Influencer Relations Manager

Signal Theory - Full Time - Kansas City, MO/Wichita, KS Signal Theory is seeking an Influencer Relations Manager to meet the growing demands of our clients’ influencer and creator programs. The ideal person to fill this role will be experienced in focusing on the entire influencer ecosystem: finding the right creators, building real relationships with them and their reps, negotiating fair deals and keeping every program compliant and protected on all sides. The ideal candidate has 3 to 5+ years of hands-on influencer marketing experience and a current, practitioner’s understanding of how the creator economy is evolving. This person should be fluent in the realities of working with influencers as businesses in their own right, including their agents and managers, their boundaries and their leverage, and should be comfortable operating at the intersection of client legal teams, the influencer’s representation and our own agency counsel. This person should also be a confident, polished presence in front of clients, someone who can walk into a room and present influencer strategy, tactics and results with authority, and who naturally becomes the go-to person clients trust for anything influencer related. Primary Responsibilities: Influencer Strategy and Discovery Lead influencer identification, vetting and evaluation across platforms using both data and judgment, including audience quality, brand fit, past controversies and content authenticity. Build and execute influencer strategies tied directly to client business goals rather than vanity metrics. Stay current on platform shifts, emerging creator formats and where audience attention is actually moving next. Maintain a living database of vetted talent, agency contacts and relationship history. Relationship Management and Negotiation Serve as the primary point of contact for influencers and their agents or management teams throughout the partnership lifecycle. Lead rate negotiations and deal structuring with a clear understanding of current market rates across tiers and platforms. Draft, review and manage influencer contracts and usage rights in coordination with legal counsel from the agency, the client and the influencer’s side. Navigate FTC disclosure requirements, whitelisting and paid media usage rights, exclusivity clauses and content ownership terms with confidence. Handle sensitive conversations with professionalism, including scope changes, brand safety concerns, timeline pressure and creator pushback, in a way that protects the relationship long term. Understand when and how to loop in legal on contract red flags, morality clauses, indemnification language or IP disputes before they become bigger problems. Campaign Execution and Content Management Own campaign timelines from briefing through content delivery and posting. Act as the connector between disciplines, including content, account management and creative on all influencer matters, taking in requests and routing them to the right people to execute. Collaborate with content and social team members to to help activate across various social and digital platforms. Manage content approval workflows between clients, legal and influencers. Review influencer content for brand safety, contractual compliance and creative quality before it goes live. Manage on-site influencer activations at events, trade shows and brand experiences as needed Troubleshoot in real time when content underperforms, gets flagged or requires a compliance edit post publish. Reporting and Optimization Track and report on campaign performance using platform native and third-party analytics tools. Translate performance data into clear recommendations for future programs. Benchmark spend against results to help clients understand ROI across creator tiers. Reporting and Optimization Serve as the client’s go-to point of contact for all things influencer, building trust as a strategic partner rather than an order taker. Confidently present influencer strategy, campaign recommendations and results directly to clients, including in new business and account growth conversations. Translate influencer trends, platform shifts and creator dynamics into clear, actionable points of view for clients. Represent the influencer discipline in cross-functional client meetings alongside PR, social and creative teams. Required Qualifications: 3 to 5+ years of hands on experience in influencer marketing or creator partnerships, agency side strongly preferred. Demonstrated experience negotiating influencer contracts and rates directly with talent or their agents. Working knowledge of FTC guidelines, usage rights, whitelisting and platform specific disclosure requirements. Experience collaborating with legal counsel on contract terms and risk mitigation. Fluency with influencer discovery and relationship management platforms and social listening tools (e.g. Sprout Influencer, Tagger). Proven ability to manage multiple client programs and vendor relationships simultaneously under deadline. Strong presentation skills and confidence being client facing, including presenting strategy and results directly to client stakeholders. Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or a related field, or equivalent experience. Desired Skills: Existing relationships with talent agencies or management companies. Experience working across both B2C lifestyle influencer programs and more niche B2B or trade creator partnerships. Comfort reading and redlining contract language even without a legal background. Understanding of paid amplification strategy for creator content. A point of view on where the creator economy is heading, not just where it has been. Sharp instincts for brand safety and reputational risk. Strong organizational skills and calm under pressure when timelines and personalities collide. What We Offer: Access to online learning platforms to continue honing your craft Up to $500 a year to put toward qualified wellness expenses, like your gym membership After one year, we’ll reimburse up to 50% of tuition costs for pre-approved continuing education If you stick around for eight whole years, enjoy a 4-week paid sabbatical, plus a $750 reimbursement for international travel Of course, we also: Are an equal opportunity employer Provide health, dental and vision insurance Offer salaries commensurate with experience Offer both traditional and Roth 401k plans with employer matching About Signal Theory: Signal Theory is an advertising agency focused on leveraging behavioral science to create great work. Our purpose is to connect people to comfort, joy and meaning through effective, award-worthy solutions driven by a deep understanding of human behavior. #J-18808-Ljbffr KC Ad Club