Senior Account Executive, Brand Experience, Ruder Finn

About the role

At Ruder Finn, Brand Experience is where bold ideas meet business impact. We create integrated campaigns that connect brands with people through culture, creativity, earned influence, and unforgettable experiences. We believe the best work comes from curious minds, collaborative teams, and people who aren't afraid to challenge convention—or have some fun while doing it.

We’re looking for a Senior Account Executive to drive the daily execution of client programs, bringing them to life through account coordination, writing, research, media relations, monitoring, reporting, trend spotting, and project management. This is a client-facing role for someone who is detail-oriented, curious, organized, and excited by brands across industries such as food, wellness, lifestyle, CPG, and retail. This team member will contribute to client work and support the growth of existing engagements. You'll help shape the culture of our practice, working with people who ask great questions, embrace new perspectives, experiment with fresh ideas, and believe that the strongest teams are built on trust, generosity, and a shared sense of purpose.

Responsibilities

• Support leadership in delivering outstanding client experiences across consumer brands.
• Build a strong understanding of each client's business, products, services, industry issues, competitors, audiences, cultural context, and communications goals.
• Drive the daily execution of client programs, create and manage account materials and processes, including status reports, project trackers, agendas, call recaps, monthly activity reports, media monitoring reports, coverage trackers, and timelines.
• Own and proactively alert team members to upcoming deliverables, deadlines, client requests, and shifting priorities to help keep work moving smoothly.
• Develop workback plans and actively help the team adhere to established internal check-points and client deadlines.
• Lead the development of client-ready materials, including press releases, media pitches, briefing documents, key messages, social content, reports, research summaries, and presentation materials.
• Contribute to the positive, collaborative, and supportive culture and spirit of the Brand Experience practice.
• Participate actively in internal and client meetings, conference calls, brainstorms, planning sessions, and team discussions.
• Work across multiple clients and industry verticals (food and beverage, QSR, retail, and more), supporting relationships with clients, understanding their needs, expectations, and business objectives.
• Engage in media relations activities on behalf of clients, including pitching and media list development.
• Proactively bring media pitch ideas, cultural observations, and timely trend opportunities to account leads and the broader Brand Experience practice.
• Mentor junior staff and provide clear direction to ensure work is completed on time.
• Monitor relevant media coverage and generate media monitoring reports for clients.
• Keep a pulse on news and trends and share with the practice team.
• Support brand research projects and trend tracking for clients; distill critical information into key takeaways for teams and clients.
• Demonstrate strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize not only your own deliverables but also keep others on track.
• Serve in a client-facing capacity and be proactive and confident in sharing new ideas and thinking with the team and clients.
• Support efforts for business development, including research, media monitoring report generation, participation in creative brainstorms, and pitch deck development.

Requirements

• BA/BS Degree in a related field.
• 2+ years' experience in a public relations agency, preferably in the consumer/brand sector.
• Ability to articulate ideas clearly and persuasively, both in writing and verbally.
• Detail-oriented and organized.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, sometimes unpredictable environment and manage deadlines across workloads.
• Up to date with industry trends and continuously seeking new ways to enhance the client experience.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunity.
• Health, Dental, Vision, and company-paid Life Insurance.
• Flexible Spending Account and 401k (with match).
• Monthly allowance for cell phone, office equipment, etc.
• Workplace flexibility.
• Generous PTO policy with paid maternity/paternity leave.
• Professional learning and development opportunities.
• On-site and off-site social gatherings.

Pay

The anticipated salary range for this position is $67,000 - $80,000. The salary of the selected applicant will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, education, internal equity, geography, relevant years of experience, certifications, skills, abilities, and other job-related qualifications.