Senior Vice President, Integrated Communications

Weber Shandwick•Detroit, MI

16h

About The Position

Weber Shandwick is more than a leading global PR agency – we’re an engagement agency and we’re working in and around the cutting edge of the new media landscape. We’re storytellers, content creators, and we engage people IN the story. Our success is built on a deep commitment to client service and to our people. We embrace creativity and collaboration, and we engage stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputations. We are looking for a Senior Vice President to lead earned-first, integrated marketing and communications across a large, complex automotive portfolio client. This is not a generalist account management role - it demands an earned ecosystem specialist: someone who lives at the intersection of earned media, creator strategy, and social, and who can orchestrate those disciplines into work that moves culture and shifts brand perception in one of the world's most competitive categories. You will serve as the senior client lead and strategic architect on a flagship automotive account, building trust across a sophisticated client stakeholder network spanning brand, product, corporate, and agency partners. You will be expected to bring an earned spine to everything - and flex confidently across the full marketing communications spectrum when the work demands it. This is a role for an operator and a visionary: someone who can hold the strategic altitude while also rolling up their sleeves to drive integrated activations from brief to execution.

Requirements

Deep, demonstrated expertise in earned media - pitching, placement, journalist and editor relationships - combined with sophisticated fluency in creator/influencer strategy and social amplification
Ability to develop earned-led campaign platforms that flex across paid, social, experiential, and content channels without losing the earned spine
Strong command of the creator economy: how to identify, brief, and manage talent authentically, and how to measure creator-driven outcomes
Familiarity with automotive media and culture is a strong advantage; genuine curiosity about the category is a must
12+ years of communications experience, with significant agency-side tenure leading large, complex accounts ($1M+ in billings)
Proven success running integrated campaigns across earned, social, and creator channels for major brands - ideally in automotive, mobility, tech, or other high-consideration categories
Experience managing within multi-agency ecosystems, with the confidence to hold and advocate for earned thinking in a room full of competing disciplines
Track record of growing accounts organically through proactive strategic thinking and exceptional client service
Experience leading geographically dispersed, cross-functional teams
An earned-first mindset with the intellectual range to lead integrated work -comfortable moving between a media briefing, a creator brief, a client presentation, and a campaign post-mortem
Exceptional written and verbal communications skills, including the ability to build compelling strategic narratives and present them with authority
A collaborative, low-ego leadership style that earns trust quickly - with clients, with peers, and with team members
Entrepreneurial instincts and a genuine appetite for challenging convention in how automotive brands show up in culture
BA/BS in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, or a related field

Responsibilities

Serve as the earned ecosystem authority on the account - setting the strategic direction for earned media, creator/influencer programming, and social amplification
Design integrated campaign architectures with a strong earned spine, ensuring PR and creator-led thinking shapes -rather than follows - the broader communications plan
Oversee the development of compelling, shareable narratives across owned, earned, and social channels that drive measurable awareness and engagement
Act as the primary day-to-day senior client partner, building deep relationships across a complex stakeholder network including brand and product communications, and marketing leadership
Navigate a multi-agency environment with confidence, advocating for earned-first thinking while collaborating effectively across creative and media partners
Counsel senior clients through complexity - whether that's a brand challenge, a product launch, a cultural moment, or a reputational issue - with calm authority and strategic clarity
Own the health and growth of the account, identifying expansion opportunities and proactively addressing risks
Lead and inspire a cross-functional team - including earned media specialists, creators, social strategists, and account staff - fostering a culture of creative ambition and operational rigor
Coordinate across multiple workstreams and time zones, ensuring integrated delivery against ambitious campaign timelines and client budgets
Mentor and develop junior talent, building the next generation of earned and integrated communications leaders
Partner with analytics leads to define measurement frameworks that demonstrate the business impact of earned and integrated programming