Vice President, Social & Influencer Strategy

DIRECTOR – SOCIAL & INFLUENCER STRATEGY 

 

At Weber Shandwick, we build brand stories designed to earn attention, coverage and conversation. We’re a passionate and diverse team that protects and promotes some of Canada’s (and the world’s) most iconic and beloved brands … and has fun while doing it!  
  
If you’re a dynamic social and influencer marketing expert with an integrated mindset, here’s an opportunity to play a leadership role at a forward-thinking, award-winning and globally leading agency. Over the last five years, Weber Shandwick has been recognized as PRovoke Media’s Canadian Agency of the Year, IABC Canadian Large Agency of the Year, a certified Great Place to Work (six years running) and boasts the most exciting client list of any agency in the country. 

 

POSITION PROFILE 

  

We are currently seeking a Director – Social & Influencer Strategy to join our Integrated Media team in Toronto. We’re looking for a self-starter who is ready to play a key role in driving the agency’s social and influencer teams forward. As a key member of our Social & Influencer team, this person will lead breakthrough work across several major accounts, while driving growth and socializing best practices across the agency. 

 

The ideal candidate is passionate about social media and working with influencers and creators. The position requires expert-level understanding of social platforms and influencer marketing and the role they play in the larger interconnected and ever-evolving media ecosystem.  

 

They have deep experience in the social and influencer space with notable brands and are in tune with emerging trends, as well as the broader cultural and technological shifts taking place in the media landscape. This role calls for curiosity about what comes next in technology, marketing and media, paired with a passion for working with influencers.  

 

We’re looking for someone who knows how to motivate a team, tap into their passion and lead with a sense of integrity, honesty and humility – someone who can set the big-picture strategy but isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and dive into the work. 

 

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who wants to put their strategic skills to work driving engagement for great brands, is highly collaborative and willing to grow and lead a team doing bold new things.  

 

Responsibilities 

 

• Develop a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses and target audiences, and – working in close collaboration with our Creative, Insights and Client Experience teams – lead the creation and execution of innovative and integrated social and/or influencer campaigns that drive trackable and meaningful results 

• Serve as the primary Canadian social and influencer lead for major global brands – 

leading the development of innovative social/digital initiatives from briefing to execution, including campaign strategies, content creation, paid integration and measuring effectiveness/ROI, as well as digital team structure and workflows 

• Stay at the forefront of technology trends, new applications and emerging platforms to champion social and digital innovation and continuously further our offerings 

• Provide expert counsel to clients and colleagues on social/digital/influencer trends, issues and best practices – act as a thought leader who shares knowledge, expertise and strong counsel internally and externally  

• Continuously advance the agency’s influence offering; overseeing key relationships with talent agencies and content creators, and institutionalizing a set of best-in-class tools and processes for identification, contract negotiation, content planning, paid amplification, campaign optimization, measurement and ROI analysis 

• Collaborate effectively with inter-agency teams to develop holistic plans and fully integrated strategies for our clients 

• Work closely with our Insights team to advance our social listening and analytics offering 

• Socialize and promote our social and influencer capabilities to drive organic and new business growth 

• Lead a high-performing team of digital specialists; mentor and develop junior team members 

  

REQUIREMENTS 
 

• 8-10 years of experience, preferably within an agency environment or major brand 

• A thorough command of the social media and digital world (from the evolving social web to mobile tools and trends), sophisticated client service and digital communications skills, high energy, and passion for this area of rapid change and innovation 

• Expert-level proficiency in social media platforms and inherent curiosity about emerging communities – willing to experiment with cutting-edge platforms and techniques and sell in new ways of thinking to clients  

• Deep expertise in building and managing influencer programs, establishing best practices and leading strong influencer marketing teams. 

• Understand the paid media environment and how it applies to a holistic social media strategy   

• Firm understanding of social platform paid and advertising tools  

• Familiarity with a broad set of social and influencer analytics tools; and experience working with an analytics team to measure campaign ROI and generate insights that inform future strategy 

• Established relationships with social platforms, partners, influencers and talent agencies  

• Outstanding communication skills to successfully present program recommendations and establish trusted relationships with senior clients  

• Proven new business expertise and success 

• Proven experience building teams, managing and mentoring junior staff and working collaboratively in a cross-functional setting  

 

The Weber Shandwick Collective recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. This is why we offer a full suite of benefits including:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• RRSP (with employer match)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Juice Money – $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards purchases that nourish your health, mind, body, and soul
• Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – $50 monthly cell phone reimbursement
• MyDays – Flexible time off
• Short-Term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave Policy

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

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We are always looking for great talent!  If you don’t see an open role listed that interests you at this time, please send us your resume and we’ll keep in touch about future openings. 

