PR Account Director

• 55 Harrington St, District Six, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
• Full-time

Company Description

Company Description

MSL South Africa is part of one of the largest Public Relations (PR) and strategic communications networks in the world - MSL, as well as the PR & Influencer arm of Publicis Groupe Africa (PGA). Through its diverse skills base, coupled with cutting edge PR and Influencer platforms, MSL seeks out the places that build Influence and deliver measurable Impact for its clients, while also safeguarding their brand reputation in an ever-evolving global environment.

Job Description

As an Account Director at MSL, you have overall responsibility for your portfolio/s of clients, which may be expanded from time-to-time to include other MSL teams and clients. You will be required to lead the teams managing this / these portfolio/s to deliver on all PR requirements for the clients under your purview. You are a trusted advisor and consultant for all the clients in your portfolio/streams – they come to you directly to escalate matters/with matters of importance.

With the help of your team (i.e. intern/AA/AE/AM/SAM), you ensure the smooth running of all your accounts – with a focus on ensuring your stream is profitable and your clients are happy.

Core Capabilities

• Account management: Demonstrate real-time knowledge of client activities, ensuring that all operational hygiene activities happen smoothly (status documents updates, contact reports etc.), take overall ownership for initiatives on your accounts, and ensure that your team is meeting the agreed-to client scope of work
• Delegation: Demonstrate ability to effectively delegate tasks to your team, while still ensuring timeous completion and quality of work
• Project management skills: Take responsibility for the management of specific projects from start-to-finish, whether doing the project or overseeing your team’s implementation
• Selling ideas: Demonstrate advanced presentation and persuasion/influencing skills
• Strategy: Develop, strategic and tactical client proposals, and work with your AM/SAM to develop bespoke plans and calendars for clients
• Writing: Demonstrate an ability to write effective content for your full client portfolio and display excellent editing skills, giving guidance to team members on their writing; ensure the team effectively brief the content team when specialist help is needed
• Media relations: Ensure that that journalist relationship-building initiatives are driven within the team, across your full client portfolio, display an excellent knowledge of the South African media landscape (and an interest in the broader African media landscape), maintain solid media relationships, and oversee the effective running of your team’s entire media relations process
• Pitching skills: Write and pitch (or oversee your team’s writing and pitching of) excellent quality, relevant story angles to targeted media, displaying creativity and an understanding of newsworthiness
• Research: Demonstrate strong research skills, and assimilation and presentation of information
• MSL Newsdesk: Participate in 1 x weekly newsdesk/media meeting and ensure relevant news and angles are marked and shared with clients
• Media lists: Work with SAM/AM to ensure that your team regularly updates media lists, informs the broader agency of media changes, compiles tailored media lists per client content piece (which are saved to the server), and ensures that master client media lists are kept updated

Personal Attributes

• Quality: Consistently deliver quality work to professional, MSL standards, and ensure quality output from your team prior to submitting to client
• Detail-orientated: Execute unwavering attention to detail in all aspects, when reviewing or drafting documents, articles, presentations, emails and all other communiques
• Proactive upskilling: Constantly work to ensure, within your team, an excellent understanding of content for all clients (even beyond your portfolio), your clients’ industries, and that both you and your team stay abreast of the broader news environment to spot opportunities for media conversation building. Proactively identify areas in which your team/team members are less skilled, and work to upskill your team in these areas
• Proactive learning: Demonstrate use of the Marcel Classes portal and other internal training tools/sessions to upskill yourself, taking initiative and responsibility for your learning journey. Encourage this same approach within your team
• Time management: Ensure both you and your team are managing your time effectively
• Profile: Manage and build your own profile within your team and the broader agency

Client Services

• Client relations: Demonstrate excellent client relationships, ability to manage their expectations and to mitigate risks and issues as early on as possible, while guiding them in a strategic direction appropriate to their goals
• Client meetings: Drive participation in client meetings, ensure your team manages meeting protocols, agendas, minutes/contact reports, etc.
• Understanding: Perfect a detailed, thorough and informed understanding of your clients’ businesses and knowledge of their competitors, for effective idea generation. Demonstrate value to your clients by keeping them abreast of competitor news, and encourage same within your team
• Reviews: Take overall responsibility for planning, compiling and editing of client review documents/ presentations/ reports, and lead/participate in client review meetings with your team

Agency Operations

• Billing: Accurately review billing arrangements for clients, and ensure monthly billing is done timeously by your team
• Profitability: Track hours and billing closely to ensure your stream is profitable
• Timesheets: Ensure your team (including you) demonstrates effective time recording and reporting (daily, accurate data logged on Chase, as per Groupe deadlines)
• Coverage: Ensure daily coverage tracking, regular reports and timeous client coverage updates are executed by your team
• Reporting: Ensure quality, timeous monthly reports are delivered by your team, and drive new reporting ideas, processes and efficiencies wherever improvements can be made
• The MSL Way: Live MSL’s company values in all professional interactions and work
• Know the agency and Publicis Groupe Africa (PGA): Demonstrate familiarity with both MSL and PGA’s organisational structures and offerings, and, where possible, cross-sell Power of One solutions to clients
• Management meeting: Attend bi-monthly management meetings (compulsory)

Business Development

• Demonstrate an ability to identify opportunities for new business and organic growth of existing business and business retention
• Display an ability to draft excellent proposals and pitch presentation skills
• Focus on developing solutions to business problems for clients, and where possible, see how PGA’s Power of One solution can be driven within the work that you do for clients

People Development

• Assist with key staffing decisions, including facilitating/managing interviews where necessary
• Demonstrate an ability to act as a leader, role model and mentor for junior staff, and be an ambassador for the company
• Conduct appraisals for AM/SAM. Ensure that SAM/AM is conducting for AEs, etc. (and sit in on these, if necessary)
• Drive (or ensure that AM/SAM drives) personal development activities for junior staff (i.e. coaching, workshop development, etc.)
• Actively look to maintain and build positive working relationships with colleagues

Qualifications

• A tertiary qualification in Public Relations 
• Proficient in MS Office (i.e. Word / Excel / PowerPoint etc.)
• Minimum 6 years working experience in a PR Agency
• Experience working on short-term Insurance / Finance clients (is essential)
• A good command of the English language (both verbal and written)
• Strong presentation skills
• Srong people management skills
• Strong time managements skills
• Strong organizational skills
• A good grasp and understanding of the South African media landscape
• Proficient on all platforms of social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok etc.)

Additional Information

Personality Attributes:

• Team player with the ability to work independently
• Able to remain calm in a highly pressurized environment
• Ability to lead and mentor a team
• Assertive
• Resilient
• Accountable 
• Proactive
• Energetic
• Creative “out of the box” strategic thinker
• Problem solver / solution driven
• Meticulous with attention to detail

Other:

• Flexible to work beyond normal office hours (overtime if and when required)
• Comfortable and willing to work on alcohol brands