Director, Engagement

Lakeside HR Group, a leading full-service HR consulting and recruiting firm, is currently seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Engagement who is passionate about bringing B2B stories to life, to join our client's high-performing team!

WHO ARE CLIENT IS

• They offer B2B storytelling and content strategy services, driving a fresh approach to public relations.
• They love the craft. We’re so passionate and invested in the work that it’s palpable. We get an adrenaline rush from generating outcomes.
• They are an employee-first culture. We believe that happy employees make happy clients.
• They believe it’s possible to be considered the “best” partner and still have time to pursue our passions outside the office.
• They believe in focus vs. trying to be all things to everyone.

WHO YOU ARE

• A seasoned communicator who’s driven to build relationships with media and industry experts in a way that inspires action.
• Fluent in counseling clients at all levels.
• Proven public relations expertise and results, willing to stay up to date on modern PR skills, appreciates the chase of finding the next story—digging in at every step of the process, from monitoring hot topics to uncovering new opportunities to pitching media placements.
• Able to craft stories that inspire action and help businesses achieve their goals.
• Can create a bond with readers and build connections through text, video and social content.
• Can capture a brand’s culture and unique value proposition (UVP) accurately through content.
• Comes to the table with an open mind, eager to learn new skills, adapt and evolve.

KEY POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategize and Consult: Responsible for the delivery of some of our highest-value deliverables, including PR plans, media training, key message development for executives, etc. Provide real-time counsel to clients, including the C-level. Develop and present new ideas to keep client campaigns fresh, effectively engaging and newsworthy. Proactively push clients to advance their PR programs to be more digitally integrated, include more compelling storytelling, and be more measurable. Contribute meaningful value to proposal development and presentations as a key strategist—offering ideas, a plan, and a clearly compelling competitive advantage.

B2B Storytelling: Create engaging B2B content that inspires audiences to act and brings client stories to life. Whether you’re creating brand content, bylined articles, case studies, video scripts or social media copy, this person will be a master storyteller. S/he will have a unique ability to turn even the most mundane topics into engaging stories that captivate target audiences and drive impactful business outcomes.

Integrated Program Execution: Execute multi-channel, integrated campaigns, including paid, owned and earned media and communications. Understand and advocate for reputation- and influence-building activities. Build industry relationships (influencers and journalists) that bring enhanced value to clients and enhance our competitive differentiation. Uphold the quality of work and reputation we are known for. Get your hands dirty by doing the work, taking the first stab, editing, and collaborating.

Media Relations: Passion for media and the experience to lead earned media outreach programs. Whether it's building relationships with media, drafting press releases or bylining articles on behalf of executive clients, this person will be a master relationship builder with the unique ability to take even the most seemingly mundane topic and transform it into an engaging pitch that captivates and engages target audiences to drive impactful business outcomes.

Influencer Relations: You will be responsible for securing influencers to co-create content with our clients. Activities could include:

• Identify target influencers
• Nurturing influencers on social media
• Developing customized email and phone outreach
• Meeting with influencers on a regular basis to better understand their needs and focus.
• Negotiating paid influencer agreements, where applicable

Social Media: Social media is a top channel for building relationships that add value to our clients. You will be responsible for identifying relevant content for sharing on client social channels. This includes drafting the social content for publishing.

Sponsored Content Programs: You will be responsible for researching, identifying and coordinating opportunities for our clients to augment their earned and shared programs with paid or sponsored content.

Program Collaboration: Partner with internal cross-functional teams (program strategist, account team and storytelling team) to ensure that our client programs are aligned to deliver on client objectives and exceed goals.

Measure Impact: Collaborate with the team to implement strategies that assess and demonstrate the impact of program initiatives, ensuring alignment with clients' business goals and objectives. Regularly report on program performance, providing actionable insights and recommendations that optimize campaigns, drive continuous improvement, and enhance the overall effectiveness of PR efforts.

Cultural Dedication: Bring genuine passion to the work, a positive demeanor and energy to the team. Contribute to a collaborative and fun team environment. A commitment to coming to the table with solutions on how to build even better. Create a culture that high performers want to be a part of.

At the end of the first year, success would mean you’ve successfully built relationships of value for clients, consistently securing high-quality media placements for the clients you serve, getting high marks from the internal team in your quarterly peer-feedback, and meeting or exceeding client goals for brand awareness, building influence and lead-gen.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10 years of relevant experience
• Agency experience preferred
• Passion for PR and relationship development; experience working with manufacturing, technology and healthcare companies preferred.
• Team player who is willing to wear multiple hats in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Self-starter who can deliver stellar client experience and execute a plan with minimal input from senior practitioners.
• Excellent writing and editing skills.
• Keen ability to problem solve.
• Highly accountable with keen attention to detail.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (PPT, Word, Excel)
• Design skills (Photoshop, InDesign, Canva and other visual content experience) are a plus.

COMPENSATION: Position offers competitive salary and generous benefits for full-time employees, including health insurance, 401(k) match, parental leave and flexibility perks. Firmly believe in making investments in employees’ personal and professional development. We are a fun and fast-paced environment that offers excellent work-life balance. We're selective about the type of work we take on, making sure it's the right fit for both client and agency. It's important to us that the work our team does is both personally and professionally satisfying because we know our clients will benefit from happy employees.