Senior Brand Strategist, Public Affairs

Job Description

The Senior Brand Strategist in Public Affairs is a key member of The Washington Post’s Marketing team within the Client Solutions department. They are in-house experts in public affairs advertising and messaging and responsible for developing innovative brand partnerships that support The Washington Post’s journalistic mission. Working closely with the Public Affairs Sales Team, this role develops original media strategies, program narratives, and strategic platforms and ideas to share across the Washington DC decision maker marketplace. 

This role will report into the Head of Advertising Marketing and is based at The Post’s headquarters in Washington, D.C..

Motivation

• You are an expert in the public affairs audience marketplace, with a sophisticated understanding of advocacy and corporate public policy advertising.

• You are an expert at determining brand challenges and creating differentiated solutions that set The Post apart from competitors.

• You are competitive and take pride in your ability to understand what our clients need and translate that into solutions that win business

• You are adept at working across teams from ad sales, product, operations, product, editorial, research, and more in pursuit of solutions that best serve our client’s needs.

• You have your own style and approach for creating proposals that help our partners in the public affairs marketplace, but also across industries that seek to communicate with government and national leaders.

• You are inspired by the opportunity to realize the mission of a purpose-driven organization and to future-proof the business model that supports it.

• You are a quick thinker who can move multiple projects forward at once.

• You can balance proactive projects in addition to day-to-day proposal development.

• You are adept at identifying the need for and developing training, materials and/or processes that benefit an entire team.

Responsibilities

• Be a subject matter expert on The Washington Post’s brand and products.

• Leads the development of high-value, complex and strategically-led client proposals leveraging branded content, live events and newsroom collaborations and sponsorships. 

• Utilize research, audience insights and data to articulate and support strategies and creative ideas

• Show a clear and convincing connection between a client’s brand challenge and proposed partnership solutions

• Leverage a solid understanding of the public affairs media landscape, including expertise in politics and policy and its effect on messaging activity. 

• Create and design thoughtful, strategic, and engaging proposals, typically in visual presentation format, that clearly and concisely communicate ideas/concepts that map back to key advertiser objectives and KPIs

• Work with agility and flexibility across multiple client proposals and opportunities

• Takes initiative on proactive projects outside of daily tasks and proposal work, particularly on things that will benefit the team as a whole

Qualifications

• 7+ years developing go-to market advertising strategies in the public affairs sector

• Possess a steady hand, competitive drive, and solutions-oriented mindset

• Expert at building trust and relationships across teams

• Have experience in client facing scenarios, including pitching ideas directly to clients.

• Highly organized with strong verbal, written, and visual presentation skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Google Drive, and Dropbox, including PowerPoint and Google Slides

• Capable of distilling considerable amounts of information into easy-to-grasp key points

• Ability to prioritize, multitask, and work in a fast-paced deadline-driven environment

Compensation and Benefits

Wherever you are in your life or career, The Washington Post offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits for every step of your journey:

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

• Company-paid pension and 401(k) match

• Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave

• Nine paid holidays and two personal days

• 20 weeks paid parental leave fo