Account Director, Media Relations

The Associate Director of Media Relations will oversee media strategy and relations for one of APCO’s largest clients in Saudi Arabia. In this role, the AD will lead the development and execution of comprehensive media engagement plans to maximize coverage and visibility for the client’s projects. This includes crafting strategic media plans, managing key media relationships, and driving impactful media exposure.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop a network of high-level professional contacts within the local and regional GCC media, along with niche media contacts relevant to the client.
• Maintain these media contacts to stay informed of industry activity and trends on local and regional levels.
• Develop and implement client media communications strategies to achieve maximum positive coverage, with support from junior and senior colleagues.
• Lead media relations efforts, including cultivating relationships, drafting strategies, and organizing press outreach.
• Draft and compare media plans for various clients, both local and regional.
• Provide guidance on relevant media outlets and the exposure clients can expect, including viewership/ readership figures.
• Manage large workstreams or single-stream clients independently, serving as the account lead or primary point of contact, with support as needed.
• Draft media Q&As/talking points for client spokespeople in English and/or Arabic.
• Respond promptly to media inquiries and handle them effectively.
• Advise Account Directors and/or Account Managers on media issues and recommend the best approaches for handling them.
• Ensure the timely dissemination of media communications, including press releases, statements, and fact sheets, in both Arabic and English, to target media audiences.
• Follow up on media releases to ensure stories are picked up.
• Produce media coverage reports as needed, including monthly, annual, and specific reports for news releases.
• Attend client meetings.
• Invite and manage media before, during, and after client events.

Qualifications:

• At least 7-10 years of experience in media relations, in-house or at an agency
• Strong track record of media relations results including some established media relationships and an eagerness to build new relationships with key journalists and media outlets
• An understanding of the changing media landscape and ability to think creatively about media strategy and outlets for both APCO's corporate and consumer accounts
• Solid project management experience and a proven ability to manage multiple projects and client initiatives and teams of both junior and senior colleagues in a fast-paced environment
• Exceptional writing and analytical skills, and the ability to write both strategically and creatively under tight deadlines
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a related field

Work Conditions

The physical abilities needed to perform the duties of this position, in addition to the office climate:

• Office environment is general office setting
• Must reside in Riyadh or be willing to relocate
• Willing to work additional or irregular hours as needed and allowed by local regulations