Senior Director, Public Relations (PR) & Communications

About Us

David Yurman is a celebrated American jewelry company founded in New York by David Yurman, a sculptor, and his wife, Sybil, a painter and ceramicist. When the artists began collaborating, their goal was simply to make beautiful objects to wear. Led today by their son Evan, David Yurman creates timeless, yet contemporary collections for women and men defined by inspiration, innovation, consummate craftsmanship and cable – the brand’s artistic signature. David Yurman collections are available at 50 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and France and at over 300 locations worldwide, through their exclusive authorized fine jewelry and timepiece network of retailers.

Our Values

At David Yurman, creativity, innovation and impeccable craftsmanship are at the core of everything we do. Fueled by the energy of our hometown, New York City, artistic passion informs each and every jewelry design. The Yurman family’s guiding vision continually defines and redefines what it means to be the preeminent American luxury jewelry brand. We are committed to responsible business and social practices and to the protection and advancement of human rights. We believe in partnering with others who share these values and understand their importance.

Job Description

Senior Director, Public Relations (PR) & Communications

About Us

David Yurman is a celebrated luxury American jewelry company founded in New York by esteemed artists - David Yurman, a sculptor, and his wife, Sybil, a painter and ceramicist. When the artists began collaborating, their goal was simply to make beautiful objects to wear. Led today by their son Evan, David Yurman creates timeless jewelry collections for women and men defined by artist-inspired form, material innovation, meticulous craftsmanship and Cable – the brand’s artistic signature. David Yurman collections are available through the brand’s retail stores (50) and eComm sites throughout the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and France, and over an additional 300 locations worldwide via their exclusive network of authorized fine jewelry and timepiece retailers.

Overview

David Yurman is seeking a dynamic and strategic Senior Director of PR and Communications to lead the brand’s press, communications, and relationships with celebrity and content creators. This role requires a senior leader to develop and execute an impactful and substantive communications strategy that elevates David Yurman’s position as a premier American luxury jewelry house. This work needs to drive the brand’s desirability and demand by growing earned media value, gaining deeper storytelling exposure with high impact publications, and building a content eco system with artistic, elevated contented creators. This role oversees the PR & Communications across the earned ecosystems as well management of our three tiers of VIPs and content creators.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned storyteller and relationship builder with deep experience in luxury, fashion, and celebrity culture to drive earned media impact. This candidate will have a strong sense of extracting rich, brand equity, innovation, and cultural stories to fuel appeal for the brand within the luxury jewelry space. This candidate will also need to build strong internal alliances and relationships with key stakeholders (e.g., Yurman family, Marketing Strategy, Events Marketing, Retail and WS Sales Team). The leadership and performance of the team is also critical, with focus on steering the team to set build a clear PR strategy with focused objectives, continually evaluating and evolving the programs based on performance, demonstrate agility in responding to shifts in strategy and drive innovation that fuels greater exposure or results. This role will also require skills in looking for greater efficiencies in focus, process, and budget.

Key Responsibilities

Earned Media Strategy & Execution

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive PR / comms strategy, designed to drive brand desirability via earned media strategy exposure across all channels and platforms.
• Drive strategic storytelling moments that reinforce brand equity, cultural relevance, and David Yurman’s positioning as a luxury American jewelry house with 50 years of heritage and artist origins.
• Champion narratives that highlight the brand’s deep heritage and founding by two artists—David and Sybil Yurman—bringing forward the brand’s artistic roots, New York beginnings, and craftsmanship in press and celebrity/vip relations.
• Oversee day-to-day press outreach and media relations to secure high-quality, high-impact earned media placements.
• Manage and mentor internal PR team and external PR agencies to ensure alignment with brand objectives.
• Ensure all earned media efforts reflect the brand’s unique blend of artistry, innovation, and American luxury.

Campaign Execution

• Lead the PR initiatives supporting our 360 Marketing activations across the year in collaboration with channel leads and partners.
• Monitor campaign and initiative performance and optimize strategies to achieve desired results.

Celebrity/VIP Strategy & Partnerships

• Develop and own the end-to-end strategy across three tiers (including contract negotiations, budgets, execution of deliverables, and relationships):

- Tier 1: Ambassadors

- Tier 2: Celebrities

- Tier 3: Creators / Influencers

• Update the partnership strategy and architecture to align more closely with the brand’s positioning and values, whilst balancing for performance. To execute this strategy, this role must identify the type /role and tenure of person and recruit, and cultivate relationships with them – across celebrities, VIPs, and agencies.
• Manage the execution by leading contract negotiations and partnership terms, ensure seamless execution of those terms/deliverables
• Ensure that the content / experiences are effective by collaborating / cocreating briefs, ideate with creators to maximize results while balancing our deliverable needs. Also critical to deliver concise briefs that balance rich storytelling narratives, alignment w/ strategic plans, and drive mutual goals
• Lead the Brand Events delivery of building and achieving on impactful VIP guest lists.
• Track results and performance of deliverables

Team, Cross Functional, and Partner Relationship Managment

• Develop and lead a team of PR professionals to create a high performing and efficient team with clear roles and responsibilities. Ability to coach junior talent.
• Build strong relationships with channel partners, including Media, Social, Events, Marketing Strategy to integrate celebrity/ambassadors into campaigns and brand moments in an effective and efficient way
• Initiate an iterative approach to creating marketing campaigns and joint business plans, by allowing for phases of co-creation and deep alignment.
• Work closely with the Yurmans, external agencies, Merch, Ecomm, Sales and Marketing teams to align marketing efforts with business objectives and uphold brand equity.
• Strategize workflows with internal creative partners and delegate clear execution of briefs to result in compelling marketing assets tailored to channel needs.
• Develop talking points, script writing for Leadership / Stakeholder press exposure (e.g., interviews, panels etc)

Performance Analysis and Reporting

• Deliver monthly, quarterly and annual reporting that tracks EMV, press impressions, press quality, and influencer marketing performance against KPIs such as MIV, reach, engagement and sales.
• Leverage these results to extract insights and recommendations on where to optimize, and inform future strategies. Combine these with broader industry / market trends, competitive dynamics etc to strengthen insights to improve future strategies.

Skills

• Expertise in the earned media ecosystem including press coverage, social media, UGC, influencer marketing, influencer events, public relations.
• Experience in sectors connected to luxury: fashion, hospitality, publishing, or entertainment (publicist etc.).
• Proficiency in earned media and social media analytics tools and the ability to strategically assess and optimize analytics tools for David Yurman and optimize as needed (e.g. Launchmetrics, Triad, Muckrack, Cision, Brandwatch, Traackr, lefty, etc).
• Proficiency in digital marketing strategies, including SEO, SEM, Social Media, and Influencer Marketing.
• Proficiency in software required to deliver clear, impactful presentations to internal / external teams
• Experience in leading a PR team, as this role will have a team of direct reports. Experience in coaching and mentoring.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field (MBA, a plus).
• 10+ years of experience in Public Relations & Communications (including long lead, short lead, press relations with publications and editorial community, PR agency management, press event execution, etc), celebrity/VIP management, or brand communications, preferably in luxury or fashion.
• Experience working within a PR agency, a plus
• Proven success in securing top-tier press coverage and managing high-profile relationships.

Location: New York, Tribeca

Hybrid: 3 Days in the Office, 2 Remote

Compensation: $200-220k

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at David Yurman

As a company founded by artists, David Yurman champions self-expression in everything we do. We are committed to fostering a culture of openness and creative collaboration within our entire community, and we cherish the diversity of our employees’ backgrounds and perspectives. We will always advocate for equity and inclusion for all.

David Yurman is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to an individual’s age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender).