Careers at Fenton Communications

Fenton Communications is looking for candidates who share passion for Fenton's social change mission, who are strategic thinkers, and who are committed to learning new skills. Professionals with media, political, policy, advocacy or issue campaign experience are wanted to help develop and execute media and advocacy campaigns.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Current openings:

New York, NY

Account Director – New York office

Fenton Communications is a pioneer in public interest PR, with a quarter century of experience working in some of the country’s most important social change and social justice movements. Past and present, Fenton’s clients include progressive groups such as MoveOn.org and True Majority, major foundations such as Hewlett and Gates, and non-profits such as the New York Academy of Medicine and the Global Fund for Women. Fenton has 60 staff in three offices in New York, Washington and San Francisco.

Fenton Communications is seeking an Account Director in its New York office to develop and execute strategic communications and media campaigns. The Account Director is responsible for the overall planning and budgeting for profitability on assigned accounts, as well as the supervision of staff servicing those accounts. We are looking for candidates with strong relationships with reporters covering international, environmental and health issues, as well as significant agency experience.

Essential responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Client Relations

• Overseeing staff in developing and executing advanced public relations and campaign tactics
• Managing client and funder relations
• Managing media campaigns for multiple clients
• Providing day-to-day supervision for assigned client accounts
• Providing strategic guidance to job teams and ensuring quality of work produced
• Conducting strategic planning for individual organizations and coalition movements
• Writing contracts, grant proposals, high level strategy memos, and foundation reports
• Pitching editors and reporters at media outlets on behalf of a range of clients and issues
• Pitching prospective funders and other potential partners or allies
• Editing press materials, including press releases, fact sheets, and opinion pieces
• Editing and advising on the creation of research reports
• Coordinating online and offline campaigns and strategies
• Conducting media trainings for clients and other spokespeople

New Business

• Landing new business with assistance from VP, SVP or Managing Director
• Developing new accounts and campaigns with clients and funders
• Contributing at least 4 new business contacts per quarter

Billing Requirements/Budgeting

• Managing client budgets for profitability; alerting Senior Vice President or Managing Director to potential problems
• Providing budget projections for weekly financial meetings
• Meeting or exceeding 30 billable hours per week (and alerting supervisor if there are obstacles to meeting billable hour targets)

Staff Development/Firm Management

• Directly supervising 1-2 junior staff members
• Developing professional development plan with each employee supervised
• Training and mentoring junior staff
• Delegating appropriate tasks to junior staff in a clear and collaborative manner
• Attending senior staff meetings and providing input on organizational goals, growth, and vision
• Acting as a model of good citizenship (being familiar with company policies and procedures, consistent attendance, timely and accurate entry of timeslip data, attitude, etc.)
• Attending staff/team meetings and providing input and feedback on business improvement, including client service, staff development, and office procedures
• Pursuing professional development plan developed in conjunction with supervisor
• Additional duties as assigned.

Essential Qualifications:

• 5-7 years experience in public interest advocacy/PR, or demonstrated equivalent experience, with preference for experience at a firm
• Extensive knowledge of print and electronic news media
• Extensive reporter contacts, particularly in print media – priority given to international, environmental and health contacts
• Prior experience managing project budgets
• Demonstrated ability to manage client accounts and to design long-term creative communications campaigns
• Developing network of business and political contacts
• Excellent news sense and political savvy
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Lexis-Nexis, as well as internet research skills
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks under tight deadlines and meet schedules and assigned tasks in a timely manner
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in written format
• Ability to interact and perform in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
• Demonstrated resourcefulness and flexibility in approach to project assignments

Compensation: Competitive with benefits.

To apply: Email resume, cover letter, writing sample, 3 top press clips (list, pdf, or links), references, and salary requirements, attention AD Hiring Committee, to ad@fenton.com. Or fax: 212.584.5045. Submissions without salary requirements will not be considered.

People of color and LGBT candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Fenton Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Washington, DC

Account Executive

Fenton Communications is searching for an Account Executive in its Washington office. Fenton is one of the leading public interest PR firms in the country with offices in New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. We develop and execute strategic communications campaigns on international, environmental, public health and social justice issues, including education reform; voting and democracy; organized labor; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights; and women’s rights.

The Account Executive runs pieces of larger accounts and sometimes serves as the lead on smaller accounts. Essential duties include, but are not limited to:

• Developing and executing intermediate PR and campaign tactics, such as:
  • Pitching mid to high level reporters, including wire services, major regional papers, editors, producers, columnists
  • Overseeing production of media lists and media summaries
  • Organizing and staffing press events and editorial board visits
  • Writing press releases and advisories, pitch memos, fact sheets, op-eds, etc.
• Conducting research on account-related issues and funding sources
• Conducting client relations on specific tasks such as expenditure approval
• Securing endorsements for sign-on letters
• Delegating tasks where appropriate
• Drafting work plans and budgets for client accounts
• Participating in new business pitches as assigned

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Communications, Advertising, Political Science or other applicable field
• Spanish proficiency and cultural experience desired
• 2-3 years’ experience in public interest or public affairs PR
• Demonstrated ability to pitch clients and secure placements
• Familiarity with print and electronic news media and a growing base of reporter contacts
• Experience with standards, principles and techniques of public relations and social activism
• Involvement in advocacy or campaigns
• Excellent writing skills
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office and internet research
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks under tight deadlines
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in written format, with varying levels of company staff, clients, contractors and media
• Highly organized and detail-oriented

Compensation: Competitive with benefits.

To Apply: Email resume, cover letter, references, writing sample and clips (as Word or .pdf attachments), and salary requirement to dcresumes@fenton.com. Or mail to: AE HIRING COMMITTEE, Fenton Communications, 1000 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 200, Washington DC, 20006 or fax: 202-822-4787.

