Senior Vice President, Earned Media Strategy, Brand

Senior Vice President, Earned Media Strategy, BrandWeber Shandwick is more than a leading global PR agency—we're an engagement agency working at the cutting edge of the evolving media landscape. We're storytellers and content creators who engage people in the story. Our success is built on a deep commitment to client service and to our people. We embrace creativity and collaboration, engaging stakeholders in new and distinctive ways to build brands and reputations.Weber Shandwick is seeking a Senior Vice President, Earned Media Strategy, Brand with deep consumer, sports, entertainment, and cultural media expertise to lead earned media strategy for top-tier CPG, spirits, food and beverage, and consumer lifestyle brands.This leader will develop modern, integrated strategies across earned, social, creators and influencers, owned content, podcasts, emerging platforms, talent partnerships, experiential, and paid amplification. They will identify where brand, business, and consumer conversations intersect—turning cultural insight into ideas that earn attention, drive relevance, and deliver business impact.The SVP will bring a strong understanding of major U.S. sports—including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and key tentpole events—and the athlete storylines, fan behaviors, rivalries, and cultural conversations that surround them. They will know how to translate those moments into credible brand opportunities, build strategies around sports partnerships and activations, and help shape earned approaches for athlete, celebrity, musician, and creator relationships.Success requires an ability to move at the speed of culture while maintaining strategic rigor, strong judgment, and a clear understanding of when a brand has permission to participate.The ideal candidate is a strategic counselor and creative storyteller with strong media relationships, sophisticated integrated communications experience, and a proven record of developing standout work for major consumer brands. They bring authentic fluency in sports, fandom, entertainment, and internet culture, along with the judgment to distinguish a fleeting trend from a meaningful earned opportunity.This leader will play a key role in senior client counsel, new business, and developing the next generation of earned media talent.You're a strategic earned media leader with deep, trusted relationships across top-tier sports, business, lifestyle, food and beverage, mainstream news, entertainment, culture, and commerce media. You have a proven record of leading earned media programs for major consumer brands and translating business goals into stories that resonate with consumers and culture.You genuinely follow sports and understand the personalities, fandoms, traditions, rivalries, and storylines that make major sporting moments meaningful beyond the game. You are equally plugged into entertainment, music, celebrity, creators, and internet culture—and are constantly evaluating where brands can credibly enter the conversations people are watching, sharing, debating, and obsessing over.You follow cultural, food, lifestyle, and media trends closely, and know how to position brands in timely, relevant moments. You are fluent in traditional and emerging platforms—including podcasts, newsletters, Substack, creator networks, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and social-first publishers—and understand how to bring together earned, social, creator, owned, experiential, and paid approaches to help stories break through.As a trusted senior counselor, you bring clarity and sound judgment to complex, high-pressure situations. You can move at the speed of culture without sacrificing strategic rigor, sell ambitious thinking to clients, inspire teams, build lasting relationships, and represent the agency confidently in new business and senior-level conversations.ResponsibilitiesSet and lead integrated earned media strategies for large consumer clients, aligning work with business goals, brand priorities, cultural relevance, and broader marketing efforts.Identify opportunities across sports, entertainment, music, fandom, food, lifestyle, and internet culture where brands can credibly show up and earn attention.Lead earned strategy for major brand moments, including tentpole sporting events, entertainment moments, partnerships, product launches, activations, talent programs, and real-time cultural opportunities.Counsel senior clients, executives, and spokespeople on communications strategy, positioning, reputation, talent, media engagement, and real-time decision-making, including media training.Develop culturally relevant narratives and sharp audience insights that can become distinctive, headline-worthy earned ideas—not simply press announcements.Monitor the media and cultural landscape to identify timely conversations, trends, and opportunities, differentiating between a fleeting moment and a meaningful opening for the brand.Build and leverage relationships across national, regional, digital, and social-first media, including sports, business, lifestyle, food and beverage, news, entertainment, culture, and commerce.Lead campaign development and execution with strategy, creative, account, social, influencer, experiential, and other agency teams—spanning thought leadership, launches, brand campaigns, and talent partnerships.Guide programs across traditional and emerging platforms, integrating earned with social, creator, owned, experiential, and paid approaches.Partner on the identification and activation of athletes, entertainers, musicians, celebrities, and creators, developing earned strategies that make those partnerships newsworthy.Lead strategic recommendations and presentations for new business; develop and share points of view on the evolving media, sports, and cultural landscape.Lead and develop teams, oversee resources and delivery, and foster a collaborative, inclusive, high-performance culture grounded in curiosity and cultural fluency.CompetenciesStrategic and business-minded: Translate client goals, audience behavior, and cultural insight into distinctive earned programs that deliver business value.Sports and cultural fluency: Bring authentic knowledge of sports, fandom, entertainment, music, creators, and internet culture—and understand how these worlds create opportunities for brands.Trusted counselor: Build credibility with senior stakeholders and provide clear, confident advice on complex communications challenges, real-time opportunities, and reputational considerations.Media and platform expertise: Leverage strong media relationships and understand the evolving influence ecosystem across journalists, creators, podcasts, newsletters, social-first publishers, and emerging platforms.Integrated collaborator: Connect earned strategy with social, creator, owned, experiential, paid, and broader marketing efforts to create ideas designed to travel.Proactive problem-solver: Anticipate opportunities and risks, make sound decisions under pressure, and move quickly when the cultural window demands it.People leader: Develop talent, set direction, and lead teams with clarity, accountability, inclusivity, and a commitment to creative ambition.What We're Looking For10+ years of public relations, communications, or earned media experience, with increasing responsibility leading integrated communications for major consumer brands. Agency experience preferred.A strong track record of developing and leading earned media strategies and campaigns for brands in CPG, food and beverage, consumer lifestyle, entertainment, sports, or adjacent categories.Genuine passion for and deep knowledge of sports, entertainment, culture, and the fan communities surrounding major U.S. sports and cultural moments.Experience developing earned ideas that have broken through around major sporting, entertainment, or cultural moments.Established relationships across top-tier sports, lifestyle, business, food and beverage, mainstream news, entertainment, culture, commerce, and pop culture media.Demonstrated success working with high-profile talent, including athletes, celebrities, musicians, and influential creators.Experience leading thought leadership, product launches, brand campaigns, sponsorships or partnerships, celebrity programs, and executive visibility initiatives.Deep fluency in the modern media ecosystem, including traditional outlets, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, newsletters, Substack, creators, and emerging platforms.Ability to integrate earned strategy with social, creator, experiential, owned, and paid media efforts.Strong judgment and an instinct for distinguishing a culturally relevant opportunity from a moment when a brand should not participate.Strong strategic, written, verbal, and presentation skills, including experience leading new business efforts.Proven ability to mentor and develop talent, manage complex programs, and deliver excellent work across fast-paced, integrated teams.Bachelor's degree preferred.