Senior Vice President , Government Account Management

Senior Vice President, Community Engagement & Risk Communications – FEMA CERC

About Ogilvy

David Ogilvy famously said: "If each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants." We're looking for the 'giants' who will help us be better, think bigger and go farther to increase growth and impact for our clients, our culture and our communities.  

For nearly two decades, Ogilvy has been at the forefront of social change—advancing personal and public health and safety through innovative communication initiatives.  We have developed numerous social change campaigns to successfully raise awareness, educate and prompt action regarding some of today’s largest and most complex issues, ranging from homeland security to income taxes, emergency preparedness to heart disease, violence prevention to substance abuse—the list is extensive. We take great pride in deploying solutions that improve and save lives. 

Ogilvy has a long-standing relationship with FEMA and is currently working to help build a country more resilient to natural disasters. As we continue to understand and adapt to the near- and long-term effects of climate change, this work is of ever-increasing importance. 

About the Role

Ogilvy is looking for a highly driven, passionate Senior Vice President with a background in community engagement and/or risk communications and program management. This role will primarily support our continued work with FEMA on the Community Engagement and Risk Communication (CERC) contract.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with a federal agency and a large, dynamic team encompassing a network of behavior change, disaster resilience, risk communications, emergency management, community outreach, partnership building, community planning, and engineering experts. This unique program functions on national, regional, and community levels to engage, equip and empower a broad array of national and local stakeholders around the issues of natural disaster mitigation, climate change adaptation, and capacity building to empower communities to drive resilience.

This management-level full-time position works collaboratively with colleagues in Washington, D.C., and 10 regional offices nationwide to accomplish significant results in the areas of raising understanding of local vulnerabilities and driving action to strengthen communities.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as a key lead for a portion of a large contract, collaborating with the contract leadership team to manage strategic, personnel, delivery, and financial aspects of the work;
• Provide expertise in the delivery of strategic communications and content related to community resilience;
• Manage relationships with regional partners and serve as a senior strategic partner on the development of tailored programs;
• Mobilize and drive integrated teams towards forward progress, action, and results;
• Develop and maintain high levels of team effectiveness (trust, communication, collaboration, productivity, diversity, engagement);
• Partner with internal teams to ensure high quality delivery and execution of the work;
• Foster collaboration with internal and external partners to share best practices and drive towards the client's overall strategic vision;
• Anticipate and address both internal and client needs;
• Effectively and impartially navigate teams through challenges;
• Work with Resource Manager to ensure right resource allocation and management on any given program/project; and
• Review and advise on integrated communications project plans (timeline, budget, scope of work, staff plan) spanning client services, strategy, creative, production, media, measurement, and other subject matter expertise.

What You’ll Need

• 13+ years of experience in strategic communications, including developing and managing relationships, preferably in an agency setting and for a government client.
• 6+ years of supervisory experience.
• Management level experience with a multi-faceted government contract.
• Superior client service and client relationship skills.
• Proactive, problem solver, team player.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of audiences from Federal, State, and local officials to thought leaders, business leaders, and local residents.
• Familiarity with or interest in equity-centered approaches to community engagement and program delivery.
• Proven ability to manage staff across multiple projects efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with teams across the nation is essential.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills are essential.
• Willingness to travel and work onsite at client offices.

• Demonstrated capability to get things done on budget and on time; established sense of business and financial acumen.

• Ability to work with and manage sub-contractors and vendor relationships.

• An understanding of the dynamics and workings of the agency’s process as it relates to the client’s business;
• Demonstrable knowledge of client and agency operations and working knowledge of Ogilvy’s capabilities;

• Professional competency in written and oral Spanish a plus.

How We’ll Support You

Ogilvy celebrates its people. Fully. Enthusiastically. Unhesitatingly. We’ll empower you with the tools you’ll need to succeed. We’ll give you the autonomy to seek out new paths and better ways of doing things. We’ll support you with colleagues who are experts in their disciplines, drawn from across the Ogilvy network. And we’ll provide opportunities for you to do work of which you’ll be proud, with people you’ll be proud to call your teammates.