Weber Shandwick 

Position: Account Director, IT/Tech PR

Location: Tokyo (Hybrid) 

 

Overview:

Weber Shandwick is one of the world’s leading global public relations firms, with offices in 68 cities and a network extending to 115 cities around the world.

In Asia Pacific, Weber Shandwick boasts a robust network of 17 owned and branded offices, stretching from Japan, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia. We are committed to further strengthening our global presence by strategically increasing our intellectual footprint in every market.

We have evolved from being purely PR / Marketing to becoming a new kind of engagement firm built to solve client issues. We are reengineering our organization to bring the full power of Weber Shandwick to every client through access to resources, specialty engagement agency brands and a diverse group of the best talent – from strategic planning, social/digital innovation, content creation and analytics to brilliant creative. With our team, you get a collective energy and ingenuity that brings innovative ideas to engage the world as well as campaigns that cut through the clutter and harness today’s interconnected digital landscape.

 

About The Opportunity:

Weber Shandwick is seeking a highly motivated Associate Director to manage client accounts, media and inter-agency relationships. The ideal candidate will play a crucial role in determining the future and long-term success of our IT/Tech practice.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing all aspects of the assigned client account and account team as it relates to earned media. You will supervise integral parts of the business both internally and externally and will be the primary stakeholder in helping clients achieve their goals.

As Account Director, you will be an integral contributor to our PR Consultant team, empowering them to find creative and out-of-the-box ways to help clients, and will also be able tackle business development, strategic programme planning, and the development of more creative endeavours. Internally, you will also be able to utilise your own experience to provide counsel to junior team members, delegate projects, and allocate agency resources to match client budgets.

This role is a great opportunity for someone who wants to gain hands-on experience, being a key-player in driving fundamental and meaningful impact for our clients and society as a whole.

 

What You Will Do:

• Develop a strong understanding of the client’s business and target audiences and work collaboratively with strategists and creative team members to deliver solutions that meet program objectives
• Develop strategic messaging for clients and support creation of media plans and proposals that take an integrated approach to driving awareness with target audiences both domestically and globally
• Foster meaningful relationships with health media reporters, and facilitate interviews and meetings for client-side spokespeople with media liaisons
• Develop executive positioning programs and generate talking points/topics for executives taking part in interviews and appearances
• Develop integrated programs that leverage earned, paid and social media
• Create engaging and eye-grabbing story ideas and topic angles, oversee team in developing media materials, and pitch media to land earned coverage
• Manage existing client relationships and develop potential for new clients to grow the healthcare team business
• Support client spokesperson training
• Serve as the client contact for crisis preparedness and response
• Support internal communication programs
• Foster growth and team development as a leader on the IT/Tech PR practice and support the management of junior members
• Participate in office-wide initiatives, seminars, and meetings to further professional learning and development.

 

What You Will Need:

• Fluent Japanese (Ability to conduct business smoothly in Japanese)
• High Business English (Ability to conduct business at the basic level in English)
• 7-8 years of communications experience, preferably in an agency environment
• Strong experience planning and executing corporate communications projects and product PR strategies and tactics
• Strong experience in traditional media relations (newspapers, magazines, TV programmes, etc.)
• Ability to efficiently navigate and utilise social media

 

Competencies

• Business Acumen – align talent strategies to drive business goals
• Client Service – client focus and ability to build trust and rapport across all levels
• Project Management – ability to delegate tasks and plan/execute projects to meet target deadlines
• Proactivity – exhibit relentless pursuit for new and innovative talent strategies
• Collaboration – build strong relationships at all levels across the organization
• Critical Thinking – ask probing questions; anticipate and address critical talent gaps and needs
• Conflict Resolution – possess sound judgment and savvy in navigating and resolving complex talent and organizational issues

 

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Weber Shandwick is committed to building a culture where all employees are seen as equal, are respected and where all opinions are heard. We take pride in our inclusive hiring, as well as our diverse workforce and we welcome applications from all qualified candidates.

Personal data held by Weber Shandwick relating to employment applications will be used in accordance with our Privacy Statement, which is available on our website.

 

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