Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

Overview

FleishmanHillard’s Washington office is seeking an experienced public affairs professional to join the firm’s Public Affairs practice as a Senior Vice President. In this role, you would: 

• Lead client accounts and work in a fast-paced environment on a wide range of public affairs, advocacy and external communications efforts for companies of all sizes, national associations, government agencies and non-profit clients.  
• Work directly with senior clients, helping to devise and execute large-scale public affairs campaigns that often have a strong thought leadership component.  
• Work to raise the FH’s profile in Washington, DC (and more broadly), representing the firm at networking events and speaking opportunities, and playing a key role in securing new clients. 

Candidates must have agency experience leading smart, integrated public affairs campaigns, and a sophisticated understanding of Washington stakeholders and the media. They must have proven rapid response abilities, strong writing skills and know how to engage audiences – even beyond communications. 

The ideal candidate would be responsive, thoughtful with ideas and proven to execute communications that deliver measurable results; know how to engage client partners and other third-party stakeholders to help clients win in the court of public opinion; and have experience with issues management, paid media, content development, events, media training, and business development.  

At FleishmanHillard, we embrace challenges, think boldly, trust each other, and harness our talented worldwide network to provide the best in-class counsel to our roster of remarkable global clients. Are you ready to join the team?  

We recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion benefit our agency, our clients, and the communities in which we work and live. To that end, we strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.  

Responsibilities

• Help build and execute smart, targeted, integrated strategies.  

• Serve as a client lead, strategist and main point of contact. 

• Lead campaigns and manage workstreams, and ensure quality control on all client deliverables. 

• Share actively in recommendations, ideas and strategic responses to client situations with internal account teams. 

• Develop high-quality, client-ready materials, including messaging, news releases, background materials, planning documents, and policy briefs that capture relevant audiences and reflect an understanding of our clients’ businesses. 

• Lead and motivate teams to successfully manage relationships and correspondence with external audiences: top-tier reporters, client partners, SMEs, etc. 

• Identify opportunities to inject FH’s clients into current news cycles; drive story idea development, work closely with traditional and online media to shape and control communications that are in line with overall client business objectives. 

• Play a pivotal role in overseeing and finding synergies between several client workstreams and account teams, including managing budgets and forecasts, overseeing projects and clients, and pursuing new business by leading and contributing to proposals and opportunities. 

• Manage direct reports and work with them to grow their management skills. 

• Contribute to the growth of the PA team and FH DC office with ideas, relationship building, and support of new business pursuits. 

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree with 15+ years of public affairs experience.  

• Ability to work with and counsel senior clients.  

• Excellent writing and editing abilities. 

• Analytical thinking and an ability to understand complex industries and business concepts quickly. 

• Ability to deliver insights to assist clients in driving alignment and execution of initiatives. 

• Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, draw conclusions, make recommendations, establish reasonable timelines and areas of responsibility, anticipate costs, and identify measures of success. 

• High attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple ongoing activities for large projects. 

• Knowledge of media trends and issues and strong understanding of media environment. 

• An ability to work well within a team environment, complementing senior leads and managing junior staff. 

• Significant experience using all types of media and channels to drive client messaging.  

• Track record supporting new business efforts. 

About FleishmanHillard  

FleishmanHillard specializes in public relations, reputation management, public affairs, brand marketing, digital strategy, social engagement and content strategy. FleishmanHillard was named 2020, 2021 and 2022 Campaign Global PR Agency of the Year; 2023 ICCO Large Agency of the Year – The Americas; 2022 and 2023 PRWeek U.S. Agency of the Year; 2022 and 2023 PRWeek U.S. Outstanding Extra-Large Agency of the Year; 2023 Campaign US PR Agency of the Year; 2021 PRovoke APAC Consultancy of the Year; and 2021 PRWeek UK Large Consultancy of the Year. FleishmanHillard is part of Omnicom PR Group and has nearly 80 offices in more than 30 countries, plus affiliates in 45 countries. 

FleishmanHillard offers a hybrid work model, and seeks employees who are comfortable working in the office for a portion of their workweek. We value the collaboration and camaraderie that in-person interactions provide, but also understand the importance of flexibility and balance in our employees' lives. As such, we are open to discuss various work arrangements that accommodate individual needs and circumstances, including flexible scheduling and alternative work arrangements. Our goal is to foster a productive and inclusive work environment where all employees can thrive, both in and out of the office. 

FleishmanHillard is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, ancestry, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, alienage, citizenship status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other protected class under federal, state or local laws. Please do not contact the office directly to apply – only resumes submitted through this website will be considered. If you need assistance reviewing career opportunities or completing an application, please email our careers team or call 314-982-1700 and ask to be connected to Talent Development. 

The anticipated salary range for this position is $110,000 - $225,000 per year.

Salary is based on a range of factors that include relevant experience, knowledge, skills, other job-related qualifications and geography. A range of medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, paid time off and/or other benefits also are available.