Senior Vice President Entertainment

There’s a reason HUNTER is recognized as one of PRWeek’s Best Place To Work and has been named PRovoke “Consumer Agency of the Year” not once, but twice: At HUNTER, we EARN IT — consumer attention, the trust and loyalty of clients, and the dedication of our staff, currently 350 strong and counting.

HUNTER is seeking a Senior Vice President, Entertainment to join our team as a key part of our agency's specialty practice. The SVP will sit within a team of 10 bi-coastal entertainment marketing specialists, who provide expertise in entertainment and celebrity marketing strategies across various industries, including Food & CPG, Wine & Spirits, Health & Wellness, Beauty, Personal Care & Fashion, Home & Lifestyle, Technology & Retail, and more.

Responsibilities include providing overall strategy and guidance to internal agency account managers (from account coordinators to C-suite executives) and clients, leading and overseeing seamless execution of celebrity/expert talent buying from beginning to end, while also supporting the agency across additional entertainment services (ex., celebrity seeding, entertainment event sponsorships, partnerships, and branded broadcast integrations). The ideal candidate has significant experience building talent and entertainment partnerships from the ground up, with proven proficiency in program strategy and development, campaign management, and solution delivery.

This senior position within the agency’s Entertainment practice includes supervising, managing, and motivating direct reports, helping drive continued departmental growth and development alongside senior colleagues. The ideal candidate has a growth mindset, excellent communication skills, and a focus on ensuring smooth team operations and advancement. Deep industry experience and understanding to effectively counsel and partner with colleagues (account team, digital/social, creative, media, etc.) and agency partners to develop entertainment strategies that fit within the larger marketing mix is a must.

PR agency experience is a plus, as familiarity amongst an agency ecosystem will support potential expeditated role growth to oversee the comprehensive Entertainment practice. This role reports to the Chief Entertainment and Media Officer and department Senior Business Director.

Qualifications Required:

• Twelve (12) – Fifteen (15) years experience in talent buying, entertainment marketing, and/or public relations
• Previous public relations, marketing, advertising, or talent agency experience
• Expert understanding of the entertainment landscape and pop-culture, including celebrities, athletes, musicians, personalities, experts, tentpole culture moments and events, etc.
• Strong writing, editing, presentation and interpersonal communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Located in either New York City, NY or Los Angeles, CA
• B.A. in Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, or similar field

Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities:

• Confidently speak to the role and impact of celebrity marketing on successful PR, Digital, or Advertising campaigns; serve as a subject matter expert proactively bringing thought leadership and trends both to the agency team and to account teams/clients

• Participate in internal agency and client dialogue from brainstorming on program/campaign ideas as it relates to overall talent services including, creative, usage, and/or earned media opportunities
• Convey deep understanding of the value of diverse level of celebrities for diverse range of client needs
• Develop strategic approaches to brand-appropriate celebrity partnerships, staying up to date on the latest trends, tools, and best practices in partnerships and deal making
• Drive effective talent strategy and procurement for assigned agency client’s entertainment and/or sports-focused programs and campaigns
• Oversee talent casting, including vetting, researching, and creating client-facing talent casting documents
• Manage talent outreach and negotiations; include drafting talent SOW, conducting outreach to talent representatives, drafting, and sending talent Formal Offer and consulting on, managing revisions for, and negotiating Long Form Agreement in conjunction with legal counsel
• Responsible for campaign budget allocation and management, tracking all relevant Talent fees and OOP
• Serve as point of contact for talent and talent representation, including but not limited to coordinating all communication, scheduling and logistics with appropriate parties throughout campaign
• Counseling on and routing all materials (creative, social media calendars, run of shows, messaging, etc.) and assets for talent review/input and approval
• Serve as a representative of the client and agency on-site at client events, media interviews, service days, etc.
• Manage necessary communication with SAG-AFTRA signatory to fulfill agency client’s obligation to SAG-AFTRA regulations
• Monitor and evaluate the success of talent-driven initiatives, providing insights and recommendations for future opportunities
• Participate in ongoing business development and growth of the practice, driving opportunities through key relationships, opportunistic pitches, ideation, and investment in the overall quality/health of our business.

Ability to:

• Understand relevant entertainment and sports industry trends and use the information to develop strategic recommendations, programs and/or campaigns for clients
• Lead and counsel in negotiation, contracts, and an understanding of legal language
• Maintain and establish strong relationships with talent agents, managers and publicists
• Travel to client and event locations; meet with clients at their office locations/headquarters
• Display and encourage creativity and innovation in self and others. Actively participate in brainstorms, connect with creative resources, inspire, and motivate team members
• Lead team members while handling multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Develop and mentor junior and mid-level staff; identify and anticipate issues and assist in finding resolutions
• Facilitate management of the performance review process, identifying growth opportunities for all team members and constructively providing feedback on areas for improvement
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to a growing and changing team
• Demonstrate an interest in the long-range health of the Agency and collaborate with leadership to establish a growth plan

In order to comply with equal pay and salary transparency laws in various locations, the Company believes the target range of base compensation for this role is $150K - 175K. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and location.

At HUNTER, we work hard and play hard, and while we have all the benefits you’d expect —competitive health and dental insurance plans, a 401K company match and generous PTO — we also provide:

• a hybrid work model;
• a “work from anywhere in the US” policy (up to four weeks a year);
• a year-round staff training and development curriculum; and
• a staff-led Action Group dedicated to DEI excellence in the agency and industry (read our DEI statement here: https://hunterpr.com/dei/)

Perks? We have perks. When you work at HUNTER, you can expect Bring Your Parents (And Kids) to Work Days, regular volunteer Days of Service, mid-day Cupcakes and Cocktails mixers and epic Halloween and holiday parties.

Founded in 1989, HUNTER has grown into one of the most respected mid-size marketing communications firms in the country, creating work that matters in strategic planning, earned media relations, social and digital media, talent and influencer engagement, experiential marketing, multicultural outreach and content creation and distribution. And we do it all for esteemed companies and brands across every sector you can imagine:

• Food Beverage
• Wine Spirits
• Health Wellness
• Beauty Personal Care Fashion
• Home Lifestyle Travel
• Retail E-commerce

See us in action here: https://hunterpr.com