Submissions will not be considered without salary requirements.

People of color and LGBT candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Fenton Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Senior Vice President

Fenton Communications, one of the leading public interest PR firms in the country, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco. Since 1982, Fenton has contributed to some of the most defining social change movements of the past quarter century, from the fall of apartheid to the rise of MoveOn.org as a grassroots political force. We develop and execute strategic communications campaigns on environmental, public health and social justice issues, including educational equity, workplace protection and labor standards, child welfare, LGBT rights and land conservation.

Fenton Communications is beginning a search for a senior vice president to help guide our largest office, in Washington, D.C. An ideal candidate brings substantial experience in developing and managing the implementation of strategic communications programs for non-profit organizations, candidates, causes, foundations or progressive businesses. S/he will be expected to help lead our company to greater success through business development, client management, staff supervision and energetic, creative performance.

The Senior Vice President (SVP) is responsible for all aspects of management and administration for assigned clients and ensures clients receive excellent creative, high-impact, quality service from Fenton Communications. The SVP must attract and service major clients, must possess high-level issue expertise in his/her field, must provide clients with unparalleled funding and issue strategy counsel, and must manage and mentor assigned staff. The SVP is ultimately responsible for successful attraction and retention of client work. Essential responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Supervising large practice areas from new business to managing large accounts
• Providing the highest level of substantive, strategic counsel to clients to foster a trusted advisor relationship with each
• Ensuring that work produced and disseminated by job team is of the highest quality
• Providing day-to-day oversight of Fenton’s largest and/or highest profile client accounts
• Conducting strategic planning for individual organizations and issue movements
• Writing contracts, grant proposals, strategy memos, and foundation reports
• Overseeing the development of strategy documents, communications plans, memos, press kits, and other collateral
• Editing press materials, including press releases, fact sheets, and op-eds
• Editing and advising on the creation of research reports
• Conducting media trainings for clients and other spokespeople
• Advising on a range of public interest media campaigns
• Pitching key national reporters, senior level funders and potential allies

• Pitching and securing new business
• Meeting revenue goals established in advance with Managing Director
• Writing and reviewing proposals and budgets for new accounts

• Managing and supervising job teams and individual staff
• Training and mentoring staff
• Developing professional development plans with each of the individuals supervised
• Managing the office in the Managing Director’s absence and taking an active leadership role within the office at all times
• Projecting hours needed from staff assigned to your accounts, working with other senior staff to distribute billable hours among junior staff if necessary
• Participating in regular strategy meetings with senior staff to determine organizational goals, growth, and vision
• Attending staff/job team meetings and providing input and feedback on business improvement, including client service, staff development, and office procedures
• Maintaining effective and efficient office structure through proper selection process and coordination with Human Resources to conduct effective resume screening, interviewing, hiring, and assimilation processes

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Communications, Advertising, Political Science or other applicable field, or demonstrated equivalent experience
• 10+ years experience public interest communications, or demonstrated equivalent experience, with preference for experience in advocacy/political public relations
• Demonstrated issue expertise in one or more of Fenton’s issue areas: Labor, litigation, education reform, environment, child welfare, and/or California politics and policy.
• Experience in a public relations or advertising agency including firm understanding of client billing processes, client contracts and customer service
• Demonstrated ability to manage client accounts and budgets
• Well-established network of new business leads and contacts
• Demonstrated business development and political networking skills
• Demonstrated ability to pitch and land new business
• 10+ years demonstrated staff management and mentoring experience, including direct management of a staff of 4+ individuals at varying career levels
• Excellent news sense and political savvy, as well as knowledge of print and electronic news media
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks under tight deadlines and meet schedules and assigned tasks in a timely manner
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in written format, with varying levels of company staff, clients, contractors, and media
• Experience writing proposals
• Ability to interact and perform in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
• Demonstrated resourcefulness and flexibility in approach to project assignments
• Strong computer skills, including use of Microsoft Suite, Lexis-Nexis, as well as internet research skills

Supervision: The Senior Vice President reports directly to the Managing Director.

Compensation: Competitive with benefits

To Apply: Send cover letter, resume, salary requirements and three brief writing samples via email to Hiring Committee – SVP at dcresumes@fenton.com.

Women, people of color and LGBT candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Fenton Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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Fellowship – Washington, DC Office

Fenton Communications is one of the leading public interest PR firms in the country with offices in New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. We develop and execute strategic media campaigns across a wide range of issue areas, including environmental, public health and social justice issues such as global warming, environmental toxins, sustainable energy, violence prevention, and women’s rights. This exciting opportunity with growth potential is for those interested in pursuing a career in progressive communications, and will allow the successful candidate to work for, learn from and be mentored by experienced professionals.

The Fellows are responsible for various media, administrative and research activities for assigned clients. Essential responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Building media lists and maintaining media database
• Compiling and coordinating mailings of press packets, sign-on letters and other materials
• Monitoring media coverage and conducting research via Lexis-Nexis and Internet
• Compiling, producing and distributing summaries of media coverage for clients
• Managing media clipping and monitoring services accounts
• Researching and maintaining files on publicity-related tools, products and services
• Assisting account staff as required with:
  • Press conferences, telepress conferences and other events
  • Pitch calls
  • Client correspondence
• Assisting receptionist with light reception duties as required

Compensation: monthly stipend.

To apply: Send resume, cover letter, 3 writing samples, 3 references to our Washington DC office, attention Hiring Committee-Fellows, Fenton Communications, 1320 18th Street, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036. Fax: 202-822-4787. Email as attachment (Microsoft Word or PDF) only to dcresumes@fenton.com.

No phone calls please.

Women, people of color and LGBT candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Fenton Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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San Francisco, CA

There are no San Francisco openings at this time.

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