Account Director (Beauty & Fashion PR)

Job Description

Job Description

Praytell is a creative communications agency made up of strategic minds, spirited hearts and people with a strong instinctive recoil from anything remotely boring. We create culture-driven, integrated work that earns attention, sparks conversation and makes people… well, give a shit. But more than that, we’re a team of curious builders, thoughtful challengers and collaborative problem-solvers who believe the best work starts with a simple question: what if we?

What if we pushed the idea further? Solved the problem differently? Built something better?

Our work moves fast, evolves constantly and rarely fits neatly inside a box - which is exactly how we like it. The people who thrive here ask questions, chase ideas, spot opportunities and care enough to go beyond the brief. They don’t wait for a perfect roadmap or a tap on the shoulder - they’re energized by figuring things out, making things better and helping shape what comes next.

We hold ourselves to a high bar, but we’re not pretending to be a perfect agency filled with perfect people doing perfect work 100% of the time. We’re humans. Sometimes the work runs late. Sometimes the process is still being built. Sometimes there isn’t a policy, playbook or perfect answer for every little thing. What we do have is a genuine commitment to getting better - evolving how we work, support our people and build the kind of agency we want to be, together.

So that’s our promise to you. If curiosity drives you, ownership excites you and “what if we?” feels more like a life mantra than a question - we’d love to hear from you.

The Opportunity

Praytell is seeking a New York or Chicago based Account Director with 7-10 years of experience, ideally within a PR agency environment, and a strong track record working across beauty and fashion brands. Experience with personal care products is a big plus! This role will lead integrated communications programs across earned media, influencer and social, serving as a strategic partner to clients while overseeing execution, team development and overall account performance.

Responsibilities include:

• Client Service 
• Start with ‘Yes’: Inspire innovation and optimism, providing clear pathways to execution.
• Spidey Senses in Tune: Demonstrate advanced intuition for client dynamics, identifying and addressing potential issues with foresight.
• No Ego, No B.S.: Lead by example, prioritizing the success of the team and client over personal gain.
• Trust & Transparency: Serve as a trusted advisor by delivering honest feedback and transparent recommendations.
• Sense of Humor & Short Memory: Keep teams and clients focused on solutions, using humor to diffuse tension when needed.
• Spirit of Partnership: Deepen client relationships through strategic counsel and delivering mutual value over time.
• Account & Team Management 
• Brand & Business Expertise: Drive strategic planning and innovation across PR, influencer, and social media campaigns, ensuring clients’ goals are met or exceeded.
• Time & Budget Tracking: Lead financial oversight for multiple accounts, ensuring budgets align with profitability targets and client expectations.
• Workflow Management: Implement systems to improve team efficiency and ensure high-quality campaign delivery across multiple clients.
• Staffing: Collaborate with leadership to assess staffing needs and contribute to hiring decisions.
• Employee Development: Provide formal feedback to team members and lead coaching sessions to build expertise within the team.
• Effective Communication
• Client Communication (Emails/Status Calls): Act as a trusted client advisor, leading discussions on campaign strategy, performance, and next steps.
• Written Materials: Provide strategic input on high-level materials, ensuring all content reflects the client’s voice and objectives.
• Deck Development: Oversee the structure and content of decks for large-scale campaigns, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
• Presentation Skills: Deliver high-stakes presentations, engaging clients with clear and actionable insights.
• Strategic Planning
• Channel Audits (Earned, Social, Influencer): Shape the framework for audits, ensuring insights are leveraged for strategic planning across campaigns.
• Target Audience Analysis (Earned, Social, Influencer): Lead high-level audience analysis, incorporating cultural, category, and competitive insights to inform strategies.
• Channel Fluency & Strategies (Earned, Influencer, Social): Develop overarching strategies that align with clients’ business objectives, integrating all three disciplines.
• Creative Thinking
• Newsjacking/Trend-to-Earned Ideas: Drive strategic ideation around cultural trends, creating campaigns that lead industry conversations.
• Earned Media: Approve and enhance creative concepts for seasonal and evergreen media pitches, events, and other earned tactics.
• Influencer or Talent Partnerships: Define the creative vision for talent partnerships, ensuring alignment with broader campaign strategies.
• Social Media: Shape overarching creative strategies for social campaigns, integrating them seamlessly with earned and influencer efforts.
• Brand Campaign Concepts: Present innovative, big-picture campaign concepts to clients, positioning the agency as a creative leader.
• Execution 
• Earned Media: Shape earned media strategy for clients, ensuring innovative approaches drive measurable results.
• Influencer: Guide cross-functional teams in integrating influencers into broader campaign strategies, with a focus on ROI. Provide oversight for critical activities such as contract development.
• Social Media: Oversee large-scale social initiatives, integrating insights and strategy across paid, earned, and owned media.
• KPI, Merchandising & Reporting 
• Data Analysis & Interpretation: Shape the approach to data analysis for client accounts, integrating broader trends.
• Strategic Recommendations: Lead strategic discussions with clients, positioning data as the foundation for decision-making. Put forth recommendations on tools to leverage for greater program insights (brand lift studies, sales studies, etc)
• Stakeholder Communication: Present high-level insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Goal Alignment & Performance Metrics: Ensure performance metrics align with client objectives and refine KPIs as needed.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

Beyond the role itself, we’ve built a place that genuinely shows up for its people - and that comes through in how we think about benefits and the overall employee experience. We offer a robust package designed to support your health, wellbeing, growth, future self and life outside of work.

Salary: $105,000 - $130,000 (This range reflects the minimum and maximum compensation for the role. We typically make offers within the 25th to 75th percentiles of the range and do not exceed the listed maximum. Final offers are based on experience, skills and qualifications.)

Benefits & Perks

• Comprehensive health care coverage
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 401(k) with company match
• Flexible Time Off (FTO)
• 18 company holidays
• Flex Fridays
• PrayCare wellness stipend and Rebalance Day
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Paid parental leave and fertility support
• Training, learning and professional development programs
• Camp Praytell
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• And more!

Interview Process

Please note: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we're unfortunately not able to respond to every applicant individually. While we review every application, we'll only be in touch with candidates we're moving forward with.

We know how tough it can be to wait and wonder, especially in today's job market, so in the spirit of transparency: if you haven't heard from us within 10 business days of applying, it means we've decided to move forward with other candidates for this particular role. We truly appreciate the time, energy and care that goes into every application, and we'll keep your information on file for future opportunities that may be a fit.

Our interview process typically takes 4-6 weeks and includes:

1. Application Review: Before applying, please review the location requirements for this role. Unfortunately, candidates who do not meet the location requirement will not be considered.
2. Phone Screen (30 minutes)
3. Team Interview (30-60 minutes)
4. Leadership Interview (30 minutes)
5. Take-Home Exercise (TBD): A short, client-agnostic assignment designed to help us better understand how you think, approach challenges and tackle the work. Candidates who complete the exercise will receive a stipend via electronic gift card.
6. Offer
7. Target Start Date: October 2026

Who We Are

We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all people and do not discriminate - period. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment in accordance with federal, state and local laws. We prohibit workplace harassment and discrimination of any kind and are committed to building an inclusive workplace in every location where we operate.