PR & Influencer Client Director - Sponsorship

OVERVIEW This role assumes responsibility for leading PR and Influencer activity across multiple client accounts, with particular emphasis on strategic communications, media relations, influencer strategy, media and influencer experiences, measurement and business growth. The PR & Influencer Client Director will act as a senior day to day point of contact for clients and internal teams, providing strategic counsel while ensuring best in class execution. They will be expected to build and maintain exceptional relationships with journalists, editors, broadcasters, creators, influencers, talent agents and other key industry stakeholders. The role requires a strong understanding of the Irish media, influencer and creator landscape, combined with excellent project management, commercial acumen and a proven ability to grow client business. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable developing strategy, pitching stories to media, hosting journalists and influencers, leading client meetings, managing events and experiences, analysing campaign effectiveness and identifying opportunities to grow existing and new client relationships. They will bring strategic rigour to influencer marketing, ensuring creator activity is grounded in clear client and audience objectives, supported by appropriate measurement frameworks and continually optimised based on performance and learning. This role requires strong collaboration and communication across Core. The PR & Influencer Client Director will work closely with colleagues across Strategy, Creative, Media, Investment, Social and other specialist teams to ensure PR and Influencer thinking is integrated into wider client strategies. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast paced environment, have a strong understanding of culture and the evolving communications landscape, demonstrate excellent judgement and creativity, and be comfortable managing multiple clients, campaigns and stakeholders in a deadline driven environment. This is a FTC (12 Months), full time, five days per week role operating within Core's hybrid working model. Given the relationship led and experiential nature of PR and Influencer, the role requires flexibility and a strong in person presence when required. The successful candidate will be required to attend client meetings, media and influencer events, launches, activations, shoots, experiences and other industry engagements. This will include activity outside standard office hours, including evening and occasional weekend attendance at relevant PR and Influencer events and experiences.   RESPONSIBILITIES The PR & Influencer Client Director will lead PR and Influencer activity across their assigned clients, acting as the senior day to day expert and project lead. They will develop strategic PR and Influencer recommendations rooted in client business, brand and communications objectives and ensure these are translated into effective, creative and measurable campaigns. They will be an expert in their field on whom clients and internal teams can rely for recommendations, advice, counsel and campaign leadership. The role is central to the efficient and effective running of Core's PR & Influencer offering, from proactive opportunity identification and response to briefs through to campaign delivery, measurement and evaluation. The PR & Influencer Client Director will continually seek new and innovative ways for clients to earn attention, participate credibly in culture and build meaningful relationships with media, creators and communities. A key measure of success will be the individual's ability to grow the PR & Influencer business, developing existing client accounts, identifying new commercial opportunities and contributing to new business and revenue growth. PR & MEDIA RELATIONS - Develop and lead PR strategies grounded in a strong understanding of client business, brand and communications objectives. - Build, maintain and continually develop strong relationships across the Irish media landscape, including journalists, editors, producers, broadcasters and other relevant media contacts. - Demonstrate a proven ability to secure meaningful earned media coverage and understand what makes a compelling story across different media channels. - Develop media strategies, story angles, pitches and proactive news-generation opportunities that deliver against client objectives. - Maintain regular, proactive engagement with media rather than relying solely on campaign led contact. - Lead media pitching and sell in across relevant national, regional, broadcast, print, online, lifestyle and specialist media. - Provide clients with informed counsel on the media landscape, emerging issues, news cycles and opportunities. - Lead and oversee press office activity, including media enquiries, reactive opportunities, interviews and ongoing media engagement. - Develop high quality media materials including press releases, pitches, briefing documents, Q&As, key messages and spokesperson briefing materials. - Maintain excellent judgement when dealing with journalists, sensitive information and reputational issues. - Identify proactive opportunities for clients to participate credibly in relevant cultural and media conversations. MEDIA HOSTING - Lead media hosting programmes, including press trips, launches, previews, hospitality, interviews and other hosted experiences. - Personally host and build relationships with media at events and experiences where appropriate. - Develop media guest strategies and identify the most relevant journalists and media contacts for individual client activities. - Ensure media hosting is professionally managed from invitation and briefing through to attendance, experience delivery, follow up and evaluation. - Represent Core and its clients professionally at media events and industry engagements. - Use hosting opportunities to develop meaningful, long term media relationships rather than focusing solely on immediate coverage outcomes. INFLUENCER STRATEGY, RELATIONS & MEASUREMENT - Lead the development of influencer and creator strategies grounded in client business, brand, audience and communications objectives. - Translate audience, cultural and platform insights into clear influencer strategies, defining the role creators should play within the wider communications and marketing plan. - Develop strategic approaches across always on influencer programmes, campaign activations, brand partnerships, ambassador programmes, launches and influencer experiences. - Advise clients on the appropriate mix of creators, platforms, content formats and partnership