Director of Public Relations

Whizz HR Pvt. Ltd.; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Whizz HR Pvt. Ltd. seeks an Account Director – PR & Business Head to drive strategic client relationships, growth, and profitability across PR mandates. You will lead senior teams, shape campaigns, and guide thought leadership while ensuring measurable outcomes for diverse sectors.

You will work closely with CXOs and marketing leaders, oversee revenue generation, and steer operational governance to sustain growth and client satisfaction.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years in PR, corporate communications, or integrated agency work.
• Proven business development, client acquisition, and revenue growth track record.
• Experience managing large client portfolios and leading senior account teams.
• Strong understanding of media ecosystem, PR strategy, crisis comms, and corporate reputation.
• Budgeting, forecasting, commercial negotiations, and account profitability.

Responsibilities

• Lead the PR vertical with growth priorities, strategy, and revenue targets.
• Develop business plans to acquire new clients and expand existing accounts.
• Identify opportunities across corporate, consumer, lifestyle, technology, BFSI, healthcare and other sectors.
• Lead pitches, proposals, credentials, RFPs, and commercial negotiations.
• Build relationships with CXOs and key decision-makers; drive revenue and profitability.
• Oversee integrated PR campaigns, media launches, leadership profiling, and brand-building initiatives.
• Guide clients through sensitive communications and reputational challenges.
• Ensure campaigns deliver measurable outcomes through KPIs, share of voice, sentiment, and business impact.
• Mentor and develop account teams; manage budgets, billing, and performance.

Skills

Leadership

Business development

Client relationship

Media relations

Crisis communications

Brand strategy

Negotiations

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in PR/Communications/Marketing/Business

Job description

We are seeking a dynamic, strategic, and business-oriented Account Director – PR & Business Head to lead client relationships, drive business growth, oversee public relations mandates, and manage the overall performance of the PR business vertical.

The role combines senior-level client servicing, strategic communications, team leadership, new business development, revenue generation, and operational management. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of the media landscape, excellent client leadership capabilities, and a proven track record of building brands, growing accounts, and delivering measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Leadership & Growth

• Lead the PR business vertical, defining growth priorities, business strategy, and revenue targets.
• Develop and execute business development plans to acquire new clients and expand existing accounts.
• Identify new business opportunities across corporate communications, consumer PR, lifestyle, technology, BFSI, healthcare, and other relevant sectors.
• Lead pitches, proposals, credentials presentations, RFP responses, and commercial negotiations.
• Build strong relationships with CXOs, marketing heads, corporate communications leaders, and key decision-makers.
• Drive revenue growth, profitability, account retention, and sustainable business expansion.
• Monitor business performance, revenue pipelines, budgets, and profitability against agreed targets.

2. Strategic PR & Communications

• Develop and oversee integrated PR strategies aligned with clients’ business and communication objectives.
• Provide strategic counsel on brand positioning, corporate reputation, thought leadership, media relations, and stakeholder engagement.
• Lead the development of communication plans, messaging frameworks, media strategies, and annual PR roadmaps.
• Oversee high-impact campaigns, media launches, leadership profiling, product announcements, and brand-building initiatives.
• Guide clients through sensitive communications, reputational challenges, and crisis management situations.
• Ensure campaigns deliver measurable outcomes through relevant KPIs, media quality, share of voice, sentiment, and business impact.

3. Client & Account Management

• Serve as the senior strategic partner and escalation point for key clients.
• Build and maintain long-term relationships with clients through proactive counsel, strong delivery, and consistent performance.
• Lead account planning, quarterly business reviews, annual strategy presentations, and performance evaluations.
• Identify opportunities for organic growth, cross-selling, and upselling additional communication services.
• Ensure high standards of client servicing, responsiveness, strategic thinking, and campaign execution.
• Manage client expectations, resolve escalations, and protect account retention and profitability.
• Lead, mentor, and develop account managers, senior account managers, account directors, and PR teams.
• Establish clear goals, performance expectations, accountability, and quality standards.
• Build a collaborative, high-performance culture focused on strategic thinking, creativity, ownership, and client satisfaction.
• Oversee resource allocation, team structures, workloads, and talent development.
• Identify training needs and develop future leaders within the PR business.
• Encourage innovation, knowledge sharing, and the adoption of new communication tools and measurement practices.
• Own account budgets, revenue forecasts, resource planning, and profitability.
• Monitor billing, collections, outstanding payments, and commercial compliance in coordination with finance.
• Ensure projects and retainers are delivered within agreed timelines, budgets, and scopes.
• Establish operational processes, reporting structures, and quality-control mechanisms.
• Track account-level and business-level performance against agreed financial and operational KPIs.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, contractual commitments, and ethical PR practices.

6. Industry Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with journalists, editors, media houses, influencers, industry associations, and strategic partners.
• Represent the agency at industry forums, networking events, conferences, and client meetings.
• Track industry trends, competitor activity, emerging platforms, and changes in the media ecosystem.
• Strengthen the agency’s market positioning through thought leadership, networking, and visibility.
• Collaborate with leadership and other business verticals to develop integrated communication offerings.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance will be evaluated against mutually agreed targets, including:

• New business revenue and achievement of sales targets.
• Growth and profitability of the PR business vertical.
• Client retention, satisfaction, and organic account growth.
• Quality and conversion rate of new business pitches.
• Delivery of strategic campaigns and achievement of communication KPIs.
• Team productivity, employee development, and retention.
• Timely billing, collections, forecasting, and budget management.
• Contribution to agency positioning, reputation, and overall business growth.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Public Relations, Mass Communication, Journalism, Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 10–15+ years of relevant experience in PR, corporate communications, reputation management, or an integrated communications agency.
• Demonstrated experience in managing large client portfolios and leading senior account teams.
• Proven track record in business development, client acquisition, pitching, and revenue growth.
• Strong understanding of the media ecosystem, PR strategy, crisis communications, and corporate reputation.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, commercial negotiations, and account profitability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.