Account Director, PR & Communications (Sports & Entertainment)

Praytell is an integrated marketing and creative communications agency made by teams with strategic minds and spirited hearts. We create timely, integrated, headline-worthy campaigns across social, earned, digital and more. And we’ve picked up some pretty cool awards along the way, like PRWeek’s Best Place to Work (8x so far!), Agency of the Year and even a few your mom would recognize, even if she doesn’t fully get what you do for a living. Best of all, we’ve got a team of the smartest, kindest, most curious and supportive humans on the planet.

And guess what? There’s an empty seat here with your name on it. If you're looking for an opportunity to join an ambitious team that is singularly focused on doing great work with great people, we'd love to hear from you!

Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Account Director to lead integrated PR programs for high-profile sports and entertainment clients. This role sits at the intersection of account management, strategic thinking, creative execution, and earned media - bringing together culture-driving ideas with business-driving results. Our sports and entertainment clients span categories from retail to food and beverage to lifestyle and beyond.

The ideal candidate brings 8+ years of experience, primarily focused on sports and entertainment clients, with a strong preference for those who offer endemic knowledge of soccer, running, motorsports, and golf alongside a broader understanding of the sports landscape. They will have fluency across both traditional and emerging media - from broadcast, print and digital to podcasts, Substacks and newsfluencers - along with proven experience developing and managing brand partnerships with athletes and other talent, and the ability to integrate these channels into holistic, forward-looking strategies. They will also have an appetite for and experience using AI in their day-to-day work - from deep research and workflow optimization to ideation and creative development. In addition, this person must be comfortable managing budgets of all sizes, SOWs, staffing and related processes. With expertise in strategic planning, creative ideation and cross-channel execution, this leader will inspire teams, drive measurable impact and position our clients at the forefront of conversation in sports and culture.

The Account Director will report directly to our Sports and Entertainment practice leads, and while we prefer candidates based in Chicago or New York, we are open to other US locations for the right person.

Responsibilities:

• Client Service 
• Start with ‘Yes’: Inspire innovation and optimism, providing clear pathways to execution.
• Spidey Senses in Tune: Demonstrate advanced intuition for client dynamics, identifying and addressing potential issues with foresight.
• No Ego, No B.S.: Lead by example, prioritizing the success of the team and client over personal gain.
• Trust & Transparency: Serve as a trusted advisor by delivering honest feedback and transparent recommendations.
• Sense of Humor & Short Memory: Keep teams and clients focused on solutions, using humor to diffuse tension when needed.
• Spirit of Partnership: Deepen client relationships through strategic counsel and delivering mutual value over time.
• Account & Team Management 
• Brand & Business Expertise: Drive strategic planning and innovation across PR, influencer, and social media campaigns, ensuring clients’ goals are met or exceeded.
• Time & Budget Tracking: Lead financial oversight for multiple accounts, ensuring budgets align with profitability targets and client expectations.
• Workflow Management: Implement systems to improve team efficiency and ensure high-quality campaign delivery across multiple clients.
• Staffing: Collaborate with leadership to assess staffing needs and contribute to hiring decisions.
• Employee Development: Provide formal feedback to team members and lead coaching sessions to build expertise within the team.
• Effective Communication
• Client Communication (Emails/Status Calls): Act as a trusted client advisor, leading discussions on campaign strategy, performance, and next steps.
• Written Materials: Provide strategic input on high-level materials, ensuring all content reflects the client’s voice and objectives.
• Deck Development: Oversee the structure and content of decks for large-scale campaigns, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
• Presentation Skills: Deliver high-stakes presentations, engaging clients with clear and actionable insights.
• Strategic Planning
• Channel Audits (Earned, Social, Influencer): Shape the framework for audits, ensuring insights are leveraged for strategic planning across campaigns.
• Target Audience Analysis (Earned, Social, Influencer): Lead high-level audience analysis, incorporating cultural, category, and competitive insights to inform strategies.
• Channel Fluency & Strategies (Earned, Influencer, Social): Develop overarching strategies that align with clients’ business objectives, integrating all three disciplines.
• Creative Thinking
• Newsjacking/Trend-to-Earned Ideas: Drive strategic ideation around cultural trends, creating campaigns that lead industry conversations.
• Earned Media: Approve and enhance creative concepts for seasonal and evergreen media pitches, events, and other earned tactics.
• Influencer or Talent Partnerships: Define the creative vision for talent partnerships, ensuring alignment with broader campaign strategies.
• Social Media: Shape overarching creative strategies for social campaigns, integrating them seamlessly with earned and influencer efforts.
• Brand Campaign Concepts: Present innovative, big-picture campaign concepts to clients, positioning the agency as a creative leader.
• Execution 
• Earned Media: Shape earned media strategy for clients, ensuring innovative approaches drive measurable results.
• Influencer: Guide cross-functional teams in integrating influencers into broader campaign strategies, with a focus on ROI. Provide oversight for critical activities such as contract development.
• Social Media: Oversee large-scale social initiatives, integrating insights and strategy across paid, earned, and owned media.
• KPI, Merchandising & Reporting 
• Data Analysis & Interpretation: Shape the approach to data analysis for client accounts, integrating broader trends.
• Strategic Recommendations: Lead strategic discussions with clients, positioning data as the foundation for decision-making. Put forth recommendations on tools to leverage for greater program insights (brand lift studies, sales studies, etc)
• Stakeholder Communication: Present high-level insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Goal Alignment & Performance Metrics: Ensure performance metrics align with client objectives and refine KPIs as needed.

We have a growing list of benefits and perks, including:

• Salary: $105,000 - $125,000 (Please note, the salary range for this role reflects the minimum and maximum compensation. In the spirit of transparency, we typically offer salaries within the 25th to 75th percentiles and cannot exceed the maximum listed. The final offer will depend on your experience, skills and qualifications.)
• Comprehensive health care (Medical, Dental, Vision)
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), where you receive shares of Project Worldwide, our parent company, for every year you work here
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) options with an annual employer contribution based on company performance
• Flexible Time Off (FTO), more than a dozen company holidays and mental health days
• Flexible work locations within the US, remote is a-ok! We also have physical hubs and offices in LA, SF, Austin, Chicago and New York
• Flex Fridays, aimed to keep Fridays meeting-free (with exceptions) for focused work and providing you space to support your personal wellbeing while delivering great client service
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) giving you and your family access to mental health resources, family and relationship support, career resources, legal and financial services, discounts and more
• Paid parental leave and fertility support programs
• Training and team-building programs and activities
• Camp Praytell, our company offsite (eligibility based on employee start date)
• Our wonderful Employee Resource Groups (BEACON, Compañeros, elevAsian, Herizon and Prism)
• And more!

• Submit Application
• Phone Screen (30 mins)
• Team Interview (1 hour)
• Final Interview (30 mins)
• Take Home Test (TBD)
• Offer
• Target Start Date: September / October