Senior Account Executive - Universal Media

Overview The Senior Account Executive (SAE) demonstrates the ability to take on more account planning responsibilities, and shows an aptitude for strategic and creative thinking. The Senior Account Executive has developed writing and media skills and has developed or is beginning to develop a specialty area. They will also have specific media relations with key journalists in both horizontal and vertical media which will help them to maximize the clients coverage. They will be actively developing more strategic and people management/supervisory skills associated with the account management role.

General description and Primary Responsibilities

Client Relations: Working with other team members, a SAE will be directly involved in the day to day tactical elements of the PR plan to help achieve the agreed results across the client portfolio. This includes:

• Project management – volunteer to manage new projects in a timely and organized fashion ensuring the process is completed from start to finish • Strategic Counsel – provide the client with added value solutions, develop new ideas and plans • Account profit management – take an active role in the financial profitability of client business and identify opportunities for additional business through projects • Client management – develop productive relationships with day to day client contacts and build strong liaisons with them • Market knowledge – to build up and maintain a good knowledge of current developments and trends affecting the clients’ industries and markets • Analyze problems – identify/predict client problems and offer solutions wherever possible

Industry and Market knowledge: • Client market understanding – maintain a high understanding of client’s business, new developments in the market/industry sector and using them to the client’s advantage. Able to discuss specific industry issues with confidence and has a clear and thorough understanding of business methods and standard practices within this industry and the market place. • Use software packages, internet and research facilities to obtain relevant information • Conduct and manage the flow of research necessary to analyze client issues


PR Skills: • PR planning – determine course of action for the account team on client programmes, setting timescales/deadlines and creating a detailed, clear programme plan as a result • Writing skills – being able to write well structured persuasive copy. A Senior Account Executive will be skilled in writing in a range of styles including news releases, case studies, status report,
articles and proposals. Opportunity will be made for the Senior Account Executive to draft project proposals for clients • Have third party contacts which are relevant to your sector and or role. For example, suppliers, government relations, media and financial analysts and expert opinion leaders • Quality standards – produce high standard of work at all times, paying attention to detail and removing the possibility of careless errors. The Senior Account Executive will also work to maintain all company quality standards continually looking for areas of improvement • Presentation skills – develop the ability to present both ideas, new programmes and to be able to play a role in delivering full new business proposals

Media: • Media liaison – continue to develop a proactive approach to media contacts, in particular key journalists who relate heavily to your specific sector. Also, dealing with day to day press enquiries; maximizing the opportunity to meet target press at exhibitions and client events; establishing and building relationships; ensuring copy is prepared; approved and submitted in line with deadlines, researching features; writing and setting up photo-call notices. • Understand the different requirements of daily, weekly and monthly press and demonstrate an ability to maximize an appreciation of their schedules to sell in client material. • Media pitching – with a proactive style to extending your media liaisons, including a thorough approach to making calls and understanding the clients, products, services, and values, you will confidently “sell in” material across a broad range of media with ease. You are able to increase the rate at which you sell in stories by looking for the usually angle even when the clients media exposure is limited

Team Building: • Team guidance/ideas – provide input, guidance and feedback to all team members on client related work • Assist and develop AEs and AAEs – provide support and coaching to junior members of team whenever possible • Work with team – being a team player by drawing in other team members, being keen to share information and learn from other team members • Motivation – remaining self-motivated, energetic and enthusiastic to ongoing work and additional projects. Your commitment and loyalty to the company will be unquestionable. Your motivation to work well in a team environment will be demonstrated through your strong communication style with fellow colleagues. • Brief and inform the team – taking briefs from client and communicating goals, guidelines and deadlines to team. • Communicate with supervisors to ensure they are updated on work in progress and briefed when having difficulty achieving required results. You are also keen to listen to other members of the team and value their input on client related issues

Policies and Procedures: • Timesheet management – Ensure that your timesheets are completed accurately on daily basis -Time management – Prioritize your own workload to ensure you meet deadlines within the time allocated by your AM/AD. • Also respect working hours and showing up on time in the morning and be on time for staff and clients meetings.

Administrative Support: • Supervise reports on monthly client billing process • Track/enter time with precision and on a day-to-day basis • Cross-reference, approve, and forward invoices to the Accounting Department • Assist in account budgeting recommendations • Perform other administrative tasks as assigned

Job Details

Preferred Candidate