Vice President, Cities & Public Affairs

ABOUT ORCHESTRA

Orchestra is a strategic communications and marketing company built for today’s complex and fragmented world. From decoding audiences to designing bold strategies, Orchestra integrates people, platforms, and stories that stick to help clients build lasting influence. The company offers programs that span from the highest level strategic business counsel through to tactical execution. Orchestra brings together 700+ people with experience across consumer and lifestyle, technology, nonprofit and philanthropy, real estate, sports, travel, hospitality, and more. Made up of leading firms BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals, and Versus Media Group, a strategy-first political media team. Learn more at www.orchestraco.com.

People of all backgrounds and abilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Orchestra is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff, and recognizes that its continued success depends on hiring and retaining high-quality creative professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Opportunities for advancement exist, and we are committed to helping all staff develop and grow.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM

The Public Affairs team comprises over 30 communications professionals who bring a unique campaign-style approach to strategic communications. We work with visionary clients in New York, Washington, D.C. and other major cities across the country on issues ranging from healthcare, energy, higher education, affordable housing, and issue advocacy. Whether it’s winning community and political support, policy change, elevating new projects and brands or launching new tourist attractions, we help our clients shape the future of cities.

We work with thought leaders, award-winning institutions and major advocacy groups, including the Congestion Pricing Now! Coalition, State University of New York, the New York Housing Conference, the Washington Commanders and the Regional Plan Association.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Orchestra is seeking an experienced communications, media relations and public affairs strategist to join us as a Vice President. In this role, you will counsel clients across our practice through comprehensive communications strategies that engage stakeholders and public audiences across integrated communications channels–including earned, owned, and paid media–to drive policy changes at the state, local, and federal level, elevate organizations and their leaders, and build brand awareness Issue areas include land use and zoning, energy, economic development, tech and innovation, and higher education. You will work with a team of expert colleagues and lead the day- to-day account flow by managing junior staff and client relations. As a core leader of the team, you should thrive in a fast-paced environment, demonstrate thoughtfulness in creating a collaborative culture, and have expertise in team capacity planning and business development.

Role location: This role is based in our New York, N.Y. office on a hybrid basis, in-office 3 days per week.

ACCOUNTABILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

As a Vice President on the Public Affairs team, you will…

• Lead the development of integrated communications strategies including earned, owned, and paid media to meet clients’ objectives 
• Drive high-touch, daily client communications with the same client leads: brainstorming, flagging concerns and problem-solving
• Manage a team of junior staff on each account you lead, strategically influencing deliverables’ quality and staff development by delegating, modeling smart practices and providing feedback
• Coordinate across internal and external teams to deploy integrated services (media relations, digital advertising, research) to meet your clients’ goals
• Drive new story angles and other media opportunities for clients, conceptualizing creative feature stories even when there is no news to announce and identify new targets across print, broadcast, radio and podcasts and trying new approaches until the story lands 
• Lead thought leadership programs for executives, drafting persuasive and compelling pitches and op-eds on behalf of a client; identify new opportunities to raise an executive’s visibility through awards or conferences
• Work closely with senior team leaders on capacity planning to ensure that the team is running efficiently
• Contribute to business development and growth efforts

Essential skills:

• At least 8  years of experience working in strategic communications and media relations in relevant spaces ( advocacy, politics or government.) Agency experience is a plus.
• Strong storytelling skills and demonstrated ability to create news moments, with the ability to provide examples that clearly demonstrate these capabilities
• Savviness and creativity in media relations and pitching, social media content ideation and influencer engagement with the knowledge to identify new targets and thoughtful angles until the story lands
• Understanding of New York City and State politics and media preferred, expertise in other geographies valued
• Experience with thought leadership and executive profile raising a plus
• Experience in designing media and marketing programs to reach stakeholder audiences
• Experience engaging and maintaining strong relationships with relevant reporters and handling rapid response and long lead stories
• At least 2 years of experience managing teams
• Ability to confidently communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing, with varying levels of staff, clients and the media and is comfortable thinking on their feet
• Organized and used to a fast-paced environment with the capability to handle multiple assignments at once, work quickly and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to become a savvy and nimble student of the “news” and quickly identify new media opportunities and narratives to insert our clients’ voices into the news cycle

WORKING AT ORCHESTRA

Salary range (commensurate with experience and skills): $140,000-$150,000

Vice Presidents are eligible for end of year bonuses based on firm, team and individual performance.

#LI-DK1
#LI-Hybrid