models to deliver against campaign objectives. - Lead creator selection based on audience relevance, brand fit, credibility, cultural influence, content quality and expected effectiveness – not simply reach or follower numbers. - Maintain a strong understanding of the Irish influencer and creator landscape alongside relevant international trends, emerging talent, platforms and communities. - Build and maintain strong relationships with influencers, creators, talent agents, managers and relevant platforms. - Oversee the complete influencer campaign process, including identification, vetting, outreach, negotiation, contracting, briefing, content management, approvals and activation. - Negotiate effectively with influencers, creators and agents to achieve strong commercial and creative outcomes for clients. - Develop influencer experiences and engagement programmes that create authentic relationships between brands and creators beyond transactional paid partnerships. - Lead and attend influencer events, trips, launches, dinners, experiences and activations, personally hosting talent where appropriate. - Establish clear measurement frameworks and KPIs for influencer activity at the outset of campaigns, aligned to client communications and business objectives. - Ensure influencer activity is measured beyond basic reach and engagement, using appropriate metrics across awareness, attention, engagement, content performance, audience quality, earned impact, traffic, consideration and conversion where relevant and measurable. - Evaluate creator and content performance to understand what worked, why it worked and what should change, translating campaign data into meaningful strategic recommendations. - Benchmark performance across creators, platforms, formats and campaigns to continually improve influencer selection, investment and effectiveness. - Work with relevant Core teams and external partners to strengthen measurement methodologies and demonstrate the wider impact of influencer activity. - Lead post campaign evaluation and reporting, ensuring clients receive clear insights and recommendations rather than simply campaign outputs and metrics. - Use campaign learnings to inform future strategy, optimise ongoing programmes and identify opportunities for deeper or expanded client investment. - Confidently articulate the commercial and communications value of influencer marketing and its role within the wider marketing mix. - Maintain strong standards around influencer transparency, disclosure, brand safety, audience authenticity, contractual requirements and relevant advertising regulations. MEDIA & INFLUENCER EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES - Lead PR and Influencer strategy surrounding client events, launches and brand experiences. - Develop concepts designed to generate earned media, influencer engagement, social conversation and culturally relevant brand attention. - Develop and manage media and influencer guest strategies, including identification, invitation, attendance management, briefing and follow up. - Work closely with clients, suppliers, venues, production partners and internal Core teams to deliver events and experiences to a consistently high standard. - Act as a senior Core representative and host at client events and experiences. - Be available to attend events and activations outside normal working hours, including evenings and occasional weekends, where required. - Ensure events and experiences have clear objectives and are evaluated against appropriate PR, influencer and business KPIs. - Identify learnings and opportunities from events and experiences that can inform future client strategy. CLIENT & AGENCY PERFORMANCE - Lead and project manage PR and Influencer campaigns from brief through to delivery, reporting and evaluation, ensuring output is consistently of the highest standard. - Develop strategic responses based on a strong understanding of clients' business, brand and communications challenges. - Provide senior PR and Influencer counsel to clients and colleagues across Core. - Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and become an extension of their communications and marketing teams. - Develop a thorough understanding of each client's Key Business Priorities and identify how PR and Influencer can contribute to them. - Lead client meetings and presentations, confidently articulating strategic recommendations, creative ideas and campaign results. - Proactively identify opportunities rather than relying solely on client briefs. - Work collaboratively across Core to ensure PR and Influencer thinking is integrated into wider client strategies. - Understand how different practices and specialist teams across Core can contribute to the overall client plan. - Analyse campaign performance and translate results into meaningful insights, recommendations and future opportunities. - Lead post campaign reviews and ensure learnings are applied to future activity. - Maintain excellent standards of client service, responsiveness and attention to detail. BUSINESS GROWTH & COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE - Demonstrate a proven track record of growing client business and revenue within PR, communications, influencer marketing or a related agency discipline. - Take responsibility for identifying and converting organic growth opportunities across existing client accounts. - Proactively develop new PR, Influencer, media relations and experiential opportunities that create additional value for clients and commercial value for Core. - Build strong senior client relationships that support account retention and long term growth. - Play a leading role in new business pitches, credentials meetings and proactive business development. - Contribute to the development and growth of Core's PR & Influencer proposition in the market. - Contribute to agreed team and individual revenue targets. - Take responsibility for the commercial management of assigned accounts and projects. - Scope projects accurately and ensure agreed fees, external costs and deliverables are commercially sustainable. - Manage campaign and influencer budgets, forecasting and spend projections. - Negotiate effectively with talent, agents, suppliers and other third parties. - Manage client POs and relevant internal financial processes to support effective and efficient month end billing. - Ensure accurate and timely billing across assigned accounts. - Monitor account and campaign profitability and identify commercial risks or scope changes at the earliest opportunity. - Identify opportunities for new services, partnerships and revenue streams within PR and