Director, Platform (PR and Communications), confidential VC client

Director, Platform (PR and Communications)

NYC (hybrid – must be based close to NYC)

Us.

Colleague is an independently-owned executive placement firm with a deep bench of highly motivated executives in the comms, public affairs, marketing, advertising, non-profit, public relations and management/administrative spaces. Based in NYC with a reach that extends across the U.S., our clients range from entertainment marketing agencies to venture capital firms to lobbyists, and they work with major brands that move culture: HBO, Meta, Ford, Uber, Broadway, Walmart, Bloomberg, the Times Square Alliance, and Verizon, among many others. Colleague is a woman and minority-owned business, and diversity and inclusion are top of mind in every search we undertake. Learn more at colleaguetalent.com

Our client.

Our client is a unique differentiated venture capital fund investing in early-stage consumer technology startups that operate in heavily regulated markets. Our client has been responsible for launching many high-profile tech companies that serve a critical role in our day to day lives (you have some of them on your phone, for sure). They’re a strategic investor that deploys both capital and political expertise to help startups break through regulatory barriers and operate at full speed. Our client is highly informed about matters of politics, governance, the media and culture, and is seeking an entrepreneurial media relations expert at the director-level to craft innovative brand stories, pitch the media (both tech and general media), and work in partnership with portfolio CEOs and other senior leaders to help them tell their story.

This is a unique opportunity to work on comms campaigns both for the VC brand and its portfolio companies. The ideal candidate has experience working in tech or at a VC fund. They are an innovative communications strategist who thinks beyond funding announcements (though that it part of the job) to expertly articulate the usefulness, and positive disruption of the portfolio companies. Ideally 5-6+ years of experience, based in or around NYC, and able to work part of the time in the office.

The Director, Platform will report directly to the fund co-founder and managing partner.

What you’ll be doing.

• Develop and implement external communications strategies for a mix of early-stage tech portfolio companies – and for the fund itself – leveraging your existing relationships with tech and general interest media
• Generate a steady stream of earned media coverage through holistic press campaigns and proactive outreach based on the news of the day
• Counsel portfolio company leaders on comms strategies – earned media, thought leadership campaigns, public speaking opportunities etc – to raise the profile of business critical campaigns
• Write and edit persuasive external documents such as media strategies, press releases, media alerts, pitches, speeches and talking points
• Pitch and place op-eds, letters to the editor, and thought leadership pieces
• Have an informed POV about – and contribute robustly to the senior team’s overall discussion of – the state of tech today, politics, public affairs, finance, healthcare, general business and culture

Qualifications

• 5-6+ years of experience developing and executing sophisticated media plans and strategies at a tech PR firm, a VC, or at a tech brand
• Trusted relationships with journalists and editors – at major news media outlets, at state and local media outlets, and at tech publications
• A love of pitching the media yourself – creating the strategy but excited to pick up the phone or send an email directly
• An understanding of comms outside of media relations: thought-leadership, social media, speech writing, etc.
• A clear, concise writer and communicator
• Self-reliant, results oriented and the ability to make decisions in a fast-paced environment
• Great oral and interpersonal skills
• 4-year degree

Salary commensurate with experience.

Colleague Executive Search