Vice President

Riff City Strategies has partnered with Chaloner on its search for a Vice President.

Riff City Strategies tells stories and builds movements to deliver impactful results for our communities, the environment and the technology shaping our future. Our boutique agency of public relations and public affairs experts is trusted by many of the fastest growing brands and social movements.

We tackle the most challenging issues facing our society and planet. From taking on the Pentagon to giving our soldiers a fair shot at justice, our firm believes in the power of advocacy and communication as tools for change. We have developed media campaigns that shifted hundreds of millions of dollars to BIPOC-led groups fighting for climate justice, gave Americans hope through our work with Way to Win, whose “What’s Possible” advertisement won Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for advertising, helped early stage and multi-billion dollar valued tech companies announce their latest innovations, and more. Our clients include startups, political organizations, environmental groups, emerging technology companies, foundations, venture capital firms, nonprofits, civic engagement organizations, and more. There is never a dull moment at Riff City.

As a result of our agency culture and our commitment to integrity, creativity and results, we’ve been recognized broadly:

  • Fast Company named Riff City one of the most Innovative Companies in the World in 2022
  • Bulldog PR selected Riff City as Best Boutique Agency of 2023
  • PRWeek Purpose Awards recognized us as Small Organization of the Year in 2023
  • PRWeek selected us as a finalist for the PRWeek Best Boutique Agency award in 2023

The Opportunity

We are looking for a driven, motivated Vice President who is passionate about managing a variety of different clients spanning different industries and helping us grow one of the fastest-growing public relations and public affairs companies.

The ideal candidate is an experienced PR/public affairs professional who knows how to deliver excellent client service, think strategically, drive new business, pitch and secure media coverage, project manage, and inspire as an agency boss, team leader and client counselor. The word is king at our firm and anything less than truly great writing skills just won’t work in this role. We are in growth mode and the ideal candidate will bring an entrepreneurial sense and passion for making new relationships and driving new business. We are looking for someone who is excited by the thrill of the chase: pitching and landing impactful coverage, earning meaningful public policy wins and leading and mentoring teams. The ideal candidate for this position will be creative, proactive, detail-oriented, and a motivational leader.

Working with us means you’ll be surrounded by high-quality, inquisitive teammates and learn something new every day. Riff has a positive, team-oriented culture where you’ll be challenged, continue to grow, and laugh a lot – all while telling powerful stories and building campaigns that are changing the world for the better.

Riff is a remote-first organization with the team primarily based in the San Francisco Bay Area. This position reports to the CEO and president and sits on Riff’s senior leadership team.

Responsibilities

Client Work

  • Lead, develop and execute successful strategic communications, media relations, and public affairs strategies and client programs for multiple client accounts
  • Serve as the account strategy lead and main contact for multiple client teams
  • Develop a comprehensive understanding of our clients, including their business, products/services, competitors, influencers, opportunities, and markets
  • Deliver strategies and programs that achieve client PR and broader business goals
  • Ensure client success and retention by closely tracking client programs to goals and making adjustments as needed
  • Establish strong relationship with client partners, ensuring a positive and transparent working relationship and building confidence in Riff’s work and expertise
  • Model superior media relations skills and tactics by actively pitching and securing top tier media placements for clients and identify potential media opportunities to serve clients across teams
  • Draft, review, and approve a wide variety of communications materials (press releases, pitches, statements, blog posts, newsletters, talking points, thought leadership, etc.), ensuring work is top quality and consistent
  • Lead and drive work to identify and implement fresh approaches to clients’ programs
  • Serve as a client counselor on crisis communications situations
  • Assign roles and responsibilities on client teams, mentoring staff on successful delivery

Business Development

  • Leverage network and create proactive strategies to identify and secure potential new business opportunities
  • Drive and participate in new business meetings and proposal development
  • Help raise the profile of Riff within our industry, our clients’ industries and other communities
  • Represent Riff at relevant business and industry events

Agency Leadership

  • Serve as an agency and client team leader
  • Build strong relationships with agency CEO and president with a focus on the future and growth of the business
  • Participate as a member of Riff’s senior leadership team
  • Oversee and significantly manage core agency programs – could include training, hiring, onboarding, etc.
  • Regularly mentor Riff teammates, providing regular time for feedback, open conversations, goal setting and training
  • Help ensure Riff is delivering a best-in-class company culture and employee experience
  • Create, model and maintain standardized business processes on the agency level

Required Experience and Skills

  • Strong, creative writing skills (a writing assessment is included as a step of our interview process)
  • 10+ years of professional experience in a related field (strategic communications and public affairs, media relations, and/or journalism)
  • Previous experience working at and managing clients/teams at a public relations and/or public affairs agency
  • Strong knowledge of the media industry and existing media contacts/relationships
  • Previous experience managing public affairs strategies and working with community stakeholders
  • Previous experience contributing to the new business process
  • Strong skills in organization, prioritization and time management
  • Ability to lead multiple accounts and projects simultaneously under tight deadlines, and motivate others to stay on task.
  • Ability to understand complex technologies, business models and political strategies, and distill them in simple, compelling storylines
  • Capability to handle high-pressure and complicated situations with poise
  • Ability to lead and work autonomously and as part of a collaborative team across a remote-first environment
  • Confident, takes initiative, and can take direction well
  • Solid research, proofreading, writing, and editing skills
  • Outgoing, personable, and generally nice (with a good sense of humor too)
  • Computer experience including, but not limited to, G Suite, Slack, MuckRack

The Details

Riff City is best-in-class, and this extends to our employee-centric company culture and benefits. Our perks are unrivaled, like our team and clients! We provide big company benefits (competitive salary, healthcare, a personal development stipend for business, fitness and other employee enrichment expenses, internet and phone reimbursement, 401(k) with matching, quarterly profit sharing, half-day Fridays every other week during the Summer + more) while maintaining the size and energy of a startup.

Riff is a remote-first organization with the team primarily based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The salary range for this position is $160,000 – $170,000 and the Vice President will earn referral fees on secured new business. The referral fees for individuals who identify and obtain new business are 15% of total contract in year one, 12.5% of total contract in year two, 10% of total contract in year three.

Riff City Strategies, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

Think you’d be a good fit? Apply here