Account Executive, Higher Education

Orchestra is a strategic communications and marketing company built for today’s complex and fragmented world. From decoding audiences to designing bold strategies, Orchestra integrates people, platforms, and stories that stick to help clients build lasting influence. The company offers programs that span from the highest level strategic business counsel through to tactical execution. Orchestra brings together 700+ people with experience across consumer and lifestyle, technology, nonprofit and philanthropy, real estate, sports, travel, hospitality, and more. Made up of leading firms BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals, and Versus Media Group, a strategy-first political media team. Learn more at www.orchestraco.com.

People of all backgrounds and abilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Orchestra is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff, and recognizes that its continued success depends on hiring and retaining high-quality creative professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Opportunities for advancement exist and we are committed to helping all staff develop and grow.

BerlinRosen’s Higher Education team sits within Orchestra’s Tech & Corporate practice and brings deep expertise in guiding colleges, universities and academic institutions through today’s complex communications landscape. Our work spans paid, earned, social, content and crisis communications, giving us the ability to deliver fully integrated, cross-channel strategies that drive impact.

We partner with leading institutions spanning the Ivy League, elite R1 research universities and flagship public university systems, helping them elevate their voices, protect their reputations and engage key audiences in a competitive and fast-changing higher education environment.

BerlinRosen is seeking an Account Executive to join our Higher Education team. You will maintain daily client relations, plan and execute day-to-day project deliverables, support and lead junior staff and conceptualize strategies, pitches and media placements.

This role not only manages the day-to-day work and deliverables, but anticipates clients’ needs and quickly assesses the strongest team approach to meet them. Working closely with client leads and internal staff, you will manage up and down, delegate to peers and junior staff and develop and advance strategy alongside senior leaders.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about higher education and the role it plays in society, and who is eager to elevate the stories of colleges, universities and other organizations across the higher education landscape while leading client work that advances their goals and initiatives.

Note: This role is based in our New York, N.Y. or Washington, D.C. office on a hybrid basis, 3 days per week in office.

As an Account Executive on the Higher Education team, you will...

Drive media relations pitching engine; developing creative pitch angles, building media lists, and conducting outreach to and maintaining relationships with key reporters.

Support the creation of strategy by providing regular creative ideas for clients to engage audiences across owned, paid and earned media channels

Drive day-to-day client deliverables, managing up and down to ensure team alignment while proactively surfacing new ideas and opportunities for our clients

Manage media monitoring and rapid response across your accounts

Write and edit persuasive external and internal materials, including strategy decks, messaging, op-eds, social and web copy

Supports day-to-day communications with clients, including analyzing press coverage and writing regular progress reports

Manage workstreams across multiple accounts

Essential skills:

2–3 years of experience in communications, including experience in-house at companies, nonprofits or higher education institutions, or within media or journalism; PR agency experience preferred

Familiarity with and interest in the higher education landscape

Ability to handle multiple assignments at once, work quickly and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment

Demonstrated relationships with reporters and strong news sense

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, with varying levels of staff, clients and media

Strong attention to detail

Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a team to meet group objectives

Proficiency in Google and Microsoft software suites

Compensation philosophy: BerlinRosen offers competitive industry-rate salary bands with the goal of retaining and growing talented individuals. We regularly review and adjust our compensation structure as needed to ensure equity across teams and levels.

Salary range (commensurate with experience and skills): $65,000 - 80,000

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Orchestra is the first communications company built for today’s media landscape. Since 2022, it’s acquired nine firms, including: BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communication professionals. Learn more at: www.orchestraco.com.

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