Associate Director

Edelman•New York, NY

27d•$72,000 - $155,000

About The Position

We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging. Consistent with this approach, we hire the best qualified candidates for all positions. Edelman is looking for an Associate Director, Brand Strategy to join us in making work that becomes part of popular culture. Not just a PR agency. We move at the speed of PR but are growing as a next generation kind of agency that sits at the intersection of public relations and advertising. At Edelman, it’s not enough to be culturally relevant–our briefs demand that we change culture around us. Our best work stems from uncovering cultural tensions that resonate with people at a human level. We create things that end up on the front page of Reddit, the pages of NYTimes, in Shaq’s Twitter feed, and in the award shows, we do that on a regular basis. We generate attention-grabbing ideas while moving much faster than a traditional agency (think weeks, not months). Our growing team of strategists are the minds that uncovered the insights leading to some of 2020’s most talked about campaigns, from realizing that a popular ice cream truck jingle had racist roots then writing a new one with RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, to discovering that U.S. fathers don’t have access to paid paternity leave then starting a national movement towards a federal paid leave policy. We’re looking for a passionate, curious, smart thinker looking for a workplace of doers.

Requirements

At least 6 years of experience working in strategy, account planning, research, account or creative with consumer brands
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience

Nice To Haves

Experience in a PR, creative or integrated agency environment
Experience working closely with creative teams to develop creative briefs
Proven experience developing integrated campaigns for large, well-known technology or consumer brands
Strong presentation-development skills, including the ability to structure an argument, sharpen a headline and build a clear narrative across a deck.
Excellent presentation and persuasion skills; ability to argue a point-of-view coherently and concisely; comfortable engaging with senior level clients; quick thinker; able to speak authoritatively, without seeming dogmatic or inflexible
Understanding of earned media and ideas that generate headlines; experience working on campaigns that generate headlines
Curiosity about what makes people act and think the way they do; able to find meaningful insights about motivation and craft powerful narratives to deliver that story
Experience supporting workshops and turning stakeholder conversations into clear strategic outputs, recommendations or briefs.
Experience working in a collaborative environment and a track record of building relationships with various types of specialty teams including Creative, Research, Social, Media and Account among others.

Responsibilities

Constantly curious – you always want to learn, research what you don’t know, and you aren’t afraid to ask questions
A strong researcher who knows how to find credible information across consumer behavior, culture, competitors, media, social, creators, AI and emerging technology.
Able to go beyond collecting information to identify the patterns, tensions and implications that matter.
A structured thinker who can help get to the root of a business or communications problem before jumping to solutions.
Creative by nature and excited to bring cultural stimulus, audience insight and strategic perspective into the creative process.
Skilled at translating complex thinking into simple, persuasive stories, whether that means a strategic framework, creative brief or presentation.
Energized by collaborative environments and comfortable working across Strategy, Creative, Account, Earned, Social, Data and other specialty teams.
Organized, proactive and comfortable managing several fast-moving workstreams at once while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.