Senior Associate, Corporate Issues

Agency:Weber ShandwickJob Function:Communications and PRJob Subfunction: Public RelationsJob Description:Job DescriptionThe Weber Shandwick New York office is seeking a Senior Associate in New York to join its healthcare specialty of its Global Crisis and Issues Practice. The Global Crisis and Issues team, part of the Weber Advisory group, helps leading organizations across the world both manage breaking negative issues and events affecting reputation and develop the internal culture and infrastructure needed to predict, prepare, and navigate them effectively.From rapid healthcare policy shifts, executive controversies and high-profile litigation to clinical trial complications, therapy access issues and sweeping product recalls to brand protection amid fake news and celebrity campaign gaffes, we live at the front lines of media, culture, and conversation. Whether it is a program affecting internal stakeholders or an external effort to protect or defend an organization’s reputation, we work together with colleagues from around the country and globe daily, supplying crisis counsel to healthcare clients across sub-sectors, including pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices and MedTech, health systems, and advocacy and non-profit organizations, making deep curiosity in healthcare a requisite for this position.  Candidate Qualities As a Senior Associate, you will have the unique opportunity to help drive communications around these challenging and exciting projects. You will be a day-to-day leader among the team’s Associate-level staff, working directly with senior leadership to help drive research, develop materials, staff projects, scope work, manage vendors, track budget and balance multiple shifting priorities in real-time. The ideal candidate will have excellent writing skills and the ability to perform in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment, preferably across multiple industries, but with a greater focus on pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, health system and other healthcare clients. You will be intimately familiar with current events and news trends in healthcare and be able to translate that knowledge into actionable insights for clients. This extends to social and digital communications: you must have true analytical fluency in this area. A strong academic record is necessary, and demonstrated experience in issues management in a previous position or academic setting. Our TeamOur team is a group of smart, analytical and hardworking people who care deeply about helping lead our clients through a crisis to make a positive impact on society. We are on the front lines of some of the biggest, most complex issues – and the nature of our work requires an ability and eagerness to juggle multiple responsibilities and work on multi-office client teams. You will have the opportunity to play a leading role in driving both ongoing client engagements and discrete projects. What You Will Be Doing  Serves as key team member to support a range of complex, high-profile corporate issues /crisis communications situations (i.e., pricing and access issues, product safety issues and recalls, natural disaster response, executive leadership changes, policy shifts, etc.)Drafts and reviews of press releases, crisis plans, media strategies, reactive media statements, talking points, FAQs, memos, crisis simulations and other deliverables as neededDevelops and reviews media and other stakeholder materials based on outline or direction developed with supervisorsSupports the monitoring and triaging of client issues including crisis/issues coverage reports, leveraging industry measurement and listening tools to identify opportunities for growth and strategic evolutionLiaises with clients and assists in client communications, including developing and coordinating routine account management materialsPrepares for and takes part in client meetings providing detailed recaps and leading action steps resulting from discussionsPartners with cross-functional teams to ensure flawless execution of the client business objectivesLeads small teams to conduct pressing research on a wide range of issues, reviews and prepare executive summaries and/or analyses of information into strategic and actionable recommendationsServes as role model to team members, producing high-quality work and continually updating manager on activity progressActively builds own knowledge, contributes to inclusive team culture and consistently displays behaviors that support integrationParticipates in our A-Team's On-Duty rotational schedule, covering evening and weekend hours, to handle critical client reports, ad-hoc research, and support emergent crises What We Are Looking For Crisis communications, issues management, and/or public affairs experience Strong understanding of social analytics and fluency in all social/digital platforms, while keeping pace with social media / digital industry trends and developmentsClear understanding of media relations and media landscape influencing public perceptionAbility to provide strategic and actionable recommendations based on researchFamiliarity with the healthcare sectorStrong writing skills and meticulous attention to detailSharp curiosity and an analytical mind  Resourceful, effective problem solverHighly effective oral and written communication skills Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and manage deadlines in a consistent mannerComfortable asking for help from and providing direction to team membersAbility to take ownership, manage and see projects through from start to finish Proactive self-starter and a quick learnerStrong work ethic Basic Qualifications2-3 years of professional experience: in an agency/strategic consulting firm, political campaign or organization, or at a company in the healthcare sector  BA or BS, preferably in Political Science, history, journalism, International Relations or similar fields -Knowledge of basic PR skills and client service  Fluent in Microsoft Suite (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and proficiency in research, media and social monitoring platforms (e.g., Brandwatch, Sysomos, Cision, Muckrack, TV Eyes, Critical Mention, Lexis-Nexis)
$68,000 - $78,000Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom’s corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: For US Job Seekers:It is the policy of Omnicom and any of its affiliates to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. EOE/AA/M/D/V/F. SummaryLocation: New York, New York, United States of AmericaType: Full time