Account Director - Fashion

Key Responsibilities

• Has the ability to provide counsel to clients as opposed to taking direction from clients; Is able to have tough conversations with clients with their best interests in mind 
• Is able to lead client calls / in-person meetings and think on one’s feet 
• Is able to take client business objectives and develop a linear and cohesive communication strategy that reflect those business objectives 
• As core account team lead, is able to pull in and collaborate with speciality resources across the agency (both in NYC, London and LA) to ensure the client is getting access to the agency’s network-wide expertise 
• Is able to lead client programs and campaigns – from planning to execution – in an organised and timely manner, within the specified budget 
• Understands the difference between a communication strategy and a media strategy 
• Shows accountability in terms of meeting client benchmarks and delivering strong media coverage; Delivers on this through team leadership and guidance 
• Own all media relations and continue to develop and maintain key relationships
• Is able to provide strategic and tactical support to Divisional Director 
• Working with our in-house events team to manage launch events for media and influencers
• Line managing their team to ensure they meet targets and have a development plan
• Exhibits strong new business skills both from a planning and proposal perspective and during in-person pitch opportunities; Brings in new business opportunities through networking 
• Overseeing the management of all product-related media requests – from email inquiry through prospective media coverage – through sample product distribution and tracking and follow up  
• Taking inventory of and being responsible for client product inventory 
• General media monitoring across clients and all competitors 
• Consistently producing high quality internal and external communications content 
• Oversight and compilation of weekly client agendas 
• Proactively pitch story ideas to achieve maximum editorial placement across your brands
• Manage and motivate junior members of the team to ensure day to day operations run smoothly and PR results are delivered; while supporting them in their growth to the next level.
• Equally support VPs and senior members of the team to ensure maximum support across all levels. 
• Have a clear understanding of paid, owned and earned media strategies, and develop relationships with top editors to support this activity
• Have strong connections with leading and emerging editorial talents in the US 
• Managing the Account Managers/Account Executive to help reach personal and team targets 
• Work cross-functionally with the VIP & Influencer teams across accounts, ensuring a cohesive brand strategy is implemented  

Skills and Experience

• Proven experience operating in a senior position within the fashion industry
• Proven commercial experience with working in a fast-paced environment 
• Management experience is highly desirable 
• Proven track record of creating a positive impact on business through implementation of a PR strategy
• Discreet, professional and well spoken, with excellent communication skills 
• Extremely well-organised, methodical and efficient, with a good dose of common sense and initiative
• Pro-active and able to show initiative/ideas to constantly promote the Purple offering
• Creative and strategic thinker 
• Strong established fashion press contacts 
• International press contacts are also desirable
• Strong experience of event management, including local and international Fashion Weeks
• Strong presentation & superb writing skills 
• Able to identify communication opportunities across multiple media platforms
• Strong MS Word skills; including PowerPoint and Excel 
• Working knowledge of traditional industry platforms including Launchmetrics, DMR