Weber Shandwick is a leading global marketing and communications network that delivers next-generation solutions to brands, businesses and organizations in major markets around the world.

We push beyond category convention, pairing data-driven insights with creative prowess to deliver game-changing ideas that earn attention and drive business impact. We have a deep bench of talent across sectors and specialty areas, including brand and B2B marketing, healthcare marketing, change management, employee engagement, corporate reputation, crisis management, data and analytics, technology, public affairs, social impact and financial communications.

Led by world-class strategic and creative thinkers and activators, we have won some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. Weber Shandwick was named to Ad Age’s A-List in 2020 and Best Places to Work in 2019. The firm earned 25 Lions at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

Senior Manager, Influencer Strategy

Weber Shandwick is looking for a Senior Manager, Influencer Strategy to join our team in Chicago. We are looking for a star candidate (5+ years of experience).

Candidate must have a deep understanding of the influencer landscape, but also have unique experience developing and executing both integrated and and influencer-led campaigns. The following is a general outline of primary responsibilities.

 

The Essentials

• Thinking: Intellectual curiosity and creativity is a must.
• Storytelling: Understand the elements that make a story exciting, what brands are doing in the press and on social platforms, and what they should do next.
• Communication: Speak, write and edit succinctly and compellingly.
• Management: Meet deadlines, put out fires and multi-task. Work fast, and work well.
• Interpersonal: Play nice, whether it’s in a team, with a team or independently.
• Technical: Know Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook. Influencer databases/management systems/vendor networks and social listening/tracking tools is a plus.
• Detail-Oriented: Whether it’s an influencer recommendation or a recap report, attention to detail and a commitment to delivering clear and precise work is essential.
• Spark: Understand what sets you apart.

 

Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Execution

• Own responsibilities for executional leadership of multiple client programs, budgets, plans
• Maintain daily client contact, serving as a trusted resource and advisor
• Facilitate cross-functional team integration (strategy, creative, integrated media specialists, influencer)
• Translate strategies into tactical plans; ensure team deliverables align with strategies
• Develop messaging for clients and oversee the creation of influencer strategies that take an integrated approach to driving awareness with target audiences
• Proactively support and suggest improvements and new ideas to exceed client expectations by leveraging industry knowledge and experience
• Anticipate executional issues specific to assigned programs and proactively offer solutions to senior team leadership
• Partner with CX and Project Managers to help manage program and project budgets
• Demonstrate financial acumen in the areas of budgeting, billing and staffing

 

Influencer Strategy & Execution

• Play a lead role in the agency’s Influencer center of excellence, which develops and manages key relationships with talent agencies and content creators, and institutionalizes a set of best-in-class tools and processes for identification, contract negotiation, content planning, measurement and ROI analysis
• Demonstrated passion for influencer marketing both personally and professionally; balanced interest in both healthcare and consumer brands
• Craft influencer strategies for yearlong plans and product launches
• Research, vet, contract and manage relationships with influencer talent
• Develop influencer briefing materials
• Oversee influencer briefings and content creation, monitor influencer content performance, track against KPIs and prepare detailed recaps
• Take responsibility to execute influencer strategies
• Manage and build relationships with influencers and third-party agents
• Mine current news cycle for ad-hoc influencer opportunities
• Demonstrated expertise in social platforms, user behaviors and emerging trends

 

Client & Team Engagement

• Communicate with clients on daily basis
• Provide basic client counsel
• Serve as a key participant in client meetings and presentations
• Proof and edit client related documents as needed
• Manage client and team resources and deliverables around major campaigns and product launches
• Lead a high-performing team; coach and develop junior team members

 

The Weber Shandwick Collective recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. This is why we offer a full suite of benefits including:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401k (with employer match)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Juice Money – $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards purchases that nourish your health, mind, body, and soul
• MyDays – Flexible holiday schedules
• Short-Term Disability
• Paid Employee Family Leave
• Family Building Benefit

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

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