Account Director, Public Relations

We aren't for the faint of heart! We move fast, hold a ridiculously high bar for excellence, and thrive on driving real ROI for our clients. But we also believe that intense drive should come with great culture—which is why we offer unlimited PTO, Fabulous Fridays (doors close at 3pm), virtual happy hours, a monthly book club, and endless reasons to win together.

And the industry notices: We were recently named an Inc. Best Workplace 2026 and landed on the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies for 2026!
 

What We Do:
Since 2008, Brilliant has been where bold ideas meet relentless execution. We're a performance marketing agency with deep expertise in family-focused brands, bringing together PR, Influencer, Social, Paid Media, Affiliate, Retail Support, Experiential, and AI Intelligence to create integrated, full-funnel campaigns that shatter targets and cut through the noise. 

Our Dream Team Member:

• A strategic thinker who sees the whole board, not just the next deadline
• Trusted by clients, and the first call when something matters
• A creative who can start from a blank page and come back with an idea nobody expected
• A steady leader who develops people instead of just assigning them work
• Comfortable across disciplines, and fluent enough in influencer, paid and affiliate to build a real integrated plan
• A real media person with relationships worth something and a pitch that lands
• Commercially minded about scopes, budgets and where the growth is
• Curious about new tools, AI, and technology, and quick to try them to make work faster and better
• Calm under pressure and direct when something needs to be said
• Passionate about staying ahead of trends in the CPG and F&B space

Position Overview:

The Account Director leads integrated programs for the agency's largest clients, owning strategy, creative direction and the client relationship from planning through delivery. The role sits above the account supervisor level and reports into earned media leadership. It spans strategic counsel, creative campaign development, team leadership, and cross-department coordination across PR, influencer, affiliate, paid and events. We're looking for someone who leads rather than supports, and who is excited to use new tools, including AI, to work smarter.

What You'll Do:

Client Leadership:

• Serve as the senior day-to-day contact on the agency's largest integrated accounts
• Provide ongoing, consistent strategic counsel that builds client trust
• Present recommendations, plans and results to client leadership
• Own the health of the account, including scope, budget and renewal conversations alongside agency leadership

Strategy & Creative:

• Develop and implement public relations strategies aligned to client business goals
• Build campaigns from a blank page: product launches, brand moments, media and influencer events, creative mailers
• Bring fresh angles and trend-jacking opportunities to the table before clients ask for them
• Partner with the influencer, paid, social and affiliate teams to build plans that work together rather than in parallel

Media Relations:

• Own the earned media strategy on your accounts: the story angles, the target outlets, and the pitching calendar
• Personally pitch and secure top-tier national coverage. This is a hands-on role, not an oversight role.
• Build and maintain real relationships with editors, producers, freelancers and influencers in the consumer and family space
• Direct media list development and quality control the team's pitches before they go out
• Coach junior staff on pitch writing, follow-up, and building their own media relationships
• Lead media training and briefing document development for client spokespeople and experts
• Monitor daily trends and competitor coverage, and turn them into fast trend-jacking opportunities
• Know when a story is worth chasing and when it isn't, and spend the team's hours accordingly

Awards:

• Oversee client media awards programs and set the submission strategy

Team Leadership:

• Supervise and mentor team members at all levels
• Delegate meaningful work and give constructive, timely feedback
• Foster a collaborative and productive remote work environment

Project Management:

• Own campaign and account timelines from kickoff through delivery across multiple workstreams
• Track deliverables, budgets, staffing and team responsibilities
• Responsible for quality control and on-time delivery of the team's work
• Flag risks and staffing gaps before they become problems

Technology & AI:

• Actively use AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, and similar) to support research, drafting, monitoring and reporting
• Test and adopt new software and platforms, and share what works with the team
• Stay current on how search and AI are changing brand discovery, and bring that thinking into client plans

New Business:

• Contribute strategy and creative thinking to new business pitches
• Help build and present pitch materials
• Identify organic growth opportunities within existing accounts

Events / Activations:

• Lead virtual or live media and influencer events, creative media mailers, and more
• Develop decks and lead client presentations

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, or a related field
• 8+ years of agency experience in the consumer, lifestyle or CPG space
• Demonstrated experience as a day-to-day client lead, not solely a contributor
• Experience managing and developing people
• Working knowledge across at least a few of: earned media, influencer, affiliate, paid media, events
• Strong, current media relationships and a portfolio of top-tier placements you secured yourself
• Hands-on experience writing pitches and press materials that get picked up, not just reviewing someone else's
• Fluency with media databases and monitoring tools such as MuckRack, Cision or Qwoted
• Comfortable using AI tools day to day, with examples of how you've used them
• A real willingness to try new technologies and adopt new tools quickly
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously
• A proactive, self-starter attitude with a passion for staying ahead of trends
• Preferred: affiliate platform experience (LTK, ShopMy, Impact) and experience in baby, parenting, toys or wellness categories

Benefits:

• Unlimited PTO
• Paid time off between Christmas and New Year's
• Fabulous Fridays, the office closes at 3 pm!
• 401K with a 3% company match, after your initial 3 months
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Medical and Dependent Care FSA
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• Company-paid Long Term Disability

SALARY:

$95,000 - $110,000

This role includes a six-month performance review. Employees who meet all agreed-upon goals are eligible for a $5,000 base salary increase.