Account Manager – Global F&B brand

Edelman builds earned-first, trusted, iconic brands.

We think audience and culture first to help our clients solve real-world problems that people really care about. Like helping to prevent animal poaching by turning Samsung smart phones into a CCTV network enabling anybody, anywhere in the world to act as a virtual ranger and watch over wildlife in Africa.

Inspiring IKEA to buy back old furniture on Black Friday instead of promoting sales on new items. And helping Dove’s Real Beauty mission take on representation in gaming by creating the world’s first guide training for developers on how to code for black hair styles within games, enabling all players to confidently represent themselves in the digital world.

We are looking for an Account Manager to join us in our new London home, Francis House, on one of the world’s most iconic F&B brands. 

The Role

Are you a creative and enthusiastic self-starter, with a great network of media contacts? Are you in-tune with Gen Z culture and the latest viral social trends? Do you have a good working understanding of integrated storytelling and how a story can flex across different channels and platforms for maximum reach and impact? Are you comfortable running a busy, press office advising on complex, inbound media requests? Then this could be the role for you. 

You will manage the day-to-day workings of the brand team, helping to drive forwards the delivery of all UK storytelling output – including seasonal campaigns, new product launches, big creative activations, an EMEA wide press office… and everything in between.

Outside of the day-to-day client team, you will also work with Edelman’s creative, influencer, planning and social strategy teams, bringing these different specialisms together to tackle new briefs and create integrated communications solutions, seamlessly. 

This is the perfect role for someone who is a true team player, a media hound as fast-moving as the everchanging news agenda and someone who enjoys the responsibility of playing a valuable role in a large team – all while taking pride in delivering incredible work.

More than anything, we’re looking for someone who is non-hierarchical and happy to get stuck in. 

Responsibilities

• Taking a lead role in developing UK focused earned media strategies and delivery the storytelling for end-to-end integrated campaigns
• Working collaboratively alongside client leads, creative and digital teams, and wider integrated agency teams to plan projects, respond to briefs and launch culturally relevant campaigns
• Practical and solid understanding of the earned, owned, paid and social media space and how to apply this understanding when it comes to flexing a story across various channels and platforms
• Segmenting stories by angles for specialist verticals and journalist beats and pitching ideas convincingly to media
• Managing the day-to-day client relationship and serving as the daily client contact on the account whilst earning the trust of clients to deliver day-to-day work as well as providing proactive counsel on media insights, new approaches or ideas that will help meet client’s broader objectives 
• Managing the junior team on a day-to-day basis, supporting people development, overseeing workload management and supporting senior team on resourcing requirements

The ideal candidate for this role will have/be:

• A keen eye for an earned media story and great existing network of media contacts
• Willingness to continue building and developing new relationships across a wide variety of media and influencer contacts, spanning broadcast, news, consumer, online and specialist media
• Desire to work as part of a large team in a busy, fast paced and highly motivated working environment
• Excellent presentation, verbal and written skills, ability to articulate point of view with confidence and gravitas
• Ability to handle varied and complex media enquiries at an EMEA level including issues, working collaboratively with the internal client team and experts at Edelman, to help protect brand reputation.
• Provide proactive and regular counsel on the media agenda, the landscape pertaining to key issues and business priorities and new approaches or ideas that will help meet the client’s broader objectives
• Ability to balance ‘quick hits’ and longer-term strategy and understanding the difference
• Ability to manage both up and down and take overall responsibility of day-to-day client deliverables
• Experience of integrating with different practices / teams on cross-business work, ability to work collaboratively with a variety of people to meet client expectations
• In-tune with Gen Z culture and the latest viral social trends 
• A creative problem solver
• A delivery-driven manager, with ability to take responsibility of tasks and accounts
• Entrepreneurial spirit - willingness to ‘get stuck in’ and make the most of opportunities 
• Ideally, this candidate will have experience of working with large international companies and have a passion for FMCG, sustainability and brand