & Intelligence (DxI) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle).
For more information please visit: www.edelman.com
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