Associate Director, Internal Communications

As an Associate Director, you will lead project work and collaborate closely with colleagues at all levels and around the world on research, writing, media, and creative problem-solving.

You’ll have the opportunity to work across disciplines, including corporate communication, crisis and issues, sustainability and corporate responsibility, media relations and stakeholder engagement, and digital/social media.

And you could work with clients in food and consumer products, healthcare, tech, financial, energy and nonprofit sectors.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day strategic communications account work, with assistance from more junior and senior colleagues, for our high profile, globally recognized clients
• Independently manages several small projects and engage with clients with support and supervision, as needed
• Manages client expectations, earning their respect, trust and confidence through proactive account management to successfully maintain and grow client relationships
• Develops and manages project programming, including implementation plans, staffing plans, budgets, timelines and measurement/evaluation
• Produces high-quality, client-ready written deliverables, such as press materials, messaging toolkits, social media strategies, and advocacy communications, often under tight deadlines
• Leads media relations efforts, including cultivating relationships with media, drafting strategies, organizing press conferences, and more
• Integrates digital and social media tactics with overall communications strategy and construct traditional and digital measurement deliverables upon request
• Familiarity with a variety of social media tools and the metrics that drive success within those tools
• Supports business development activities, including drafting of written proposals, developing new business presentations and participating in pitch presentations
• Articulates and applies agency vision, goals, practice areas, products, and overall capabilities

Qualifications

• At least 7-10 years of PR/strategic communications, public affairs or media experience – agency experience is a plus
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in English, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, or other related field
• Solid project management experience and a proven ability to manage multiple projects and client initiatives and teams of both junior and senior colleagues in a fast-paced environment
• Previous experience developing and supporting strategic communications (corporate communications, issues management, internal communications, crisis communications, etc.) plans across various industries and subject areas (healthcare, food and consumer goods, travel, technology, transportation, energy, etc.)
• Demonstrate exceptional presentation, writing and analytical skills, including experience writing strategic plans, messaging and press materials and the ability to write both strategically and creatively under tight deadlines
• Excellent client and interpersonal skills; ability to manage independent client relationships and communicate effectively by phone, email, and in-person
• Well-versed in current events and headline news at local, national, and international levels
• Familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, media databases and social media networks

About us:

Founded in Washington, D.C, in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned global communication and business strategy firm with more than 30 offices in major cities throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia – with a diverse global team of more than 650 experts.