Vice President, Earned Media

At MSL, we’re on a mission to make every client more influential and a positive force of influence in the(ir) world. We partner with brands, companies, and leaders who push boundaries and create change, and we’re looking for passionate creators and storytellers to join our team. Our culture is driven by three core values: Leading, Learning, and Loving, and we’ve been recognized as a “Best Place to Work” in the industry year after year.

About the role

We’re looking for a Vice President, Media to lead media strategy development and media relations for MSL’s Consumer Brands practice in Chicago. This role is ideal for an ambitious, results-driven leader with a deep understanding of the evolving media landscape and a passion for creative storytelling. You’ll help teams pinpoint narratives that resonate, identify emerging outlets aligned with audience behaviors, and turn culture into conversation for brands.

Responsibilities

• Support Consumer Brands accounts by leading media strategy development, pitching media, and securing coverage for clients.
• Develop modern social-first communications strategies that incorporate AI search, LLM visibility, and emerging discovery behaviors alongside earned, social, and influencer approaches.
• Bring a relentless focus on culture, identifying emerging conversations, platform behaviors, influencers, and consumer shifts to create opportunities for brands to earn attention.
• Champion social-first earned thinking, developing stories and ideas designed to travel across media, social platforms, influencers, and communities.
• Elevate creativity from strategy through activation, pushing beyond traditional media relations to develop ideas that break through and drive conversation.
• Develop talent and inspire teams to think bigger, challenge convention, test new approaches, and raise the bar for modern earned media.
• Build and deepen relationships across today’s media ecosystem—from journalists and editors to creators, newsletters, podcasts, and emerging voices—while mentoring junior team members.
• Stay on top of news, culture, and emerging conversations to identify opportunities, inform client counsel, and help brands show up with relevance and agility.
• Shape and share modern earned media best practices, tools, and emerging approaches to keep teams ahead of evolving influence and discovery trends.

Qualifications

• BA/BS Degree in Public Relations, Communications, or a related discipline.
• 8-10+ years of experience in earned media and communications within a consumer-focused agency environment, with a proven track record of creating stories and strategies that earn attention.
• Deep understanding of the evolving media and influencer landscape, including journalists, editors, influencers, newsletters, podcasts, social platforms, and emerging voices.
• Equal parts strategist, culture junkie, and storyteller with a pulse on cultural trends and a passion for forward-looking ideas that drive conversation, sharing, and search.
• Strong understanding of social-first earned media, including how stories move across media, influencers, platforms, and communities, and how ideas can be designed for the PESO ecosystem.
• Strong relationships with editors and emerging platform voices.
• Understanding of AI-powered search, LLMs, and evolving discovery behaviors, and how earned media can influence brand visibility and relevance.
• Strong grasp of modern earned measurement, connecting media and social performance to conversation, influence, discovery, and business impact.
• Excellent writing skills, attention to detail, organization, time management, multitasking, and proactivity.
• Strong verbal communication skills, poise, and professionalism.
• Knowledge of modern media intelligence tools such as Cision, Muck Rack, and AI-enabled research tools.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Disability and 401K plans.
• Parental and family care leave, including family-forming assistance.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Flexible time off.

Pay

Compensation range: USD $121,315.00 - USD $174,300.00 annually. Compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, and experience.