Influencer. TALENT MANAGEMENT - Play an active role in developing junior members of the PR & Influencer team through coaching, feedback, delegation and knowledge sharing. - Provide clear direction while creating opportunities for junior colleagues to develop their client, media and influencer relationships. - Create an environment where junior team members can take ownership while receiving appropriate guidance and support. - Share media intelligence, influencer trends, campaign learnings, platform developments and industry best practice across the team and wider Core business. - Commit to Core's internal learning programmes and actively pursue relevant external learning and industry development. - Maintain a clear career development plan aligned with 360 feedback, regular catchups and agreed goals with your line manager. - Uphold Core's values in words and actions. - Embrace Togetherness through cross company collaboration. - Proactively build relationships across the wider organisation. - Contribute to an ambitious, supportive, hardworking and enjoyable team environment.  WORKING PATTERN & ROLE REQUIREMENTS This is a 12 Months FTC, full time role, five days per week, operating within Core's hybrid working model. PR and Influencer is inherently relationship led and experiential. As such, the role requires flexibility and a willingness to be physically present where the work and relationships require it. This includes attendance at client meetings, media meetings, events, launches, shoots, influencer activations, press trips, industry engagements and other experiences. Some PR and Influencer activity takes place outside standard office hours. Attendance at relevant evening events and occasional weekend activity is a requirement of the role, with the successful candidate expected to represent Core and its clients professionally at these engagements. Hybrid working should therefore be understood alongside the needs of clients, the team and the role, rather than as a fixed remote working pattern. EXPERIENCE - Significant PR, communications and influencer marketing experience, ideally within an agency environment. - Excellent media relations skills with a strong and established network of relevant Irish media contacts. - A demonstrable track record of generating high quality earned media coverage for clients. - Strong experience in media hosting, including launches, press events, hospitality, trips and other media experiences. - Strong knowledge of the Irish influencer and creator landscape, with established relationships across relevant talent and agents. - Strong experience developing influencer and creator strategies grounded in client business, brand, audience and communications objectives. - Demonstrable experience developing influencer measurement frameworks and KPIs, with the ability to evaluate effectiveness and translate performance data into clear strategic recommendations and future investment decisions. - Experience leading influencer campaigns from strategy and talent selection through negotiation, activation, optimisation, measurement and evaluation. - Experience creating and delivering successful media and influencer events and experiences. - A proven track record of business growth, including organic client growth, developing new revenue opportunities and contributing to successful new business pitches. - Strong client leadership experience with the ability to build trusted relationships at senior stakeholder level. - Experience managing significant campaign budgets and commercial account responsibilities. - Strong understanding of social platforms, creator formats, online culture and evolving audience behaviours. - Experience working collaboratively across integrated agency disciplines. - Experience managing and developing junior team members. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Strong presentation, pitching and negotiation skills. - High level of business and financial acumen. - Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly PowerPoint and Excel. PERSON SPECIFICATION - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. - A natural relationship builder who enjoys developing meaningful, long term relationships with clients, journalists, influencers, creators and industry partners. - Confident and highly credible in media facing, influencer facing and client facing environments. - A good listener with the ability to understand the client's underlying business and communications challenge rather than simply responding to the immediate brief. - Culturally curious, with a genuine interest in news, media, creators, social platforms, entertainment and what is capturing people's attention. - A strong storyteller with an instinct for what will interest journalists, creators and audiences. - Commercially minded, with the drive to identify and convert opportunities for business growth. - Strategic and creative while also being comfortable with hands on campaign delivery when required. - Highly organised and capable of managing multiple clients, campaigns, events, teams and stakeholders simultaneously. - Strong judgement, particularly when navigating reputation, talent relationships, sensitive issues and fast moving situations. - A confident negotiator who can balance strong external relationships with achieving the best outcome for clients. - A collaborative team player who is solution focused and invested in the development and motivation of junior colleagues. - Able to self manage, prioritise effectively and work on their own initiative. - Energetic, proactive, innovative and creative when communicating with clients and colleagues. - Committed to continuous learning and generous in sharing knowledge with others. - Demonstrates leadership by taking ownership, leading brainstorms, identifying opportunities and driving ideas forward. - Understands the importance of strong processes and how they contribute to quality, profitability and company success. - Comfortable representing Core and its clients at events, industry engagements and experiences. - Work your way – Flexible, hybrid working that gives you the freedom to do your best work while fitting around your life. - Keep growing – Invest in your development with 24/7 internal learning programme access, structured mentoring and clear opportunities to progress your career. - Work that keeps things interesting – Partner with leading brands across sport, retail, food & drink, alcohol, insurance, banking and many more, with no two days the same. - Time to switch off – Enjoy 21 days' annual leave with an additional increment with your time with us. Separate to this celebrate your birthday off, Christ